Healthy Cooking Hacks

Burn Fat Fast21 to help you

By Avocadu

Welcome to our little book of Healthy Cooking Hacks

Being a certified trainer myself and Lauren being a nutrition nerd all her life has given us a lot of experience helping ourselves and others to becoming happier and healthier people. Over the years, Lauren and I have discovered quite a few tips and tricks to cooking healthier recipes… So we compiled those into this short little book so you can implement these tips yourself. Whether your health goals are to lose a little weight or to look sexy naked, we hope this little book pushes you a little further forward to your goals. Cheers,

Alex Nerney CSCS Lauren McManus Founders of Avocadu

Avocadu 2

1. Cook with fat burning oils like coconut oil rather than vegetable oils.

Coconut oil has been proven to help the body burn an extra 130 calories per day when you eat it (study). By trading in fat storing oils like vegetable oil with coconut oil, you will already have made a serious change in your health! Use organic, unrefined coconut oil, because it has not been processed and stripped of its many nutrients and health properties. You can learn more about the health benefits of coconut oil from our Youtube video: 10 Incredible Coconut Oil Benefits

Avocadu 3

2. Make your own salad dressings.

Store bought dressings are WAY to high in calories and contain metabolism-slowing ingredients. Instead use ingredients like fresh fruits, apple cider vinegar, red & white wine vinegar, lemons, and your own spices to make your own. For instance, here’s a great citrus vinaigrette from our friends at Matabolic Cooking you can try: Juice of 1 orange and 1 grapefruit 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger Great on Asian salads and you can rub it on your meat before grilling

Avocadu 4

3. Use lemon juice and pepper to season vegetables.

Lemon juice has been shown to help with skin complexion, digestion, and give you better craving control (study). Black pepper also has been shown to help the body’s digestive process by increasing hydrochloric acid. Adding these ingredients to your vegetables will give you a healthy boost AND make your vegetables yummier.

Avocadu 5

4. Soak oats in milk overnight.

Having a quick, pre-made breakfast will save you time, energy and calories. You can also soak chia seeds in with oats overnight in unsweetened nut milks like almond or coconut for additional protein and energy. Leave it in the fridge overnight and your breakfast will be ready to go in the morning! Other awesome toppings: Protein Powder Nuts and Seeds (especially chia seeds and almonds) Fruit

Avocadu 6

5. Have 2-3 healthy, go-to recipes for every meal.

A problem that most people face is they never have any “go-to” healthy meals they can fall back on at any time. These meals should be simple to make and something you love the taste of. An example would be a healthy smoothie recipe you love (you can get ideas by clicking here) or even a sweet potato egg hash recipe. This is something we have grown to love and is easy to make over and over again.

Avocadu 7

6. Make healthy soups.

Soup is not only super easy to make, but it’s also inexpensive. All it takes is some beans and whatever veggies you have left in your fridge. Plus beans contain iron, protein, and fiber, which are 3 ingredients we could all use some more of in our lives! Make a large batch and freeze leftovers so you’ll have a pre-made meal in the freezer for future use.

Avocadu 8

7. Plan for leftovers.

When you make a large portion of something, go ahead and put the leftovers away BEFORE you start eating. This will make sure that you don’t eat everything you cook… If cooking for your family, just do the best you can at getting the excess out of harms way ;) This way, you’ll also have another healthy meal waiting for you tomorrow!

Avocadu 9

8. Roast your veggies in batches.

Broccoli, carrots, onions, whatever… Slice them up, toss them with some coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil, add some salt and pepper, and throw them on a baking sheet. Roasting vegetables in the oven is an easy way to cook large batches of vegetables at a time. Plus you can keep them in your fridge as a staple for when the afternoon hunger strikes. Hint: Roasted chickpeas and roasted carrots REALLY DO taste like a yummy snack!

Avocadu 10

9. Use Cajun seasoning for… EVERYTHING!

It’s a great seasoning for just about everything you can think of, and it will keep you from feeling the need to add other ingredients such as cheese and sugars for flavor. It literally goes on everything, including eggs, fish, meats, potatoes, rice, and all vegetables. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning is the best. Look for the green container in your local grocery store or on Amazon. On that note…

Avocadu 11

10. Spice things up! Ingredients like cayenne pepper have been shown to boost the metabolism and curb appetite cravings (study). Turmeric has also been shown to lower blood sugar and reduce strong food cravings. If you don’t like the heat, try using cinnamon as it has been show to help improve insulin sensitivity and promote healthy digestion!

