"ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN!!" Recipes!

EpiGaiaRepens · August 2011

Hey everyone! Have you heard this statement "abs are made in the kitchen"??

I've lost 40 lbs on MFP and am in my ideal weight range. I run and keep my calories reasonable, but still have that pesky belly! So I've been at this weight for over a year now and I"m ready to SLAY THIS BELLY! I did a lot of asking people for help and advice and the two things I got out of all that "research" was two tips to get rid of a belly (to do on top of calorie counting of course!):

#1- high intensity interval training. I do this 2-3 x's a week! It's killer! Check it out!

#2- "abs are made in the kitchen"- what this means, I gather, is lowering your carb intake and your sugar intake and processed foods. Eating more whole foods and veggies and higher protein.

The intent of this thread is to share recipes that may meet these general guidelines...so if you have any recipes that are "Ab-friendly" please please please POST THEM HERE!

P.S. I"m a vegetarian so I'd appreciate even more those recipes that are vegetarian...but I assume there are other MFPers that eat meat that want ab-friendly recipes!

POST with RECKLESS ABANDON HERE!!!

agleckle · August 2011

This is such a great thread idea! I am looking to get rid of the belly too! Bump!

MB_Positif · August 2011

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mbcarreno08/view/italian-tuna-salad-123887

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mbcarreno08/view/mango-salsa-and-i-turned-it-into-a-meatless-main-dish-too-122033

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mbcarreno08/view/quinoa-salad-with-cherries-and-pecans-80963

These are 3 of my favorites. I LOVE the recipes in Oxygen, Clean Eating, and Eating Well Magazines. Eating Well has every recipe available online as well.

EpiGaiaRepens · August 2011

One of my favorite dishes...though I'm not 100% clear on how "ab friendly" it is. It's african peanut yam stew. I actually cut back on the amount of peanut butter in it to try to lower the calories a bit. It's from http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/02/25/african-peanut-potato-stew/:

1 onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 14.5 ounce cans chopped tomatoes
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pound green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces (fresh or frozen)
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup natural peanut butter

Place 1/3 cup water, onion, jalapenos, ginger and garlic in a large pot. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, salt, red pepper and coriander. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, green beans, vegetable broth, and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Per serving: 358 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (18% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 61g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 203mg Sodium

laurad1406 · August 2011

ohh bump! I'll add some recipes as I think about them

BifDiehl · August 2011

bump for my belly!

EpiGaiaRepens · August 2011

To get things rolling, I wanna list a few other things that I know are ab-friendly:

Oranges
Salads
steamed veggies with a side of brown rice
protein & berrie smoothies (no added sugar!)
oatmeal

also, I found an equation for your target carbs per day when trying to get a 6 pack (http://www.build-muscle-and-burn-fat.com/6-pack-abs.html). Here is the equation, A = your daily caloric intake.
Ax 0.4= B (calories from carbs allowed per day)
B/4= target grams of carbs per day.

For a 1200 calorie per day diet, your target is 120 grams of carbs.

Tuttlift · August 2011

A great recipe for dinner or just a mid day snack is to get some wheat or Ezekiel bread, a tomato, a round zucchini, and pepper-jack cheese. Cut the tomato and zucchini to a desired thickness and layer them on the bread with the cheese on top. Pop that in the oven for about 10minutes or as long as you so desire. Try not to overcook because it will deprive the vegetables of the nutrients. Makes a great dinner toast or you could cut them into squares for party servings.

lindsay6694 · August 2011

bump.

VeroM1234 · August 2011

Low Carb pizza!

4 egg whites on a platter - Put in microwave for 3 mins

Take it out carefully, add 2 spoons of pizza sauce.

Put light mozarella and 50g of meat or veggies or whatever you like.

Microwave again for 30 seconds...

Tadammmmmmmm !!

DELICIOUS! Low calorie and Low carb!

Rosemarose · August 2011

bump..just want to keep this in my topics of interest. my suggestions are almonds, oatmeal, eggs, greens (spinach, brocolli, etc), soy, apples, berries, (good for you) yogurt, fish, quinoa. incoporate these into ur meals and it makes a diff. i've always heard watermelon is a good food for abs but all the water bloats me.