5 fat fighting dinner recipes

Who knew you could fight fat by eating?! Turns out you can, if you do it the right way!

Fat-fighting properties are found in many healthy and yummy foods, even some of your favourites – like avocado! And there are HEAPS of delicious, healthy recipes on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge!

Designed to rev up your metabolism for the weeknights, these five dinner recipes will have you fighting fat like never before.

Fight that fat!

Stomach fat can be incredibly difficult to get rid of. There are two different types of fat within your body, subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat is the fat that is visible just beneath your skin – the fat that makes you appear fat. Visceral fat is the fat buried deep beneath the surface of the skin that is wrapped around your internal organs.

Visceral fat is the most dangerous type of fat as it is so close to your organs, and it’s the most important fat for you to target.

Your stomach contains both types of fat, and it’s especially important to remove visceral fat from your tummy area as there are so many important organs in that part of your body. Read more about top foods to avoid to reduce stomach fat here.

So how do you fight the fat? Well, there are some types of foods that can actively fight stomach fat – and if you combine a few of these foods into one meal, you can fight the flab whilst also eating delicious food.

1. Beef and pumpkin stir fry

Packed with fresh vegetables which will give your metabolism the boost it needs, plus a kick of chilli in the red curry paste! Another delicious beef stir fry recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 cups pumpkin peeled and cubed
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 240 grams lean beef
• 2 cups broccoli
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fish sauce

Method

1. In a pan, over medium heat, add half the coconut oil and cook the pumpkin pieces for 5 minutes or until they are tender, then set aside.
2. Add the curry paste to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Slice beef and add to the pan, cook for 5 minutes.
3. Cut broccoli into florets and add to the pan with the red onion, cooked pumpkin and fish sauce. Toss to combine and cook all ingredients for 4 minutes.
4. Serve stir fry in a bowl and enjoy.

2. Soba Noodles with Salmon

The Heart Foundation recommends all Australians should aim to include 2–3 serves of fish per week as part of a heart healthy diet.

Salmon’s omega-3 fatty acids help build calorie-burning muscle as the body can’t make omega-3 itself, having a healthy intake of salmon is beneficial to fat burning and not to mention oh so tasty!

Ingredients

• 300 grams salmon steak or firm fish of choice
• 90 grams soba noodles
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup baby spinach
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Wrap the salmon in baking paper and place on a baking tray. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until salmon is cooked through. You could also cook the salmon in a steamer if you have one.
3. When salmon is ready, remove from the oven (or steamer) and use a fork to flake the flesh into pieces.
4. Prepare the noodles according to packet directions and keep about 1/4 cup per serve of the cooking water aside.
5. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the drained noodles, egg yolk, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir quickly to cook the egg yolk over the heat and combine with the noodles. While stirring, slowly add in the reserved cooking water from the noodles to help combine the sauce with the noodles (you may not need all of the reserved liquid).
6. Add the salmon and baby spinach and toss through gently until spinach has wilted.
7. Remove from heat and serve seasoned with salt and pepper.

3. Sweet paprika chicken drumsticks and veg

Not a chilli fan, don’t fret. This recipe packs a punch but without the chilli, in the form of paprika!

A study in the British Journal of Nutrition discusses paprika, Capsanthin is the major carotenoid present in paprika, and is present in an acylated form with fatty acids.

Meaning it has the ability to boost metabolism, so tap into your next meal STAT.

Find this recipe on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge recipe hub!

4. Chicken macro bowl

This protein-packed bowl will keep you fuller for longer as well as helping to maintain regular bowel movements, which leads to less bloating.

Adding avocado into your weeknight bowl will add to the fat fighting, as an avo combines essential fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, and antioxidants to help you do just that.

Ingredients

• 350 grams skinless chicken breast
• 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
• 100 grams green beans
• 100 grams broccoli
• 1/2 avocado sliced
• 300 grams sweet potato peeled and cubed
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Cook quinoa as per packet instructions.
3. Place sweet potato in a microwave safe container and cook in microwave on high for 2 minutes.
4. Remove and toss in half of the sesame oil and place on a lined oven tray. Cook for 10-15 minutes until golden.
5. Dice chicken and mix with garlic and soy sauce. Cook in hot frypan with the rest of the sesame oil until cooked through.
6. Steam the greens on the stovetop or in the microwave until tender crisp.
7. Portion the chicken, quinoa and veggies into bowls.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

5. Root vegetable soup with cheesy toast

Soups are a great metabolism boosting meal as they are hydrating and in this vegetable soup’s case, contain a lot of vegetables and in turn fibre, which helps with digestion.

Not to mention, soups are the perfect weeknight meal, throw everything into one pot, boil and then puree!

Find this recipe on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge recipe hub, along with 6000 other scrumptious and healthy recipes.

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