7 Russian foods to help you lose weight

1. Kefir and cottage cheese

Legion Media

All dairy products, especially kefir, sour milk, and cottage cheese, help to burn fat by boosting certain hormones in the body. There is substantially less glucose in these products than ordinary milk. Moreover, they contain high-quality proteins that accelerate metabolism. Russian ladies also fast on certain days and drink nothing but kefir (up to 1.5 liters) in a bid to lose a couple of kg. Fresh vegetables and cucumbers can be added to kefir.

2. Buckwheat porridge (grechka)

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Grechka is a rich source of fiber and slow burning carbohydrate. It’s digested slowly, so releases energy over the course of a few hours to keep you going longer. It’s better to eat grechka without salt or sugar - you can also add fresh vegetables and greens.

Grechka can be boiled in water, but in Russia it’s usually steamed to preserve its nutrients. Mix one cup of dry grechka with two cups of boiling water and leave overnight in a covered pot - which can be wrapped in a dishcloth to keep the heat inside.

Fasting on 250 grams of grechka (dry cereal) for a day can help you lose one kg.

3. Cucumbers

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Drinking lots of water is good for the skin and fills up your stomach, so you don’t feel so hungry. Almost 95 percent of a cucumber is water and the vegetable hardly has any calories - perfect for losing weight.

Replace heavy salads (mayonnaise, dressing, meat, etc) with cucumbers and you’ll see results in just a week. You can also fast on cucumbers: Eating 1.5 kg of the green-skinned fruit (a light cucumber salad, for example) can help you lose one kg a day!

4. Cabbage

Andrey Turusov/Global Look Press

An age-old Russian food, sauerkraut, is one of the most low-calorie dishes in Slavic cuisine, containing only 10 calories per 100 grams. Moreover, fresh white cabbage is rich in acids that prevent carbohydrates from turning into fat. Therefore, if you’ve eaten too many sweets, eat a cabbage leaf, as was customary in the low-calorie ancient Russian diet.

The cabbage diet can deliver a five-kg weight loss in just one week. You can eat cabbage leaves anytime you are hungry. Also, it’s recommended eating a salad with cabbage, carrots, and apples for breakfast and lunch and drinking a glass of non-fat kefir before going to bed.

5. Raspberries

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If you eat a small bowl of raspberries everyday before breakfast, it will help you to stay slim (raspberry jam doesn’t count!). The fruit aids the digestion of “fast” carbohydrates - they are also delicious.

6. Horseradish

Legion Media

In Russia, it’s important not to get sick during the winter. Ever since the 16th century Russians have been eating grated horseradish. The root goes very well with fish - Russia’s national food. It also helps to burn fat: It’s ideal as a seasoning but be careful, it’s strong and can sting the nostrils.  

7. Apples

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Can you imagine Russian cuisine without apples? Everyone loves apples and they help us to lose weight. They can also very easily replace sweets. Fasting on 1.5 kg of apples per day can help you lose one kg.

It's not recommended to fast for more than one day a week.

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