Losing weight, eating healthy and enjoying food doesn’t have to be restrictive or difficult! Here are 8 easy food swaps you can make to improve your diet! Do it today!
1. Skim milk instead of full cream or lite. I know what you’re thinking, skim milk… gross. Trust me, give yourself 2 weeks and you wont even notice the difference. If you drink a flat white, have a bowl of cereal and 1 glass of milk everyday by swapping from lite milk to skim you’ll decrease your fat intake by 8g per day and reduce your energy intake by 350kj! Even more if you’re switching from full cream!
2. Baby spinach and rocket instead of iceberg lettuce. Baby spinach and rocket is more nutrient dense, meaning you get more nutrition for the same serving size. In fact the darker the lettuce, the more nutrients its likely to contain.
3. Water instead of soft drink. I don’t know about you but I get in a bad habit of ‘needing’ something sweet to drink at a meal, especially after a very social weekend when soft drink starts coming out my ears… Water is so much better for you. It will quench your thirst better and once you break the soft drink habit (about 2 weeks) you wont even crave it anymore. Make a decision to always drink water and if you like it fizzy, drink mineral water instead.
4. Chicken breast instead of sausages. BBQ season is fast approaching and this year why not make it your personal quest to limit the amount of sausages you consume. Every now and then is OK, but 1 sausage contains about 420mg of sodium and 8g of fat and we generally eat more at least 2. Buy some fresh chicken breast, and cook that on the BBQ instead, tastes much better with less salt and fat!
5. Mini ice-cream snacks instead of an ice-cream tub. Look out, the nutritionist is telling you to eat ice-cream… No I’m not. If you enjoy ice-cream, its OK to eat it every now and then, however, if you serve yourself from a tub of ice-cream you’re more likely to eat more than if you bought a box of those mini ice-cream snacks that are prepackaged. Look for ones that are less than 400kJ per serve and you have a yummy little treat, with not too much energy.
6. Wholemeal pasta instead of white pasta. This is such a good swap. Wholemeal pasta will give you twice as much fibre and will fill you up quicker. This means that you’ll feel fuller on a smaller serving size! Always a good thing.
7. Chopped raw vegetables instead of crackers. Sounds like a weird swap, but hear me out. Spring and summer are the outdoor entertaining seasons when we pull out the crackers and dip! Chop up some raw carrot, celery, capsicum, zucchini and broccoli and dip that instead. Your platter will look sensationally colourful and your guests will enjoy snacking on healthy food. They will thank you for looking out for their waste lines! What a good friend you’ll be.
8. Avocado instead of butter or margarine. Have you ever wondered why do we need to have butter or margarine on bread or toast? It’s because we love the “mouth feel” of fat on our tongue! Avocado will give you the same mouth feel but it contains lots of good fats and is also a good source of folate, potassium and vitamin A.
Give these swaps a try and see how easy it is to eat well and still enjoy life!
About Kate Freeman
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