#KBBody Thanksgiving Grocery List (changing an oil or adding a spice can change your waist line)

Hi all, Dasha here. I am cooking for 20 people this Thanksgiving, and I could not be happier to have so many friends and so much family (including my grandparents) over for the BIG day. I love Thanksgiving simply because it revolves around a gathering of people, great conversation and food. BUT instead of derailing my progress (all that hard work I’ve put into my body) I use the holiday to introduce basic, healthy yet very tasty ingredients and dishes to friends and family. I also love to show people how their same recipies can be made healthier (with out altering the taste or the tradition). READ on… you’ll be surprised on how changing an oil or adding pepper can trasnform your waistline (for the better). And of course by doing this on thanksgiving you can encorporate these little changes and alterations into your every day meals.

Your Thanksgiving Grocery List (also great for everyday cooking education) 

 Cook with the BEST fat burning oils

Cooking with the right oils can make all of the difference in your diet, and your waist line. So why not start on Thanksgiving (the best news is that your company probably won’t even notice the change).

Common Mistake: Many people avoid oils entirely because they believe they are too high in calories to include as part of their plan. But the point to remember here is that while oils are definitely higher in calories than carbohydrate and protein rich foods (at nine calories per gram compared to four in carbs & proteins), if you make sure to use them properly, they will help to boost your fat loss progress and make your food satisfying and taste great.

Keep in mind: Oils help to add flavor to the foods you’re eating but they supply vital nutrients.

My top three favorite ones to add to your recipes include:

Olive oil – is well known to be one of the most ‘heart-friendly’ oils around

Macadamia nut oil – contains medium chain triglycerides which can actually be utilized by the muscles for energy instantly (whereas all other fats can’t)

Coconut oil – The health benefits of this amazing oil include hair care, skin care, weight loss, maintaining cholesterol levels, stress relief, increased immunity, proper digestion

In general oils can help lower inflammation in the body (which is great for KB Body workout recovery. They help to promote healthy cholesterol levels, therefore your body can work with optimum metabolic capacities (burn more fat).

Don’t worry about messing up your moms fav dish; all three of these oils have a very high smoking point, therefore you can easily cook any recipe with them with out any complications.

 Foods to AVOID at all costs:

the following foods can hurt you fat more then then can help you. Not only are they high in calories, but these foods can stunt your metabolic efficiency and play tricks with your hormones.

Margarine  Not only is this an incredibly unhealthy source of fat, but it’s going to slow down your metabolism so you burn fewer calories throughout the day. It’s like the double whammy – your body burns less and you take in more. #Avoid

Vegetable Oil  Just like margarine, the same story holds for vegetable oil. Vegetable oil contains unhealthy fats that will not support a healthy metabolism and will actually just further damage your health. #Avoid

‘Fat Free or Low Cal’ Salad Dressing

Fat Free dressing: These salad dressings may be low in overall calories but they’re filled with harmful ingredients that will just slow your fat loss down.

Fat Free dressing: Many fat free foods are packed with sugars and carbohydrates, and not the natural kind you would find in a fruit or vegetable. Remember the body processes sugar into fat. So all of your access sugars, the ones you do not burn off will get converted into fat.

*** make your own dressing! Oil & Vinegar, Greek Yogurt, Lemon, Garlic, Mustard and Pepper are all ideal ways to dress your salad. 

Processed Protein

Any type of processed protein such as deli meat will be filled with preservatives that only add toxic waste to your body and prevent the natural process of fat loss from occurring. Try to avoid the stuff, and buy (if you can) an all natural grass fed turkey.

Turkey facts: Turkey is naturally low in fat (when eaten without the skin), with only 1 gram of fat per ounce of meat. A 5-ounce serving provides almost half of the recommended daily allowance of folic acid, and is a good source of vitamins B, B1,B6, zinc and potassium.

Cooking with Turkey Skin  Recent studies have shown that cooking poultry with the skin on seals in the natural juices and the fat from the skin does not seep into the meat. So, dieters can avoid dried-out skinless cuts and just remove the skin before consuming.

