Soup Up Your Workout with Recipes to Melt Fat and Make Muscle

Winter can cause serious problems with your fitness goals, and motivation is hard to maintain when the weather outside is frightful – causing seasonal pounds to pile on faster than you ever thought possible. Before you know it, you’re rounder than your Christmas pudding, and much less delicious to look at for the most part. Fortunately, you can stop the problem before it starts this year with a little comfort food.

Soup is an incredible way to fight back against the cold winter months, and get more out of your fitness regimen. Not only is it a soothing meal to have on a particularly snowy night but it’s also a sagacious and terrific option for weight-loss, muscle-building, and calorie-burning.

What’s more, research suggests that hot liquids may be extra beneficial when it comes to curbing hunger levels, and soups that contain less than 100 calories a bowl could melt fat faster than pouring hot water on snow. Whatever your goals for winter workouts might be, take a look at the following recipes for some options that could help you meet all of your nutritional needs.

Soup Up Your Workout to Melt Fat and Make Muscle

 1. Muscle-Building, Protein-Packed Chili

This delicious mouth-watering chili recipe is packed full of complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber for an all-around amazing meal. Use it for a quick lunch option, or for a quick snack between meals if you’re looking to stay energetic during a tough workout day. To make it you’ll need:

• Chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Green bell peppers
• Red bell peppers
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Light and dark kidney beans
• Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce
• Chili powder, garlic, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and oregano for taste

Start by spraying a large pan with plenty of cooking spray, then add your minced garlic and olive oil on a medium heat. Throw in the onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and stir until they are tender, before adding your beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a few cups of water. Finally, stir in spices to your taste, and allow the mixture to simmer for around twenty-five minutes on a low heat.

2. Nutritious Vegetable Soup

If, like many people, your diet is relatively short when it comes to vegetables, then turn the tables with a fresh batch of this delicious soup. The consistency – when done right – should linger somewhere between stew and soup, with plenty of vegetables that pack in potassium. Potassium is particularly useful for normal muscle contraction, and improving communication between nerve cells. To make this delicious soup, you’ll need:

• Olive oil
• Diced carrots, onions, and celery
• Minced garlic
• Chopped eggplant and zucchini
• Vegetable broth
• Whole tomatoes
• Fresh spinach
• White kidney beans
• Seasoning to taste

In your favorite saucepan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat, and add the celery, onions, garlic, and carrots. Once the onions are translucent, add in your eggplant and zucchini, then cook for a further 5 to 7 minutes, before adding your broth. Leave to simmer for five minutes, then add the tomatoes, beans, and spinach – gradually bringing the mixture to a boil. Season as required.

3. Immunity-Boosting Salmon Chowder

In general, most adults eat somewhere in the region of three ounces of seafood each week – an amount much lower than the requested eight ounces that the USDA claims to help protect against heart disease. Chomping down on this chowder could help you to get more of those heart-healthy omega-3 fats into your diet, which should also assist in reducing inflamed joints and muscles.

What’s more, salmon is packed with vitamin D, which makes it awesome for boosting the immune system. The ingredients you’ll need include:

• Trans-fat-free margarine
• Diced celery and onion
• Minced garlic cloves
• Skin-on red potatoes
• Skinless, boneless salmon
• Reduced-fat evaporate milk
• Salt and pepper

Begin by melting your margarine in a saucepan, then sauté the onion, celery, and garlic until softened. Add the milk and potatoes, then cover the pan and simmer the mixture on a low heat – stirring every few minutes. Once the potatoes are tender, add your salmon, and season to taste.

4. Cream of Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is an amazing source of vitamin K – the substance that your body craves as a way of improving bone strength. The carotenoids found in asparagus give it its lush green color, and double as compounds that excel at reducing inflammation. Asparagus also comes packed with antioxidants that help to guard you against the cell damage that occurs every single day. To make this vegetarian soup option, you’ll need:

• A chopped onion
• 1 bunch of raw asparagus
• Olive oil
• No-salt vegetable broth

In a reasonably sized saucepan, use a medium heat to warm the oil, before adding your onion and cooking until soft. Add the asparagus and stock to your pan, then cover the mixture and cook for approximately twenty minutes, until the asparagus has become tender. Remove the soup from heat and puree the concoction until it has a creamy consistency.

Who cares if does not taste as good as pumpkin pie? Your bones and health depends on incredible vegetables such as these and with some flavoring which the recipes call for, the taste is actually certainly palatable.