I’m Jen Hansard, mom of two, ultra runner and lover of green smoothies, coffee & tacos. I took my family's health into my own hands while broke and without health insurance...and have helped 1 million+ other families along the way.
I passionately believe that what we put into our bodies matters. That means the food we eat, the beverages we drink, the supplements, vitamins, and medication we take, and the things we don’t eat, drink, or ingest.
All of those things either help or hurt us.
I fell in love with a plant-based diet when I lost the weight and gained tons of energy without really even trying. I was just drinking smoothies and eating basic meals that were rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. (meat, eggs and dairy became more of a condiment that go with my plant-powered meal).
I wanted to share my fat burning smoothie recipe in here too— so you can see just how incredible a smoothie can be. But first…
Why smoothies help you lose weight
For most of us, there’s a balance between the good things and the not-so-good things. (I’m talking to you, French fries with my veggie burger.) My point is, it’s hard to always eat healthy. Which is why I host a quarterly cleanse using green smoothies every day. I give you a structured meal plan to focus on eating the foods that will help us feel the best.
There are special occasions when we want to indulge, it’s hard to eat healthy all the time when traveling. You know the drill. We do our best. And I don’t believe in punishing ourselves for enjoying a treat now and then.
What I’m a big proponent of is eating healthy as much as possible and participating in a regular exercise routine. That looks different for all of us with our varied interests, schedules, time constraints, and lifestyles. There’s nothing that will help boost your metabolism more than exercising and building up muscle.
More muscle means more fat-burning capabilities. So when we’re talking about boosting up your metabolism, exercise goes hand in hand with healthy eating. Certain foods have fat-burning and metabolism-boosting abilities and adding them into your diet can help magnify weight-loss efforts. I’m a huge fan of smoothies, especially when I can use natural ingredients to transform it into a weight loss smoothie.
Foods for Burning Fat and Boosting the Metabolism
Our body needs proper fuel to keep up with the demands of daily activities. It’s important that the calories we consume, especially if we’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or just improve our performance, are quality calories.
What does that mean? It means that they need to tick off several boxes: healthy fats, protein, complex carbs, vitamins and minerals, and/or a combination of all of the above. A fat burning smoothie, which I’ll show you how to make below will take you along way!
A protein bar may be high in calories and full of nutrition, but it won’t fill you up in the same way a plate of salmon, brown rice, and steamed veggies will. But a high-quality (preferably homemade) protein bar can give you the energy you need to power through a workout or recover from one.
17 foods to help you lose weight
When I lose weight, I like to get tone too. So I excercise. And when we exercise (I’m including cardio, endurance running, weight lifting, and things like Cross Fit), we do burn calories, but if our muscles are in need of nutrition, they’ll go for the easiest source first… and that’s not necessarily going to be body fat.
Give your body energy (i.e. high quality calories) to power it through a workout. The workout will in turn help build more muscle, which burns more calories (i.e. fat) the rest of the time. See how nicely that works? It’s a beautiful thing!
