Firstly, sorry for the silence…I don’t know why but time seems to move so fast and before I know it, it has been almost a week since I last updated this blog! Time sure do flies, it is already my birthday and I felt as if I just celebrated my last birthday.

Sigh…one year older, a tonne more wrinkles, an even more sluggish metabolic rate, more food turning into padding on my hips and waist…I will have to say, I don’t feel any wiser than last year except more tired, more fat, more sleepy, more grumpy, more work to do…still, I did have more fun with this blog and my personal blog, I did make some money through my blogging efforts, I still have very dark hair with no white ones in sight, I am still fit enough to go for a jog, to waltz around the house with Mr Picky like a three-year-old while carrying him (and let me tell you, he is close to 15kg!), I am still healthy as an ox (how fitting since it is the ox-year and all…), I am still taking most things in my stride and thankfully, I am still NOT nagging anyone despite the ‘training’ sessions by Mr Picky.

Though I am still inclined to ramble on and on…darn…heheheh…okay, okay, let’s get to the main thing of this post before I bore all of you to tears.

*Salmon and Chicken Burgers*

I bought one whole salmon again and had a lot of salmon to cook so, one of the ways I could think of cooking it is to turn it into a burger. Yep. The best part about this burger is that it is not purely a salmon burger but a mix of chicken breast meat and salmon burger with oats. So, it is pretty healthy considering it has salmon and oats, both of which are fat burning food, not to mention heart-friendly too.

So, here’s the recipe for

Healthy Salmon and Chicken Burger

Ingredients

4 tbsp instant oats

2 pcs grilled salmon fillet (about 200g), flaked

100g minced chicken breast

1 egg, whisked lightly

Seasoning:

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Season the chicken with the light soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Then, place the flaked grilled salmon, minced chicken and instant oats in a plate and mix it all together. Add the rest of the seasoning and mix well.

2. Lightly whisk the egg in a bowl.

3. Pour the egg into the salmon and chicken mixture. Then, mix well.

*Pour the egg into the salmon and chicken mixture and then stir to combine it well*

4. Heat up some cooking oil in a frying pan / wok. Then, slide a ladle-ful of the salmon and chicken mixture into the oil.

5. The patty will start to bubble and when the bottom part starts to turn brown, it is time to flip it over and fry the uncooked side.

When it turns this brown, it is time to remove and drain the oil

6. It is cooked when both sides are a nice brown colour so remove from the oil and drain. It is ready to be served!

These salmon and chicken burgers or patties can be eaten as it is, serve up as main dish, between wholemeal bread for a wholesome, filling sandwich…however you want it! The best part about it is that it does not have the fishy salmon smell at all so to those who don’t like salmon, you won’t even know it is a salmon and chicken burger. It is also slightly spicy but if you prefer it to be extra spicy, just add more chili powder.

*Salmon and Chicken Burgers*

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I have never cooked quinoa before so I searched around for ways to cook quinoa and stumbled upon this site. I got the Cranberry Almond Quinoa Recipe there and thought, I’d give it a try with slight changes. This is what I managed to cook:

Cranberry and almonds with Red Quinoa

Trust me, it is as delicious as it looks. Move over boring plain ole rice, here comes quinoa! It has a slightly crunchy texture like crunching on tiny semi-soft bubbles that pop in your mouth easily and the flavour…oh, I simply love the flavour! It has a nutty scent to it so it is like eating some exotic tiny nuts. Which I think it is in a way since it is a grain and it is from Peru. The addition of toasted almond flakes gives it even extra crunchy texture and rich almond flavours while the dried cranberries cuts the richness with its slight sourish flavour. Magnifique!


Here’s the recipe for

Cranberry Almonds Red Quinoa

Ingredients

1/2 cup red Quinoa (I reduced the amount from the original recipe because quinoa is known to double up in size after cooking)

*I used the organic red quinoa*

Half cube of chicken stock

a dash of sea salt

a dash of cinnamon powder

1/4 cup almonds, sliced into flakes and toasted

1/4 cup dried cranberries

*Toasted almond flakes and dried cranberries*

1 cup of boiling water

Instructions

1. Soak the quinoa in water for about 30 mins to 1 hour.

2. Then you rinse it out several times. This is because it has a bitter taste if it is not soaked and rinsed properly.

*Use a fine mesh sieve to drain the quinoa*

3. Heat up a non-stick pan and pour your drained quinoa in. Stir fry it till it has dried out. Then you add in the almonds and cranberries.

*Add the cranberries and almonds and continue to stir fry*

4. Then, pour in the boiling water, add the chicken stock, salt and cinnamon powder.

5. Now, cover it and let it simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Then you stir it, turn off the heat and let it stand covered for another five minutes.

6. Serve while still hot. It can be eaten as it is or you can serve it up with some nice fish curry.

*You can serve it with some curry too*

It is a great healthy replacement for rice and if you find it too complicated just cook it without the added flavours and eat it with other dishes like curry, just like how you’d eat rice. Now that I know how to cook quinoa, I will be cooking quinoa recipes even more!

