Winter's hearty foods and frosty weather have left many of us with an extra layer of padding that it's time to shed. The good news is that a lot of the spring foods can help you lose weight. Here’s a look at some of my favorite slimming spring foods:

Strawberries: Who knew “diet” foods could taste this delicious? But strawberries really are a superfood for weight loss. All those seeds studding the strawberry’s surface are packed with fiber — one of the most important factors for weight loss. Fiber helps to add bulk to food, filling you up without adding extra calories, and one cup of strawberries gives you three grams of fiber. If you're wondering just how many pints to devour, women need 25 grams a day, and men need 38.

Lettuce: Salad is the quintessential diet food, and with good reason. It’s super light and low in calories, as long as you don’t douse it in a calorie-laden dressing. Eating a salad before your main course can help you eat less overall, according to research. That’s probably because it has water and fiber — two things that help you feel full.

Mushrooms: Mushrooms lend dishes lots of umami — the taste that gives meat its satisfying flavor. In fact, either subbing mushrooms for beef — portobello burger, anyone? — or mixing the two, in a dish like tacos or sloppy joes, can help you slash calories from a meal.

Snap peas: Move over, baby carrots: crunchy sugar snap peas are an excellent snack food. They’re wonderfully tasty and satisfying on their own, but you could also make a tzatziki with nonfat plain Greek yogurt, cucumber and garlic to jazz it up and add protein to your snack.

Asparagus: These green spears are a source of inulin — a type of non-digestible, fermentable carbohydrate that’s been linked to weight loss in some studies. It’s also really low in calories (four spears have just 10 calories), making it a smart side dish.