Resistant Starches are powerful fat burners. Researchers at the University of Colorado found that if you eat foods rich in resistant starch at just one meal per day, you will burn 25% more fat than you would otherwise. Moreover, resistant starch escapes digestion in the small intestine and acts like fiber by passing through the colon undigested where it is used as fuel for healthy bacteria. Examples of resistance starch are beans, oats, brown rice, corn, whole grains, barley, green bananas, cold potatoes and yams.

Here are some easy ways to incorporate these resistant starch-filled foods into your daily diet.

Ideas for incorporating resistant starches into your lifestyle

• Add black beans to salads and side dishes.
• Incorporate hummus instead of mayo on sandwiches.
• Snack on chilled lentils mixed with plain Greek yogurt.
• Slice a banana and mix with your morning granola, cereal, and oatmeal.
• Dip a banana into Greek yogurt, roll in chopped nuts, and freeze as an ice-cream alternative.
• Make a home-made chutney by chopping bananas and mixed with lemon/lime juice, honey, Nu-Salt, and onion.
• Serve cold potato salad as a side dish.
• Add cooled, chunks of red potatoes to a salad.
• Puree cooked white potatoes and yams to make a chilled potato soup.
• Add lentils into tuna, salmon, chicken, or tofu salads.
• Toss lentils into your pasta sauce.
• Use cold brown rice in place of your cold cereal/oatmeal for breakfast. Simply add soy milk to the cold rice and add cinnamon and honey.
• Add chopped corn into salsas and chutneys.
• Mix corn into your salads.

What are your thoughts on Resistant Starches? Try some of the above ideas and incorporate these great foods into your day.