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Now, on to more fat burning food:

Green Leafy Vegetables

Vegetables such as kale, spinach or any other dark green vegetables are packed full of vitamins, nutrients and best of all, fiber. We all know some of them are also great cancer-fighting foods so why not add these to your diets as much as possible? Why are they fat burning foods? Well, since it is pack full of fiber, if you start a meal by eating loads of this, you will fill up pretty easily and then you tend to eat less of other foods. Green leafy vegetables are very low in fat, so no worries of eating too much of it. It is one of the foods that you can never eat too much of!

Blueberries

I’ve mentioned these sweet berries before in my heart healthy food list and how they really pack a punch as these berries contain beta-carotene and lutein (carotenoids), anthocyanin (a flavonoid), ellagic acid (a polyphenol), vitamin C, folate, calcium, magnesium, potassium and fibre. Yes, it is the fiber (about 3.6g of fiber per cup!) that makes it a fat burning food as it fills you up and at the same time prevent fat from being absorbed into your body since fiber is known to help your body rid of fat. The best part about these berries is that you can eat it as it is without any cooking or garnishing. Just wash and pop into your mouth. Easy.

Yogurt

Now I know a lot of dieters steer clear away from dairy products but I say that yogurt should not be one of those food to be avoided simply because it is full of protein,has good bacteria to help with better digestion and it is known to keep your sugar level steady, thus keeping your hunger level at bay. Besides, it is a really great breakfast food especially when teamed with fruits like raspberries and blueberries. Of course, you will need to stick to the low-fat natural sugar-free version which is not loaded with loads of sugar for the full benefits.

Quinoa

Despite its growing popularity, quinoa (pronounced as keenwah) is still not one of those normal foods we put on our tables. Gera of Sweets Foods did an interesting post on quinoa recently and it piqued my interest. So, I did some checking of my own and found that this grain is one of the super foods you simply must have in your diet. It has protein and fibre. Best of all, it is gluten-free! It is also quite versatile and can be served as an alternative to rice, can be cooked and served with fruits for breakfast and if you can get some quinoa flakes, you can even use it for gluten-free, protein rich baked food! The great thing about this grain is that it has a rich nutty flavour to it, thus it tastes pretty amazing and also fills you up pretty easily and really cuts down your hunger pangs.

Apples

Last but not least, the saying ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ really do carry some weight. Apples also contain fibre and vitamins. If you eat an apple before a meal, you will tend to eat less as the apple will have filled you up. So, instead of chowing down and keeping fruits as the dessert, why not do it the other way around? Have fruits like apples first and then only move on to the main meal. It will definitely cut down the amount of food you will eat.

And that concludes the third part of my food that helps you lose weight series. Do keep a lookout for my recipe for quinoa which is healthy, wholesome and really good too!

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I call it Crunchy Chili Cornflakes. It is a Malaysianised cornflake snack and no, you don’t serve it with milk. It is generally eaten as a snack, you know, like eating chips. Only, this is healthier, minus the salt and sodium and oil. You can even get whole wheat corn flakes for it to be even more wholesome. I know this is not really one of the foods that help your lose weight (as in my fat burning food list) but it has chillies in it so…it is not all that bad.

So, here is the recipe for:

Crunchy Chili Cornflakes

Ingredients

2 cups cornflakes

1 cup plain roasted peanuts

1 cup plain roasted almonds (or raw if you prefer)

1 cup plain roasted sunflower seeds / kernels (or raw if you prefer)

1 cup fresh curry leaves

4 – 6 pc dried chilies

1 tbsp butter (or for a healthier version, olive oil)

Instructions

These are the curry leaves I used

The curry leaves have this rich spicy scent that I simply love.

I used only four medium size dried chilies so that it would not be too spicy. Remember to cut it into four pieces and don't remove the seeds or else it won't be as fragrant.

And, here's the regular cornflakes I used

1. Heat up the pan / wok. Spray it with cooking spray or pour in the olive oil or the butter.

2. Then, throw in the chilies. Stir fry it till it is very fragrant.

3. Add in the curry leaves and continue to stir fry over medium heat

4. Make sure the leaves and chilies are very fragrant before you add in the almonds and peanuts.

5. Add in the sunflower kernels and cornflakes and stir fry for a few more minutes to get all the flavours mixed up and nicely fragrant.

6. Remove from heat, let it cool and then store in an airtight container. Serve as snacks.

The best part about this Crunchy Chili Cornflakes snack is that you can substitute the peanuts/ almonds/ sunflower seeds with cashew nuts or any other nuts you fancy. But I love almonds and peanuts so I used those to go with the sunflower seeds.

This snack has a tinge of spiciness with a rich spicy scent from the curry leaves. The best part is that the curry leaves (and the chilies) would have been very crispy from being fried so those are edible too! If you want it to be extra spicy, then just add more dried chilies.

This snack takes about 15 minutes to prepare so it is very easy and importantly, it is also very good. So good that I ate almost half of it while waiting for it to cool. Heheh.

