Sticking to a healthy diet can seem overwhelming. You might crave a certain food or need to change a pattern in your diet that leads to unhealthy behavior. Luckily, there are some easy, satisfying swaps that make any diet not just healthy but delicious, too.
Here are a few of our favorite food swaps.
Yogurt
Plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Use yogurt instead of anywhere you’d use sour cream for an extra dose of protein. Protein keeps you feeling full and helps build and repair muscle. Think tacos, chili, dips and more. The possibilities are endless.
Use plain Greek yogurt and sweeten it with fruit. Full of probiotics, yogurt is a great breakfast or snack. But some flavored yogurt is full of added sugar. Try adding fruit to plain Greek yogurt for extra protein as well as nutrients and fiber from the fruit. Think blueberries, shredded apples, chopped mangoes, strawberries and more.
Snacks
Try popcorn or nuts instead of potato chips. Popcorn is high in fiber and lower in fat and calories than potato chips and other salty snacks. Nuts are nutrient dense, providing heart-healthy unsaturated fats and other vitamins and minerals.
Drinks
Try sparkling water instead of sugary sodas. Sparkling water comes in a variety of flavors and usually contains no calories or sugar.
Add flavor to water to make water taste – and look – more interesting. Check out our flavored water video series for some fun ideas.
Love fruit juice? Try eating whole fruits instead of just fruit juice. Whole fruits have more nutrients than juice – like fiber – to make you feel full.
Pasta
Try zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash! Zucchini noodles, or zoodles, can work as a substitute in a variety of pasta dishes, and so can spaghetti squash. Check out this zucchini noodle recipe!
Rice
Cauliflower rice has substantially fewer calories than rice. Try cauliflower rice instead of rice. Or try a mix of half cauliflower rice and half brown rice.
Beef
Lower your saturated fat intake by swapping a mixture of lentils and mushrooms for ground beef. Lentils contain high amounts of protein and fiber, and mushrooms have a meaty flavor and texture.
Cereal
A bowl of cereal is a staple breakfast for many people, but most cereals are high in sugar and lack nutrients like protein and fiber. Try oatmeal for a healthier alternative that you can sweeten with fruit.
Bread
White bread offers little nutritional value. Swap it for whole grain bread that can offer you fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Dessert
Love chocolate? Try eating dark chocolate, which is full of disease-fighting antioxidants. And the darker the better. You can tell how dark your chocolate is by the percentage of cacao listed on the wrapper. Health experts recommend eating a moderate amount of dark chocolate with 72% cacao or higher.
