Easy Healthy Food Swaps
In today’s word of fad diets, misleading “health” food advertising and the internet breeding a ridiculous amount of false information, it’s easy to fall into a trap, thinking you’re doing your body good, when really you’re simply doing it more harm. Knowing how to get started with healthy eating is often the hardest part, but there’s no need to overcomplicate it. With these five easy healthy food swaps, you’ll be on your way to a healthier diet, and a stronger, more energetic & happier you.
1. Swap Butter & Jam for Nut Butter & Fruit
The focus food groups for breakfast should be protein and fat. This will help balance your blood sugar, keep you full until lunch and avoid sugar cravings. Ditch the added sugar from jam and focus on whole fruit combined with fats from the nut butter in order to slow the absorption of glucose (sugar from fruit).
2. Swap Ice cream for Frozen Fruit
With 1 cup of Ben & Jerry’s you’ve packed in 70% of your daily allowance of saturated fat without hardly any fibre, vitamines or nutrients. This is what we call empty calories; high calorie foods which bring your body nothing. If you know you like a frozen sweet treat for Friday movie nights, keep frozen bananas in the freezer ready to wiz up in the blender. Add an extra tbsp of raw cacao or coconut shavings to spice it up.
3. Swap Store-bought Salad Dressing for Homemade Vinaigrette
The saddest thing is seeing a perfectly healthy salad ruined by processed store-bought dressing full of preservatives and added sugar. Instead keep a jar of homemade vinaigrette ready to top on any salad: 1 part mustard, 2 parts vinegar and 3 parts olive oil. Easy peasy!
4. Swap Afternoon Chocolate Bar for Dark Chocolate & Almonds
That mid-afternoon slump can require a little pick-me-up. During these times we often reach for a sugary snack without realising that although this can give a boost of energy, it is often followed by an energy dip right after. Skip the processed chocolate snack and focus on healthy fats with a few squares of high-quality dark chocolate and raw almonds. The good fats literally cut cravings yet satisfy that need for chocolate.
5. Swap Mayo for Avocado
Conventional mayonnaise is 80% processed vegetable oil. It is thickened with egg, making it essentially solid vegetable oil. Trade in 2 tbsp of Thomy Mayonnaise for half an avocado, and you’ll be saving on the calories while ingesting more dietary fibre (which helps you feel full) as well as getting more vitamines and minerals.