15 Winter Vegetables to Shed Winter Weight

I don’t know about you, but I’m still feeling a little weighed down from the Holidays.

So I thought it would be good to kick off an Epic Winter Week with some seasonal produce to help you shed a few pounds.

*Side Note: you might want to try The Beginner Cleanse, our 10-day whole food cleanse.

Our 15 Vegetables for Increased Weight-Loss

1. Avocados

How They Help You Lose Weight: The fat that won’t make you fat! A lot of people avoid avocados because they’re high in fat, but it’s the good kind of fat. Monounsaturated Fatty Acids, no saturated fat and no cholesterol. That being said they’re full of fiber, which is crucial for weight loss.  The fiber in avocados will help clean out your system which may be full of some left-over holiday treats.  Another benefit from the fiber in avocados is they will keep you fuller longer, which will keep you from snacking.

How to Use Them: Add them to salads, tacos and burgers. You can also cut them open, scrape them out, mash with back of a fork, add some sea salt (guacamole) and serve with chips.

Recipe Suggestion: Vegan Soft Tacos

SD Members Recipe : Raw Burrito Boats

2. Beets

How They Help You Lose Weight: Beets are known for their detoxifying abilities. They contain essential vitamins and minerals to help flush out excess water and toxins from your system. They also boost energy and have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body.

How to Use Them: Raw and fresh – a lot of beet’s weight loss properties come from them being raw. We love adding a beet (or even just a 1/2) to our morning juice. You could also shred them and add them on top of your salads or grain bowls.

Recipe Suggestion: Pink Apple Juice

SD Members Recipe: Beet Zinger Juice

3. Broccoli

How it Helps You Lose Weight:  Broccoli is full of fiber and calcium, both crucial elements to any weight-loss plan. Not only that, but it’s loaded with Vitamin C , A and K. If you’re looking to shed a few pounds this is a winter vegetable to stock up on.

How to Use It: Steam it, chop it up very small and add it to salads and soups. Create a slaw by shredding the stems.

Recipe Suggestion: Cheezy Broccoli Bake

SD Members Recipe: Broccoli Brunch Crepes

4.  Butternut Squash

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Butternut Squash is another veggie high in fiber. They help stabilize blood sugar, which will keep your body from storing fat and instead help you burn it, and stay fuller longer.

How to Use It: We love to cut it in half (length wise), rub the inside with coconut oil and bake on a baking sheet face down for 30-45 minutes at 350 Deg.F.

Recipe Suggestion: Butternut Squash Baked Oatmeal

SD Members Recipe: Spicy Pumpkin Chili *recipe shared in blog post, open to non-members too!

5. Cabbage

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Full of water, fiber and antioxidants. Cabbage screams “weight loss food” as it’s an inexpensive winter vegetable that can’t be beat when it comes to shedding pounds.

How to Use It: Green, Cone or Purple Cabbage – whatever variety you fancy, use them interchangeably. We love to use them as wraps, or put them in salads and sometimes we even add it to our juice.

Recipe Suggestion: Soup Plantations Pineapple Coconut Coleslaw Hacked

SD Members Recipe: Bottomless Salad

6. Carrots

How They Help You Lose Weight: Carrots are full of fiber and rich in minerals, making them the perfect snack as they’ll fill you up but keep your calories low.

How to Use Them: Eat them raw, you don’t even have to remove the skin! Or add them to salads, juice, or roast them.

Recipe Suggestion: Caribbean Burgers with Sweet Carrot Slaw

SD Members Recipe: Quick and Easy Chili

7. Celery

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Full of water but also full of vitamins your body needs to burn fat and fight off free radicals. Just chewing this fibrous veggie will help stimulate digestion and get your body activated for processing the nutrients coming its way.

How to Use It: Eat it raw, add some almond butter for the perfect snack. Or put it in your morning green juice.