Avocadu 12

11. Sub zucchini noodles for pasta.

This helps cut calories and provides you a way to get more veggies in your life. The best meal options for this are lasagna or avocado pesto noodles. You’ll want a spiralizer or mandolin to make these. They are both inexpensive and can be found on Amazon. Here is a link to a great recipe for No-Cook Zucchini Noodles with Avocado Pesto: http://healthandhappyhour.com/zucchini-noodles-with-avocado-pesto/

Avocadu 13

12. Substitute non-dairy milks such as almond, cashew, or coconut when cooking.

You may already be on the non-dairy milk train, but if you aren’t… You should get on it! Regular milk has harmful ingredients that mess with the body’s hormonal systems, and thus, your metabolism. Plus, you can’t tell the difference AT ALL when you substitute the milk in recipes. So start with cooking first if you aren’t ready to full on drink it yet.

Avocadu 14

13. Remove the sugar from pancakes and add protein powder.

Okay so pancakes aren’t healthy… But sometimes you want to splurge or you might make them often for your kids. Most recipes call for sugar in the recipe. Did you know that you can make it without the sugar, and you literally can’t taste the difference? Try it! You don’t need sugar IN the recipe and you can add protein powder for a healthy bump of fat burning goodness!

Avocadu 15

14. Sub mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes.

Cauliflower contains about 1/3 of the calories of potatoes. Steam cauliflower on the stove or roast it in the oven, then mash it up like you would with potatoes. You can add the same ingredients. We recommend: a little non-dairy milk, grass-fed butter, and some salt and pepper. Garlic and onion is of course another great option!

Avocadu 16

15. Cook popcorn on the stove.

Toss out the microwavable, processed butter covered popcorn in your pantry and try some from nature. Buy the unpopped kernels from the grocery store and cook them on the stove with a little coconut oil. It’s really not that difficult and tastes soooo much better. Add some sea salt and you’re good to go! You can even sprinkle a little melted coconut oil over the top as well if you want to indulge a little!

Avocadu 17

16. Drink protein shakes.

The key here is to find a good protein powder that tastes awesome but doesn’t have a lot of additives and sugar. Try a protein shake with chocolate protein, peanut butter (or PB2 for less calories – check Amazon), unsweetened non-dairy milk, and some ice. Blend it up, and it tastes like a milkshake! But’s it’s SO healthy! If you’re looking for a good protein powder, we have 2 articles to recommend. The first one was written by us, and it’s on plant-based protein. Our friends at Health and Happy Hour have also written a great article on whey protein powders.

Avocadu 18

17. Use DIY Smoothie Packs.

Everyone knows how healthy smoothies are, but I think most people just feel like they don’t have the time or energy to make them. DIY smoothie packs solve both of these problems. Go to the grocery and buy enough ingredients to make SEVERAL smoothies. Chop them up, add them to a Ziploc bag, and freeze them. When you’re ready for your smoothie, you just have to pull the bag from the freezer and dump it into the blender with some water or almond milk and you’re ready to go!

Avocadu 19

18. Use more avocados.

Avocados are an incredible source of healthy fats. And they are actually a fat that can help you BURN FAT, as crazy as that sounds! They can also often be substituted for butter, milk, cream, or cheese. And not just for lunch and dinner, try these in your favorite desserts as well. There are a lot of great avocado pudding and avocado cookie recipes out there! Try experimenting!

Avocadu 20

19. Cook with beets to cut down on artificial sugar.

Beets are naturally sweet and obviously don’t have any added sugars in them. They are also a naturally detoxifying food and high in antioxidants, so we could all definitely use a little more of them in our lives! Add them to your soups, salads, desserts, or dinner to sweeten things up a bit. Avoid regular sugar, even honey, when possible.

Avocadu 21

20. Use a non-stick pan.

A really good non-stick pan will allow you to cook even eggs without an ounce of butter and oil. This is a really quick way to cut down on calories. Think about the difference it can make when you use it at every meal. Cutting the cooking oils and butter out of breakfast, lunch, and dinner can have a big impact on your daily calorie intake!

Avocadu 22

21. Have the right tools on hand.

You’ll want tools like a good non-stick pan, a julienne peeler, and a mandolin or spiralizer on hand. They can all be found on Amazon. This will help you cut calories and make foods like vegetable noodles and apple chips. Most people don’t make those kinds of healthy substitutions, because they don’t have the right equipment. They really are really easy to make when you have the right tools on hand though!

Avocadu 23

Check out the #1 metabolism-boosting cookbook – Metabolic Cooking.

Made by our friends Karine and Dave Ruel, it is the best cookbook collection we have ever discovered to help you burn more fat while cooking recipes. Their recipes are easy to prepare, made with simple ingredients, and are 100% family friendly!

Click here to check out Metabolic Cooking and see our favorite fat burning cookbook on the market today.