Crunchy Chili Cornflakes

This is a really wonderful snack for Chinese New Year (though it definitely won’t help you lose weight!). Happy Chinese New Year to all of you celebrating it and those who aren’t celebrating it, happy holidays. Or if it’s not a holiday where you stay, well, er, happy weekend.

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Chocolate

Surprised? I know, chocolate is the first thing to cut out whenever you are on a diet but I say it is a fat burning food because it helps you stave off cravings which will result in binges. Of course, you will need to stick to dark chocolate with 80% cocoa only. And yes, you will need to control your portion too. Wolfing down a large bar of dark chocolate will not do! Just stick to small 20g bars occasionally. Maybe once a week or twice. By having a bar of chocolate (a small one, mind you), it will satisfy whatever sweet-tooth cravings you have and stave off any unwanted binges on ice cream, cakes and other forms of desserts. Besides, dark chocolate is great for the heart and lowers blood pressure because of its flavonols.

Green Tea

For the longest time, green tea is a health drink that helps you stay young and prevents cancer but it is also a great fat burning drink! This is because green tea has a high amount of catechin polyphenols which gives your body a boost in burning up calories. So, have a cup of green tea today.

Water

I know this is not a food but water is probably one of the best fat burning drink ever. Why? Because it is like fuel for your muscles. Our body contains a lot of water and we need water to survive. By drinking the required amount of water, at least 8 full glasses, a day, you are providing enough ‘fuel’ for your body to cleanse itself, get rid of unwanted waste and helps your body function better, thus a more efficient metabolic rate.

Chili

Get your taste buds ready for some hot burning powers of chili. Chili is pack full of vitamins and that’s not all, it is known to boost your metabolic rate too. In addition to this, when you are eating spicy food, you tend to eat slower and this allows more time for your stomach to tell you that you are full so you tend to eat smaller portions. The best way to eat chili is the simple way, chop it into tiny pieces, place in soya sauce and then eat it as accompaniment to any food.

Salmon

Other than being a hearth healthy food, salmon helps you pack on the muscles which will help you burn off my fat. How does it do that? Well, salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and these nutrients helps insulin sensitivity. This in turn helps you retain your muscle mass and we all know having more muscles means we burn calories faster! The best thing about salmon is that you can eat it raw (sashimi) or simply grilled. Check out my grilled salmon recipe.

And that concludes part two of my fat burning food list. I will have more for part three!

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Really. No joke. And what makes me the expert? Err…ahhh….hmmmm…..well, this is The Food Site after all and I make food my business. So, I HAVE to know all about food from cooking to eating to whether it could end up as padding around my hips and waist…

Okay, okay, I’ll get to the food in a bit. Let me just add one more thing, although these are fat burning food and somewhat help you lose weight, it does not mean you can over-eat all of it and then lose loads of pounds.

It doesn’t work that way, okay? The reason these food can help you lose weight is because they mostly fill you up or provide your body with the right nutrition / fuel to increase your stamina, cut down cravings, metabolic rate, etc.

The food do not literally work like diet pills (which I DO NOT recommend since those are full of chemicals, the pills not the foods), they just help the body work better at starving off the extra pounds. In fact, eating the right kinds of food is the quickest way to lose weight.

Now that we got that outta the way, let’s get down to the first in the list of fat burning food:

1. Oats

See? There’s a reason why I simply love to add oats and oat bran to certain foods when cooking or baking. Not only are oats heart-healthy, it is also good for weight loss. The reason being that it fills you up and keeps you full longer so you will not be hungry all the time. Trust me, I know because I’ve been eating oats for breakfast for a long time now and it helps me stay full longer till 2pm. Even then, I tend to eat less for lunch because I’m not that hungry.

So, how could you enjoy your oats? Here’s a simple and filling breakfast recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup oats

1 cup skimmed/low fat milk / unsweetened soya milk

1 cup fruits (could be bananas, strawberries, blueberries, any fruit you like)

Instructions

1. Place all of it into a blender and blend. If you prefer a cold drink, add some ice to it and you’ll make your own healthy fruit smoothie!

Alternatively, you can also use oat bran / oatmeal as replacement for bread crumbs in a number of recipes like my oat bran fried chicken or my homemade herbed burger or the spicy chicken burger. The possibilities are endless. All you need to do is to substitute bread crumbs with oat bran/ oatmeal.

Next….

2. Eggs

If you think eating oats only for breakfast is kinda boring, why not have some eggs too? Yes, including the yolks too. Much has been said about the high cholesterol of egg yolks but studies have shown that eating egg yolks does not substantially increase your choleterol level.

So, if you are bored of oats, why not have some eggs on toast? Of course, the healthier options would be scrambled or poached. Why does it help with weight loss? Simple. Eggs are the most basic of proteins and proteins fill you up too so having it for breakfast will make you fuller with less calories. Have some eggs today.

Don’t know what to make? Try my tomatoes and mushroom omelette recipe, it is pack full of nutrients and as healthy as an omelette could get.

This post is really long enough so I will continue with part two of my fat burning food (or is it food that helps you lose weight?) series soon.

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