Need Tasty, Healthy Recipes for Weight Loss? These Meals Will Leave You Begging for Seconds!

Everywhere you turn, you see people talking about either #bodygoals and working out, or healthy recipes for weight loss.

And for good reason…

Health experts confirm that a trim waistline is 75% diet and 25% exercise. And by eating smarter foods (not working harder in the gym!), you can rev up your metabolism and burn fat while you sleep.

Here’s how:

Try these tried and tested (or should we say, tasted?) healthy recipes for weight loss that help you keep off the pounds, without sacrificing taste and meal quality.

1. BBQ Turkey Burger

Saying goodbye to sinful, fatty dishes might just be the hardest part of this diet plan, but who says the road to weight loss means saying bye-bye to our favorite dishes?

In fact, staple “heart-attack” favorites such as cheese, ice cream, and red meat can be substituted with better ingredients like low-fat dairy, yogurt, and turkey. This BBQ turkey burger is the perfect example of a healthier spinoff to a classic favorite.

You will need:

• 1 ground turkey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch of salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 4 white onions
• ¼ barbecue sauce
• 4 sesame buns, toasted

Instructions:

1. Mix together the spices, ground turkey, and garlic in a bowl.
2. Press them together until the contents become dense, allowing you to form balls in your hands.
3. With clean hands, press down the balls to form a patty.
4. Place the patty on medium-high heat until cooked through (about 5-7 minutes per side).

For a healthier twist, feel free to add other vegetables like bell pepper, mushrooms, carrots, and broccoli.

2. Greek Stuffed Chicken

Forget what people are saying about eating bland grilled chicken for the rest of your life. You can still achieve weight loss with this recipe that turns your old grilled chicken recipe into a more flavorful dish.

You will need:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes, halved
• ½ red onion, sliced
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced
• Feta, to your taste
• Shredded mozzarella, to your taste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dill, or any other desired herbs
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
2. Prepare your chicken and cut through the skin.
3. Make four big slits through the chicken, without cutting through the meat completely.
4. For the marinate, mix together the olive oil, juice, garlic, and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix this together and coat the chicken breasts with the juices.
6. Stuff the chicken breasts with the mentioned vegetables, as well as other ingredients you may think about. Add feta and mozzarella for more flavor, but use sparingly.
7. Leave the chicken to bake for about 25 minutes.
8. Sprinkle with a little bit of lemon juice before serving for better flavor.

3. Easy Baked Salmon

Baking fish is a fool-proof recipe that is perfect for both dinner and lunch. This is one of our favorite healthy recipes for weight loss, and uses salmon but you are free to substitute other healthier fishes, specifically Tuna, Tilapia, and Trout. These are among the fish with the highest level of Omega 3 fatty acids, which aids in fighting high levels of cholesterol in the body.

Ingredients:

• 1 large salmon fillet, or any fish fillet of your choosing
• 2 lemons, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of thyme, oregano, and other preferred spices
• 4 tablespoon of melted butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare your baking sheet by lining the area with olive oil or cooking spray.
3. Lay the lemon slices on the center of the tray and place your seasoned fish on top of the lemon slices.
4. In a bowl, combine the butter, garlic, and herbs. Pour the contents over the fish.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

For crispier texture, you may glaze the top with some honey and set the oven to broil for 2-3 minutes.

What About Snacks?

In addition to these healthy recipes for weight loss, you can’t forget healthy snacks too! And many of them are in your kitchen right under your nose.

Try simple substitutes such as:

• Frozen bananas with chocolate (>85% cocoa mass)
• Fruit smoothies (especially with fresh or frozen berries)
• Peanut butter bites (using natural peanut butter – nothing but peanuts)
• Carrot sticks and hommus
• Ants on a log – Celery with peanut butter and raisins on top!

All of these make great alternatives to candy and potato chips, and are great to satisfy those hunger cravings between lunch and dinner!

References

Exercise Vs. Diet

Lower fat food alternatives

Healthy Fish Guide