Today is February 2nd, and that means “groundhog” day.
And if you’re wondering if the groundhog- Punxsutawney Phil
saw his shadow, he did and if you’re also wondering how
a groundhog can help you get slimmer and trimmer, continue
reading.

The groundhog Phil says that there’ll be six more weeks of cold
weather and less sunlight and after that, we’ll be heading into Spring.

Ah Spring, a time of more daylight, brighter sunshine, green grass and leaves
and smaller waistlines.
Smaller waistlines?
Yes, but these smaller waistlines won’t just appear out of nowhere, you
have to do some work and that work includes getting more vitamin D.

Thanks to recent research, Italian scientists have discovered that getting
enough vitamin D- (the sunshine vitamin) literally quadruples the speed at
which a clean and healthy diet helps slim you down and specifically targets
fat around your midsection.

More great news:
Lower D levels are linked to an excess of insulin, the hormone that stores
sugar as tummy fat. But get your D levels up and your stomach will flatten
and lower diabetes risk by 200%.
Plus, more vitamin D, helps lower stress hormones, which reduces ab fat storage
and comfort food cravings, triggers more waistline friendly levels of
estrogen, thyroid hormones and hunger hormones and lastly, more vitamin D
from the sun or food also slashes appetite by 300 calories.

So, if this is exciting to you and you don’t want to wait around for Spring,
you can get more vitamin D by taking a supplement or eating vitamin D-rich
foods.
The foods:
Fortified milk and cheese, fish (tuna, sardines and salmon), fresh mushrooms,
and free-range eggs and to help you get started on that road to a flatter stomach,
here are 2 vitamin D-rich recipes using some of the above-mentioned foods.

First up, a Smoothie.
Winter is a time for smoothies and if your go-to smoothie is
blueberries, kale, a stalk of celery, plain yogurt and almond milk,
have this smoothie as a replacement or nighttime dessert.

The recipe:
Vitamin D-Sicle Smoothie.
To make:
Pour 1 cup of fortified milk into a blender (or juicer) along with
1/2 cup of fortified orange juice, 1/2 frozen banana, 1 orange (peeled)
1/2 tsp. of orange zest and a dash of vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.
And if you enjoy it really cold, add 2 to 3 ice cubes.

Second Recipe:
This recipe is trending on Tik-Tok and it’s called the “Vitamin-D Salmon Bomb!”
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 Tbs. of top quality honey
1 Tbs. of chili flakes
1 Tbs. of rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs. of sesame oil
8 oz. of wild-caught salmon (fresh or frozen)
2 cups of brown rice, or quinoa or cauliflower rice.
Cook your starch before making the fish.
To make:
Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl and then pour into
thick plastic bag. Add the salmon and shake to coat.
Leave it in the bag for 20 to 30 minutes to really let it
in marinate in the sauce and place the bag in the refrigerator.
Get out the air-fryer, turn it on to 400*F and line it parchment paper.
Remove the fish from the fridge and cook it in the air-fryer for
7 to 9 minutes until opaque.
Heat up your starch, or stir fry it in a skillet with a little oil
and place the marinated fish over the rice or quinoa.
Enough for 2 servings.

Sources:
* Fred Pescatore, M.D.
* Italian Scientists, Research Team
* Ken Berry, M.D.
* UC-San Diego Scientists

Please pass this article and the recipes on to any family member
or friend who wants to lose some abdominal fat before the upcoming
beach (Swim) season. Share it over at Facebook, Tik-Tok, Pinterest,
Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram (stories), LinkedIn and Twitter.

Thank-You!