3 Fat Burning Plants You Aren’t Eating Right Now

There are many different approaches to weight loss. Whether you are looking to lose just a few pounds or more, changing what you eat is a great place to start.

Don’t worry, this isn’t about eating only salads. By simply adding these three plants to your diet, you can burn fat, boost your metabolism, and decrease your appetite. Any of these factors puts you on the road to success but all three together will help you quickly achieve your weight loss goals.

Turmeric

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a plant native to the tropics of SE Asia. While turmeric thrives in hot jungle climates, it is possible to grow turmeric at home in a container.

In the same family as ginger, both are rhizomes, which means that the fleshy rootlike part is what is consumed in foods and medicines.

Thanks to modern-day factors like stress, pollution, and highly processed food, most of us have an ongoing hidden immune response inside our body that scientists call inflammation. Turmeric has been proven to reduce this inflammation by 59 percent.  When you have less inflammation in your cells, it frees your metabolism, allowing it to burn calories faster.

Turmeric can be used fresh or dried as a seasoning in foods. Dried it can be ground and put into capsules. It can be used to make teas, turmeric lattes, and golden milk.

Try adding this recipe for Golden Milk to your weight-loss regiment. 

Golden Milk

• 2 cups of coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk of your choice)
• 2 tsp ground turmeric (you can grind the rhizome fresh or dry with a mortar and pestle)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp of cardamom
• ½ tsp of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp of nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of black pepper
• Honey or another natural sweetener

Heat all the ingredients in a saucepan until they are warm. Then transfer the mixture to a blender. Blend until thick and frothy. 

Replace your coffee with a cup of Golden Milk in the morning, it will help boost your energy throughout the day.

Ginseng

Ginseng has been used traditionally in Chinese medicine. There are two main varieties of Ginseng, American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng).

A flowering plant, American ginseng grows wild in deciduous forests in the northeastern US and eastern Canada. However, high demand has led to over-harvesting and wild ginseng foraging is now heavily regulated. If you have patience, the plant can also be cultivated in your backyard.

While Ginseng is known to have many positive benefits, it is its ability to boost metabolism, increase energy levels, and potentially lower blood sugar that helps you lose weight.  You can make ginseng tea by adding fresh or dried roots to boiling water. Add ½  – 1 ounce of sliced or grated ginseng to 16 ounces of boiling water.

Let steep for 5-10 minutes depending on how strong you want it. If you don’t want to be making tea all the time, you can also use alcohol to extract the beneficial qualities of ginseng by making a ginseng tincture. While it may sound complicated, this method can easily be done at home and then stored for later use. Tinctures can be made with either fresh or dried ginseng roots by following this recipe.

Ginseng Tincture

• 3-4 ounces of ginseng
• Vodka (or other alcohol at least 80 proof)
• Mason jar
• Coffee filter 
• Funnel
• Tinted bottles for storage

1. First, crush the ginseng root to increase the surface area
2. Place the crushed roots in the mason jar 
3. Cover the roots with vodka to a minimum of two fingers above the top of the roots. If you are using dry roots add more vodka as the material will absorb the liquid. Do not exceed double the height of roots or your tincture will not be as strong.
4. Seal the jar and leave in a cool dark place for at least two weeks
5. When your tincture is ready place a coffee filter inside a funnel and strains the liquid into a tinted bottle for storage. 
6. Store in a cool dark place

Use as little as a few drops to start and no more than a teaspoon daily.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a common succulent plant with thick fleshy leaves that range from green to grayish-green in color. Requiring little attention, aloe grows quite well indoors in pots. They like warm dry conditions.

While not easily grown from seed, they can be propagated from suckers that grow by the base of the plant. Simply place the root ball into a mix of cactus potting soil and set in a sunny window. You should refrain from watering immediately after transplanting them. 

Usually, aloe’s healing properties are associated with burns and skin irritations but this amazing plant can help you lose weight too. Drinking aloe vera juice will help you boost your metabolism and burn fat. It is quite easy to make aloe vera juice at home. Drink the aloe juice on its own or use it as a base to a fat-fighting smoothie by adding other fat-fighting foods like grapefruit, avocado, or pineapple.

Aloe Juice

1. Cut a few fleshy leaves close to the center of the plant
2. Hang the leaves to allow the yellow latex sap to drain
3. When the leaves have drained slice them open
4. Gently scrape the clear gel away from the green leaf
5. Add the gel to the blender
6. For every 2 tablespoons of gel add 8 ounces of water 
7. Blend

Rather than drinking plain water, drink aloe juice instead. For best results try drinking a few ounces of aloe juice daily with your mid-day meal.

By making simple changes in your diet to include more foods like these that boost metabolism and burn fat you can be on your way to your weight loss goals. By combining this with a regular exercise routine you will reach those goals even quicker. This will help you look and feel better.

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