In general choose natural, lean sources of protein.

High Sodium Seasonings

Buying pre-made foods, or getting your Creamed spinach and other such dishes from a pre-made pack can be detrimental to our metabolism.

Many packaged and restaurant foods are packed with sodium.  Sodium will make you feel bloated, and over time will add to those unwanted pounds. Cook as much oaf your own side dishes as possible!

Cream  Cream is another cooking ingredient that you must give the boot. Not only is cream high in calories and fat, but it contains  saturated fat, which is terrible!

Kill the cream! #Avoid

White Flour  If I had to pick one thing you can ‘kick-to-the-curb’ it would be  white flour . The White flour itself is robbed of its natural nutrients and is only going to spike insulin levels, promoting high rates of fat gain #Avoid in general. However, if you must have it on Thanksgiving, portion control! and DO NOT keep any of it in the house for the next day!

Other Thanksgiving “healthy” traps

Sugar  The brown sugar sold at grocery stores is actually white granulated sugar with added molasses. Yes, brown sugar contains minute amounts of minerals. But unless you eat a gigantic portion of brown sugar every day, the mineral content difference between brown sugar and white sugar is absolutely insignificant. The idea that brown and white sugar have big differences is another common nutrition myth. Sugar is a big enemy on your hit-list of ingredients to eliminate. Sugar causes high’s and low’s, promotes strong food cravings, and will quickly cause the accumulation of body fat.

Brown Rice The brown rice sold at grocery stores is actually white rice sugar with added molasses. The reason they say it has more ‘fiber’ is because molasses contains one extra gram of fiber- thats it!!! So if you love rice, eat field rice, not brown rice.

Deserts  Look guys, its a holiday so have it if you want! BUT do not over eat dessert.  Also, Thanksgiving is one day, not one week long.  So if you have desert today, do not also have it tomorrow. Another thing you might want to tray- FRUITS like berries. And when picking or cooking your desert, use natural fruits and agave and honey and cinnamon as sweeteners.

 THING THAT YOU SHOULD USE

 Mustard

One very little known fact is that mustard can actually help to boost the metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories. Mustard is also great for helping improve the overall digestive system, so your body will be much better able to extract the nutrients from the foods you eat and put them to good use, helping improve your overall functioning. #Add

Apple Cider Vinegar  Apple cider vinegar serves to help out with weight loss by detoxifying the liver and by increasing the metabolism.  –Apple cider vinegar is also a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B1, B2, and B6, making it great for overall health sake as well. #Add

White And Red Wine Vinegar  These are going to help to improve the body’s response to glucose when consumed and help to reduce the spike in blood glucose levels while slowing gastric emptying.

Vinegar is completely calorie free (so long as its not sugar loaded thick aged vinegar). #Add

Lemons  Adding lemon juice to your salad dressing and other foods is ideal. The juice can help keep your blood glucose levels stable. Plus, everyone loves a lemon! #Add

Black Pepper  Pepper can offer up to 8% increase in your metabolic rate and will also help to reduce symptoms of constipation and gas from your meals. #Add

Turmeric  Try this spec! It can help lower your blood sugar. This can help avoid food cravings and help reduce body fat. #Add

Cinnamon  Use it as a sweetener! Cinnamon can help control your blood sugar levels and will also give your immune system a strong boost. It also promote a healthy digestive system. #Add

Ginger This space has metabolic boosting powers (helps burn fat). #add

Garlic One of the most commonly used spices, this one will help to detoxify the body so that you’re burning off fat as effectively as possible.  #Add

Cayenne Pepper This spice can give you a significant boost to the metabolism. #Add Studies have shown that adding this to a meal can increase the number of calories you burn over the next few hours, ensuring fat loss progresses along maximally.

Chili Powder  Very similar to cayenne pepper in the body due to its capsaicin content and will provide you with a nice metabolic boost so you burn more calories and still have taste to you food!  #add

Xokb- Dasha, MS, NASM-PES, NASE, MCK-2, M-KBIA