5 Ways to Make Any Meal a Belly Flattener

Get slimmer quicker by adding known belly busters into your daily diet
Get slimmer quicker by adding known belly busters into your daily diet

The secret to banishing belly fat is, well, fat. But this is not your grandmother's artery-clogging saturated fat, the kind lurking in cheeseburgers, pizza, and pie. This class of healthy fat is known as monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and it is found in nuts, olives, avocados, and dark chocolate. Instead of hurting your health, MUFAs help improve circulation, strengthen your heart, and can reduce belly fat faster than if you were following a low-calorie diet that contained little to no fat, according to studies. "Monounsaturated fats help you stay satisfied and may help you eat less overall," says Tracy Gensler, MS, RD Here's how to sneak these fat burners into any meal.

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1. Add Flaxseed Oil to Smoothies
When you're whipping up your post-gym smoothie, add 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil. Not only does it add a rich nutty flavor, but it's also packed with omega-3 fatty acidsand MUFAs. Though MUFAs whittle your middle omega-3s are important for overall health-they reduce inflammation, which is a risk factor in everything from heart disease to Alzheimer's.

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2. Swap Mayo for Tapenade
Instead of spreading sat fat-filled mayonnaise on your turkey sandwich, opt for piquant olive tapenade. It will add the perfect amount of zest to your ho-hum lunch and save you 130 calories compared with regular mayo! Plus it's packed with MUFAs--the secret belly-trimming ingredient We like black olive tapenade on turkey with feta, or try green olive tapenade with chickpeas and Mediterranean veggies

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3. Choose Snack Bars with Peanuts

Swap sugar-packed energy bars for cereal bars filled with dry-roasted peanuts, peanut butter, and whole grain cereal. Peanuts are a rich source of MUFAs, plus they may also have special calorie-torching properties. "Nuts may elevate resting energy expenditure [how many calories you burn when you're sitting still, which means that you burn a few more calories at rest," says Gensler. In fact, a 2002 study found that regularly eating peanuts increased resting energy expenditure by 11%. With a decadent touch of semisweet chocolate chips, this will fill you up while easing a chocolate craving.

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4.Sub Bread Crumbs for Sesame Seeds
Shake up dinner by coating heart-healthy salmon (or chicken) with sesame oil or sesame seeds. These seeds--and their oils--keep your meat tender by locking in moisture and are also a low-cal source of MUFAs. Try in stir-fries or salads for an added crunch.

5. Bake with MUFA-Rich Safflower Oil
You don't have to order a double-chocolate brownie to soothe your sweet tooth. Though no dessert will trump a salad in the nutrition department, certain baking ingredients can help dieters. Safflower oil, which is made from the seeds of the safflower plant, is low in saturated fat and can be substituted in muffin, brownie, and cupcake recipes. It's also a natural belly flattener--a recent study found that women who ate safflower oil each day lost an average of 6.3% of fat from their belly area.

More: Sip Your Way to a Flat Belly

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--By Mara Betsch, Prevention

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Lose pounds and inches and watch your Belly Flatten!