A new way of eating can be a challenge, but one thing to always keep in mind is that small changes = big results. A few simple nutrition swaps will give your body that well needed makeover in no time!
The thing is, we all know what not to eat, and it’s not something I focus on too much for the simple fact that, let’s be real…no one needs another person in the world of being healthy bringing fire and brimstone on us for what we eat. Nine times out of ten when someone says “You shouldn’t eat that” what are you going to do? Yup, probably eat that.
Give Attention to What You Want More of
So how about we focus on all the awesome real food there is to eat instead! How about I take some of the most common foods many of us have become accustomed to loving in our not-so-wonderful SAD (standard American Diet) and offer something equally satisfying to swap it out with? Well okay, depending on the person, it might not seem that way right at first, but once we put away the stubborn and accept the change, we get used to new foods rather easily.
Even better, when you introduce nutrients into your body that make you feel really darn good and healthy guess what happens? Yup! You crave more of it, and even start to prefer it over the things you originally swapped it out for. It’s really not all that complicated if we make an effort not to complicate it.
Sound good? Great! Let’s get to it. I’m not going to get into the comparison of calories either, especially since calories aren’t all created equal, let’s just focus on getting some real nutrient dense food into you. Besides, you’re smart enough to see what the healthier option is!
29 Simple Nutrition Swaps
1. Box Cereal. Swap with a bowl of oatmeal (I prefer gluten free oats) or brown rice porridge. Not in the mood for hot oatmeal? Try my overnight oats recipe or overnight buckwheat groats recipe instead.
2. Fruit juice. Swap with fresh juice made in a juicer, preferably green, or fresh blended smoothies (recipes here).
3. White Bread. Swap with sprouted whole grain or real fermented sourdough.
4. Jelly and peanut butter. Spread almond butter (recipe here), sunflower butter, raw unprocessed honey, mashed avocado, or coconut oil on your toast instead.
5. Creamy salad dressing. Swap with vinaigrette, pureed avocado, or olive oil and lemon/apple cider vinegar.
6. Pasta. Swap with zucchini or spaghetti squash “noodles”.
7. Margarine or “butter spreads”. Swap with grass-fed butter or ghee.
8. Iodized table salt. Swap with pink himalayan salt or sea salt.
9. White rice. Swap with brown rice, quinoa, or “cauliflower rice.”
10. Processed desserts. Swap with dark chocolate, and desserts like chia pudding, raw energy balls and truffles, decadent smoothies, and my healthy dark chocolate pudding recipe, it’s delish!
11. Chips and salty snacks. Swap for kale chips (recipe here), veggie chips, popcorn with nutritional yeast, a handful of nuts, or even kettle chips.
12. Mashed potatoes. Swap for cauliflower mash.
13. Pizza. Swap for cauliflower crust pizza (recipe here).
14. French fries. Swap for baked sweet potato fries or Alexia brand fries.
15. Mayo. Swap for mashed avocado, hummus, or mustard.
16. Vegetable/canola oil. Swap for olive, coconut, or avocado oil.
17. White sugar. Swap for coconut sugar, raw turbinado, raw unprocessed honey, or pure maple syrup.
18. Sour cream. Swap for plain greek yogurt.
19. Commercial milk. Swap for raw milk, almond, coconut, hemp, cashew, macadamia, or oat “milk”.
20. Commercial cheese. Swap for raw cheese, goat cheese, almond or cashew cheese.
21. Tortillas. Swap for butter, bibb, or romaine lettuce as a wrap.
22. Coffee. Swap for Dandy Blend, Teecino, matcha, yerba mate, green tea/herbal tea.
23. Coffee creamer. Swap for almond/coconut milk creamer.
24. Creamy/cheesy dips. Swap for hummus, greek yogurt dips, guacamole, or salsa.
25. All-purpose flour. Swap for coconut, almond, buckwheat, or oat flour.
26. Soda, fizzy drinks, and energy drinks. Swap for coconut water, fruit infused still/carbonated water or with flavored stevia, kombucha, iced green/herbal teas and yerba mate, or water kefir.
27. Meat. Swap for tempeh, sprouted tofu, or portabello mushroom. It’s a good idea to only consume tempeh and tofu in small amounts since it does contain natural estrogen.
28. Ground beef. Swap for grass-fed bison or ground turkey.
29. Iceberg lettuce. Swap for dark leafy greens like kale, chard, spinach, and others listed here.
These are a few food swaps that will serve you really well. Most of us lose motivation when we try to make too many changes all at once, so if you start with 1-3 food swaps at a time and gradually work your way up from there, you’re more likely to make lasting and sustainable lifestyle changes that stick.
Find out what works with your individual body and make changes accordingly.
Don’t forget to reward yourself for each small change that you make and keep challenging yourself for more big results! I believe in you =)
Have you reaped the benefits of healthy food swaps? What are some of your favorite food swaps? Leave a comment in the section below!