These are some foods you can blend into a weight loss smoothie if you’re trying to boost your metabolism and burn fat:
Nuts – whole, preferably raw and unblanched (almonds, walnuts, pecans); good fats and protein; almonds contain L-arginine (an amino acid) that when used pre-workout can help the body burn more fat
Eggs – high in protein which helps boost metabolism; the body digests the protein and uses the fat and calories for fuel
Berries – low in sugar but still sweet, high in fiber, high in antioxidants; helps burn fat; can help to improve blood flow
Apple cider vinegar – the acetic acid in ACV helps with blood sugar levels
Grapefruit –high in phytochemicals that stimulate the production of the hormone adiponectin which helps the body break down fat
Green and white tea – caffeine in tea gives a natural boost of energy’ antioxidants in tea may help accelerate fat-burning by aiding the liver in converting fat to energy
Chili peppers – capsaicin, the compound found in pepper aids the body in converting food to energy and abdominal fat loss; also works as a natural appetite suppressant
Spinach + other leafy greens – chock full of vitamins and minerals and fiber
Whole grains – like oats and brown rice; high fiber; slow-burning to keep you fuller, for longer and fuel the body
Coconut oil and olive oil – healthy fats that help you feel satisfied when they are consumed; coconut oil is easily digested for quick energy
Avocado – healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins, particularly B6 which counteracts cortisol, a stress hormone that contributes to weight gain via belly fat stores
Flaxseed – high in omega-3 fatty acids
Cinnamon – polyphenols (powerful antioxidants) boost the metabolism and help regulate blood sugar
Pears and apples – high in fiber plus contains pectin; helps keep you fuller for longer and naturally sweet
Grapes – high water and fiber content
Celery – very high fiber, uses more energy to digest than it provides (i.e. negative calories)
Dark chocolate – 70%+ cacao content is the important part; cacao contains high concentrations of polyphenols that push the body to burn fat
Weight Loss Smoothie Recipe
This weight loss smoothie is a little more hardcore than our most popular smoothie recipe, but we believe it will help you see results more quickly when combined with an awesome exercise goal. We hope you give it a shot and love the results as much as we do. Happy blending!
Make fat cry by adding this fat burning smoothie into your day. The natural ingredients are paired together to help boost your metabolism and burn fat in one delicious weight loss smoothie.
Scale
Ingredients
2 cups spinach
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 stalks celery (chopped)
1 cup brewed green tea (cooled)
1 large grapefruit (peeled and seeded)
2 cups pineapple chunks (frozen)
1/2 large avocado
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
Place spinach, mint, celery, and green tea into blender.
Puree until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients.
Blend again.
Notes
The pith and peel of the grapefruit are extremely bitter, but are beneficial in small amounts. To lessen the bitterness of the grapefruit, remove the fruit from the inner membranes as well as peeling before using.
Very tasty but a smoothie? A whole bag of spinach? Not much liquid. I almost had to cut mine with a knife and that was halving the amounts as I didn’t have a vat to blend mine in lol
★★
SGS Rawkstar Carissa
October 14th, 2019 at 9:45 am
Hey Debbie,
It sounds like you are really packing in the spinach which is great if that is what you prefer but for me personally I wouldn’t be able to handle that =P We like to add in loosely packed spinach that way it is not too thick.
Hope that helps!
Jacquie
November 12th, 2019 at 12:11 pm
Made this recipe for the first time and I like it, I can sure taste the cayenne and I used it very sparingly. For protein is low so I would probably add a powder.
I’m trying this for weight loss and only having it for breakfast as I’ve never done this before how long should I be drinking this?
Thanks,
Jacquie
★★★
SGS Rawkstar Carissa
November 12th, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Hey Jacquie!
If you want to add protein to this that is totally fine! How long you drink this smoothie for is totally up to you! Some drink this every day until they hit their ideal weight and some drink this before a workout.
Yep! The #1 rated green smoothie recipe according to Google & our rawkstar community is this green gem! Kids, adults, dogs, chickens, and grandparents have all taste tested it and agree: it's the best.
October 14th, 2019 at 5:49 am
Very tasty but a smoothie? A whole bag of spinach? Not much liquid. I almost had to cut mine with a knife and that was halving the amounts as I didn’t have a vat to blend mine in lol
★★
October 14th, 2019 at 9:45 am
Hey Debbie,
It sounds like you are really packing in the spinach which is great if that is what you prefer but for me personally I wouldn’t be able to handle that =P We like to add in loosely packed spinach that way it is not too thick.
Hope that helps!
November 12th, 2019 at 12:11 pm
Made this recipe for the first time and I like it, I can sure taste the cayenne and I used it very sparingly. For protein is low so I would probably add a powder.
I’m trying this for weight loss and only having it for breakfast as I’ve never done this before how long should I be drinking this?
Thanks,
Jacquie
★★★
November 12th, 2019 at 4:43 pm
Hey Jacquie!
If you want to add protein to this that is totally fine! How long you drink this smoothie for is totally up to you! Some drink this every day until they hit their ideal weight and some drink this before a workout.
Hope that helps!