Recipe Suggestion: Green Juice in a Blender

SD Members Recipe: The Glow-N-Go

8. Chard

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Chard is up there when it comes to nutritional density. You can get a majority of your nutrients from this vegetable powerhouse. And guess what? …it’s super low in calories: 1 cup comes in at 35 calories!

How to Use It: We almost always put our weekly chard in smoothies or juice, but it’s also great added to salads and stir fry’s. Make sure you use both the leafs and the stems.

Recipe Suggestions: Moringa Super Food Smoothie

SD Members Recipe: Peanut Butter Smoothie

9. Dandelion Greens

How They Help You Lose Weight: Dandelion greens are one of the best plants to help detoxify your liver; and in order to lose weight your liver needs to be in tip top shape. It also stimulates other digestive organs and helps the gallbladder release bile.  Studies have shown that those who consume dandelion greens also notice a increase in positivity and mood boosting properties.

How to Use Them: Juice it, blend it, boil it in water for tea, add it to salads. Just remember it’s a medicinal green so a little goes a long way.

Recipe Suggestion: Epic Winter Juice (see bottom of post for recipe)

10. Kale

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Kale is on the top of the list when it comes to nutrient density; full of nutrients, low in calories. It also contains a large percentage of fiber keeping you full and keeping fat from storing in your body.

How to Use It: Juice it or blend it. Make a salad with it, using just the leaves and massage it really well to soften it up a bit.

Recipe Suggestion: Mexii Kale Salad (one of our favorites!)

SD Members Recipe: Kitchen Sink Salad

11. Leeks

How They Help You Lose Weight: Leeks are members of the Allium Family (along with garlic, onions and shallots), known for it’s anti-cancer properties. That being said, if your immune system isn’t strong it’s very hard to lose weight.  Leeks are also full or vitamins and minerals your body needs to shed pounds.

How to Use Them: Use them just like you would a green onion, just make sure you give them a good rinse as they can be pretty dirty. Use them in salads or stir fry’s.

Recipe Suggestion: Baby Leeks and Rice Pilaf

SD Members Recipe: Vegetable Pad Thai

12. Lemons

How They Help You Lose Weight: Lemons are a natural diuretic, meaning they increase urination and help flush out unwanted materials. Lemons also stimulate digestion and boost metabolism.

How to Use Them: We use lemon every day by adding 1/4- 1/2 a lemon to warm water and drinking upon rising.

Recipe Suggestion: Detox Green Juice (recipe immediately available for SD Members Here)

SD Members Recipe: Lemon Citrus Salad

13. Lettuce

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Lettuce is a great way to make sure you’re getting your daily dose of greens. It’s full of fiber and keeps things moving.  It’s loaded with nutrients your body needs to stay lean such as Vitamins A, K and B.

How to Use It: We try to fit in a, ‘entree’ salad everyday, making sure we always get enough lettuce. We suggest you do the same.

Recipe Suggestion: Tahini Salad + Dressing

SD Members Recipe: Balsamic Parsnip Salad

14. Peppers

How They Help You Lose Weight: Peppers are full of: Vitamin C, which boosts immunity; Iron, which keeps blood and oxygen flowing; and Fiber, which will keep you full and stop you from over eating.

Recipe Suggestion: Zesty Cabbage Wraps

SD Members Recipe: Smoky Potato Hash

15. Spinach

How it Helps You Lose Weight: Spinach is another nutrient dense veggie, being super low in calories. Spinach contains Vitamins D and K, important for strong bones which keep fat cells at bay. Spinach also contains a good amount of calcium making it the better choice when it come’s to animal milk, which has been shown to increase weight gain.

Recipe Suggestion: NuttZo Spinach Shake

SD Members Recipe: Spinach Penne Pasta

So there you have it!

Those are our pick’s for winter vegetables to help increase weight loss.

As you can see, most vegetables will help you lose weight, so adding any of the above to your diet would be very beneficial.

The fresher the better, so we recommend buying seasonal produce whenever you can, as you’ll be getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to nutrients.

EPIC WINTER JUICE

We hope you give this juice recipe a try!