Healthier Swaps

Want to make some small changes that could make a big difference?

Here are some “healthier swaps” you might want to try:

candy—-> dried fruit (no sugar added) is MUCH better than candy but be careful as you can eat a LOT of natural sugar in one setting since it’s much easier to eat a ton of dried apple (for example) and not fill up as quickly as if you just ate one whole apple. Frozen fruit is another great choice. I like to eat frozen strawberries or frozen blueberries. I hear frozen grapes are amazng but I have yet to try them. Of course fresh fruit is great too! 😉 If you are into making stuff from scratch check out my sweets recipe page here.

milk chocolate —-> dark chocolate

conventional sour cream —–> organic grassfed sour cream or organic grassfed plain greek yogurt

store bought peanut butter with processed oils and sugar —–> organic peanutbutter with JUST peanuts and sea salt OR even better homemade almond butter

sugar ——> dates, raw honey, organic grade A maple syrup, (note these are higher glycemic but are either less processed or have benefits that white sugar can’t give you and dates have fiber to help lower the insulin spike), liquid stevia (NOT Truvia which is not the same as Stevia. Food Renegade explains this better than I could in this post. It also contains Erythritol which my stomach can’t handle, and “natural” flavors.), or my new favorite pure monk fruit powder.

croutons—-> walnuts, pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds (just make sure they don’t have added processed oils or other unwanted ingredients)

burger bun —–> lettuce wrap or homemade tortillas, siete grain free tortillas I hear roasted portabella mushrooms are a good swap too but I have never tried it

white Rice  ——>  organic quinoa, organic brown rice, riced cauliflower is a great low carb option, organic white rice can be good though as it’s easier to digest as long as you are eating it with a protein to slow the insulin spike.

cereal OR instant oatmeal with added sugar —–>  organic rolled oats (it’s super important to buy organic so that they aren’t sprayed with glyphosate) or groats and sweeten them up by adding berries. We buy our organic oats cheapest at Thrive Market.

mashed potatoes—> mashed cauliflower (or do half and half cauliflower/potatoes)

sports drinks —-> coconut water

processed oils (like canola, soybean, sunflower etc.) —–> coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, ghee,  or grass fed butter

white flour —–> organic whole wheat flour (preferably Einkorn Flour since it’s an heirlom wheat. Some people who can’t digest wheat very well can handle Einkorn. We buy ours at Thrive Market.), organic oat flour, almond flour, coconut flour

fruit juice ——> fruit or cucumber infused filtered water, tea, or kombucha (be careful to get a low in natural sugar brand… I like this one)

french fries —-> sweet potato fries

potato chips with processed oils —-> potato chips made with avocado oil, or homemade sweet potato chips, or siete grain free chips.

microwave popcorn or conventional bagged popcorn—-> stove top popcorn with organic popping corn, or Lesser Evil Popcorn (which useses organic corn and coconut oil or ghee. We buy it cheapest at Thrive Market.)

noodles/pasta ——> zucchini (thinly slices or spiralized)

store bough pudding —-> homemade pudding

apple pie—-> my no sugar added open face apple pie

bread crumbs—-> almond flour, flax seed meal, coconut flour, oat flour or mixture of any of these

conventional beef jerky/sticks —-> Nick’s Sticks (made without added sugar, MSG, nitrates or other junk)

Also, try and eat a little protein with every meal/snack. Even if you aren’t a meat eater, there are wonderful meat free sources of protein like cheese, nuts, and legumes. You can even get some protein from broccoli if you eat enough. 😉

What are your favorite healthy swaps? Feel free to comment in the section below.

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