One of the easiest ways to make every day a little bit healthier is with simple ingredient swaps that don’t sacrifice taste or joy! Below I’ve listed some of my favorite swaps, with a brief description of why.
If you don’t care about the why, just the what, skip to the bottom of this post! I created a PDF list which you can download or print for your reference. Post it in your pantry as a reminder!
Consider replacing some or all of the following foods and step up your clean eating habits!
Artificial Sweeteners: Artificial sweeteners are hugely problematic for many reasons. They are harmful chemicals and are linked not only to weight gain and hormone imbalances but also cancer and other diseases. Please switch to a natural alternative such as stevia. Or ditch the packets altogether and just use a little honey!
Butter/Oil/Fats: While I don’t believe butter is unhealthy in moderation, most baking recipes don’t call for “moderate” amounts of butter, so you might want to consider trying a swap. Great options for swaps are coconut oil, applesauce, mashed banana or even avocado puree! Start by swapping just ½ and work your way up!
Bread Crumbs: Process whole oats in a high speed blender to make a great substitute for bread crumbs in any recipe. Gluten free!
Bread: White bread and most store bought whole wheat breads are highly processed and are high glycemic (which means it raises your blood sugar). Sprouted grain breads such as Ezekiel bread are a better option, full of protein, fiber, plenty of nutrition and no added sugars. Note: Ezekiel bread is not gluten free, as it contains wheat.
Chocolate: Chocolate is one of the healthiest foods on earth if you consume the right kind! Raw cacao is the best, so try replacing chocolate chips with raw cacao nibs. Replace processed chocolate bars and milk chocolate bars with a high quality dark chocolate of 70% cacao or higher.
Couscous: Swap quinoa for couscous if you are striving to avoid gluten and for a more nutritious grain option. They have almost the same texture, but quinoa is a whole grain superfood packed with both protein and nutrition.
Cow’s Milk: While I won’t label dairy as good or bad, many people don’t digest it well, and it’s a highly inflammatory food. Instead of dairy, try any number of non-dairy milks, including almond, cashew, coconut, or seed milks. (With all of the other options available I recommend avoiding soy milk to keep your soy consumption to a minimum.)
Cheese/Parmesan Cheese: You can add nutritional yeast to a variety of foods and recipes, such as soups, steamed veggies, dips, and spreads for a “cheese-like” flavor with a big nutrition boost. It’s especially great for vegetarians or vegans as an amazing source of B vitamins. Try sprinkling it on popcorn!
Cocoa Powder (Processed): As I mentioned before, raw cacao is one of the most nutrient dense superfoods on the planet. Sub raw cacao powder in place of processed cocoa powder for a big nutrient boost in your baking or smoothies.
Ice Cream: Freeze bananas and puree for a healthy, delicious and dairy free alternative to ice cream.
Instant Oatmeal: Instant oatmeal may be highly convenient, but quick-cooking oats of any kind are stripped of the good nutrition and fiber that your body needs, not to mention those little packets are full of sugar. Go for good old fashioned oats on the stove (it still only takes a few minutes!) or try quinoa in place of oats for a high protein breakfast.
Mayonnaise: Mashed avocado is just good for so many things. Try mashed avocado to replace the mayo on your next sandwich or even mixed in with chicken salad. You can also replace mayo in recipes with plain greek yogurt.
Mashed Potatoes: White potatoes are very high glycemic, leading to a blood sugar spike. Mashed cauliflower is a delicious and healthy substitute, providing nutrients and fiber.
Pasta: Use whole wheat pasta in place of white pasta, or try subbing veggie noodles instead. This is a great way to get more servings of veggies in. Zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash noodles are my favorite veggie swaps for pasta noodles. Quinoa can also sub in for pasta in many recipes as a healthier alternative.
Peanuts/peanut butter: Peanut butter is a great source of protein, but peanuts are not always considered “healthy” because they often contain toxins from mold. Switch it up and try almond, cashew or sunflower seed butter!
Potato Chips: When you’re craving something crunchy salty, try kale chips, sweet potato chips or roasted chickpeas over junk food.
Soda/Sugary drinks: There are heaps of sugar in soda, sports drinks and juices. Stick with filtered water whenever possible. You can infuse your water with fruit or add a drop of essential oil to flavor it. Club soda with lime is a great alternative to soda, as is kombucha or coconut water.
Sour Cream: Swap plain greek yogurt as a healthier alternative to sour cream in almost any recipe.
Soy sauce: If you are avoiding gluten, try tamari or Braggs Liquid Aminos. Braggs is a good source of amino acids with no preservatives.
Store Bought Salad Dressing: Just flip your salad dressing bottle over and look at the list of ingredients. Yuck! Salad dressing is one of the easiest things you can make at home, and it can be done in under a minute. Add some olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper to a jar and shake! Simple, healthy vinaigrette or citrus dressing with 5 ingredients. Done.
Table Salt: Try Himalayan pink salt for good nutrients and minerals over processed table salt.
Tortillas: Choose whole wheat or sprouted grain tortillas over white flour tortillas, or use greens, such as romaine leaves or collard greens as wraps.
Vegetable and Canola oils: Coconut oil is a great swap for baking as it has a bit of a sweet flavor (as opposed to olive oil). For stove top, I like to use either coconut oil or olive oil, depending on the flavor I’m going for.
Vinegar: Use raw apple cider vinegar in place of wine vinegars in salad dressings and recipes to reap the benefits of this “superfood” which is great for digestion, immunity, detox and more.
White flour: White flour has been stripped of both fiber and nutrition. Choose whole wheat flour over white, or use almond meal if you’re avoiding gluten.
Whipped Cream: Whipped coconut cream is made by refrigerating a can of full fat coconut milk for a couple hours to overnight, then separating the coconut “cream” after it has separated and whipping it up just like whipped cream. Delicious and dairy-free!
White Potato Fries: Sweet potato fries or chips are a tastier, more nutrient dense, healthier option!
White Rice: Like most “white” products, rice has also been stripped of the fiber and nutrients. Opt for brown rice, or substitute cauliflower “rice”. When cauliflower meets a food processor, it becomes very close to the texture of rice and is a great, healthy stand-in.
White Sugar: Refined sugar is highly toxic, addictive and lacks any kind of nutrition. Opt for natural sweeteners like raw honey, maple syrup or pitted dates when possible.
Yogurt (Sweetened, flavored): If you read your labels (which I hope you do!) you know how much sugar is in one tiny little yogurt. Flavor plain, greek yogurt with fresh fruit and a little natural sweetener instead. Non-dairy options include coconut yogurt or almond milk yogurt.
I hope this helps as you go forth and make healthier choices! Every little bit counts! Download a printable of this list for easy reference.
DOWNLOAD PDF
Live nourished,
Heather
