When you start your road to getting healthier, there is one area where you maybe haven’t even thought about that can help you tremendously. Healthy recipes can help you cut unnecessary calories while still enjoying your favorites. Every favorite you enjoy has healthy alternative substitutes that can reduce the amount of fat, unhealthy carbohydrates and calories that you consume without changing the flavor. Healthy recipes allow you to enjoy a family recipe without all the fat and calories.
Next time you pull out one of your much loved recipes, consider trying some of the following healthy ingredient substitutes:
Unsweetened applesauce for oil or butter and I also substitute it for sour cream. The great thing about substituting applesauce is it has great texture plus makes your cake, muffin, and bread very moist. You can also use this substitution on boxed mixes.
Natural peanut butter for reduced fat peanut butter. Don’t be fooled by the word “reduced fat”. Many reduced fat products actually have more sugar plus many artificial ingredients. Natural peanut butter has great flavor without all the additives.
Black beans for flour. Anyone with food allergies will love this one. Take a can of black beans or better yet…cook up the dried black beans yourself. Drain, rinse and puree. These especially work well with brownies and take the gluten entirely out plus the taste is delicious.
Brown rice for white rice. Anytime you have anything “white”, it has been overly processed and most of the nutrients that were once there have been removed. Plus you add fiber by using brown rice which is definitely healthier for you.
Mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes. The cauliflower has only a fraction of the calories of the potato. I also like to roast or sauté cauliflower with a little garlic for a tasty treat.
Corn tortilla for flour tortilla. Corn tortillas have half the calories of the flour tortilla. Another example of the “white” overly processed vs. a natural ingredient.
Make your own trail mix rather than purchasing trail mix. The problem with trail mix that you purchase is it contains way too much sugar and salt. By making your own with unsalted nuts, dark chocolate plus your favorite dried fruits, you will reduce the sodium nearly 100% plus cut the calories from the sugar coated ingredients.
Sweet potato fries for French fries. The sweet potato is not just for Thanksgiving anymore. Besides having wonderful nutrition, the sweet potatoes are relatively low in calories and have no fat. They are rich in beta-carotene having five times the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A in one sweet potato as well as potassium.
Cinnamon for cream and sugar (coffee). By cutting the cream and sugar in your morning coffee and instead use a sprinkle of cinnamon will cut up to 70 calories per cup. Plus, cinnamon helps aid in digestion plus boosts your metabolism.
Steam instead of boil. Steaming is a healthier choice when it comes to cooking your vegetables and meats as it removes fewer nutrients. Boiling often times drains the color which is where the nutrients are located.
There are many healthier ingredient substitutes that you can try that will make your normal recipes into healthy recipes. More info here What to Eat to Gain Muscle Try a few of these and then add some of your own and you will soon see the benefits from eating healthier.