7 Healthy Food Swaps You Can Make Today

Are you looking to eat healthier?

Whether it's to lead a healthier lifestyle or lose weight, it's important to eat the right foods. Exercise alone won't give your body the nutrition it needs or shed those stubborn pounds. But, if you're not a nutritionist, it can be difficult to know what to eat and where to start.

Don't worry, we're here to help! Read on for these 7 easy healthy food swaps you can start making today.

1. Change White Rice to Farro

When it comes to nutrition tips, white rice isn't one of the healthiest grains. In fact, it has almost zero nutritional value. A quarter-cup of farro has 7g of fiber that's heart-healthy and 7g of protein.

Farro has a delicious, toasty, nutty taste as well. You can use it to replace white rice in pretty much any dish. Why not try a farro-based grain bowl to start. Add farro, feta cheese, fennel, and sweet potatoes. Finish it off with a drizzle of delicious pomegranate vinaigrette.

2. Change Ground Beef for Ground Bison

With healthy eating, it's not only about adding more fruit and veg to your diet. You need to make changes across everything you eat.

When it comes to meat, most people assume that ground turkey is the go-to swap. Turkey tastes nice, but you're not going to get that same rich taste that comes with a hearty piece of beef.

For those who don't want to lose the taste of beef, ground bison is a perfect choice. It also adds variety, so it's not all turkey skewers at the family BBQ.

Ground bison can replace beef in all those delicious treats we love to eat like:

• Tacos
• Meatballs
• Burgers
• Skewers

But, when compared to 80% lean beef, bison has less total fat and saturated fat. Per patty, you're also looking at a few more grams of protein too. Try this bison burger to get you started.

3. Switch Diary Butter for Plant & Nut Based Butter

Another easy swap for a long-term diet plan is to move away from dairy butter to plant and nut-based options. These options are already popular baking alternatives for people with dairy allergies. They're also common within the vegan community.

Most dairy-free butter can substitute one-for-one for the butter quantity. This means you don't have to cut out your favorite recipes! What you will do is reduce saturated fats by 25-40%.

Check out this recipe for Honey-Apple Galette with a dusting of Pistachio Sugar. You can use plant or nut-based butter one-for-one for the crust and filling. You'll have a delicious, flaky dessert that's dairy-free!

4. Ditch Bottled Dressing for Homemade

If you want to keep with a long-term healthy diet plan, you need to develop healthy habits. One way to do that is to switch out store-bought items like dressing to make your own.

The trouble with store-bought dressings is the high content of sodium and sugar. There's more in there than you might think. But, the good news is it's easy and quick to make tasty dressings yourself at home.

To make vinaigrettes, switch out the oil for healthier types like avocado or olive oil. For cream-based dressings, switch the cream out for low-fat Greek yogurt instead.

You still get that velvety texture, but the dressing will be healthier. Yogurt's packed with protein, probiotics, and calcium which your body needs. It also adds a unique, decadent yet fresh taste to your dressing.
You could drizzle a minted and herbed yogurt over your salad. Or it would be the perfect dressing for fish, grilled chicken/turkey, or burgers.

5. Also Swap Store-bought Jelly For Homemade

Another item that's packed full of sugar is store-bought jams and jellies. If it's not sugar, they could contain something worse — high-fructose corn syrup.

Making your own jellies and jams is a good idea. You use fresh fruit to make up most of the natural sugars and cut back on the total sugar content this way.

As a bonus, the jelly and jam you get have a more vibrant, flavor where the fruit shines as the star ingredient. There's less artificial sugar flavor and no wobbly, fake textures.

To get started, why not try this Raspberry-Chia jam. It uses a mix of fresh raspberries with a tablespoon of honey. That's all the honey you need, and it'll replace the corn syrup or sugar in store batches. The chia adds an interesting note, and the seeds will help thicken the jam.

6. Change From Cobb Salad to a BLAT

Healthy foods aren't actually boring like the stereotype says they are. A Cobb salad, for example, is colorful, with rich flavor and texture. What adds the calories are the extras like:

• Eggs
• Bacon
• Chicken
• Blue cheese
• Avocado
• Cream dressing

The saturated fats alone are well past the daily limits you should have. Plus, while protein is good, that's more than you'll need for one meal.

You can get a similar flavor explosion by switching to a BLAT. This is bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato in a sandwich, using whole-wheat bread. It's a healthier option without compromising taste.

You'll take in a more balanced amount of protein and fat, and you'll feel more satisfied. The whole grains in the bread will fill you up for longer than a salad can.

7. Change Out Mayo For Silken Tofu

Tofu can make a great substitute for the cream or mayonnaise in sauces or dips that need thickening. Like ranch dressing for example. And a great ranch dressing is perfect with healthy snacks like carrot and celery sticks.

To switch out the mayo, choose silken tofu as it's softer in texture. Pop it into a blender to smooth it out into a soft, velvety consistency. Tofu is vegan, and it's packed full of protein.

Healthy Food Swaps Made Easy

So, there you have it! Now you know these healthy food swaps to get you started, you're on your way to a healthier diet.

A healthier diet doesn't mean cutting out everything you love. As you can see, a few easy substitutions can help you on your way to a healthier diet, without any sacrifices.

To get you started, check out our range of nut butter. With a wide variety of toppings and flavors, there's something to suit every taste.