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Healthy Food Substitutions With The Healthy Living Lady

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Summer is creeping up on us! Spring has been a tease this year… dipping back and forth from the 40’s to the 60’s. But, I have this feeling that I am going to wake up one day in the middle of a heat wave and wonder how I got there! I have been trying to eat better, sneaking in more exercise, consciously aware of the fact that I will be pulling out my swimsuit in less than 2 months! Good thing I have Cristina of the Healthy Living Lady website to help me along!

She has a plethora of healthy food ideas that will pack more nutrition into your diet and help you make better eating choices without feeling deprived.

Today, Cristina is here to give us a few easy, healthy food pointers to get us started.
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I feel like the Dad in the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ where he says, “Give me a word, any word and I will tell you how the root of that word is Greek.” However, I say, give me a recipe, any recipe and I can make it healthier.

Learn how to start your journey to a healthier lifestyle. These five food substitutions can help you get started today!

Journey To A Healthier Lifestyle

My journey to a healthier lifestyle started in college when the “freshman 15” crept up on me and I had stopped being as active as I had been in high school. I think I cared more about just finding something cheap and quick to eat in-between my classes and my job. It didn’t help that the ice-rink where I worked gave employees all the free pizza and soda we could eat. Soon I started noticing that I looked a bit rounder in pictures and I just felt un-happy in general. I hit my lowest point when I got sick during Christmas break and could not shake the exhaustion I felt all the time. After falling asleep during an important test review for one of my classes I finally went to the doctor and found out I had Mononucleosis, otherwise known as the “I am tired ALL the time” disease. Apparently, Mono is like getting cold sores, it never really leaves your system and shows up when you are rundown.

That’s when I realized that I might not be as healthy as I could or should be. I started reading about fitness and nutrition and I began to pay attention to what I was putting in my body and started exercising again. Guess what? I started to feel better. I felt like I didn’t always have a cloud hanging over me and I had more energy.

Now, as a mom I see even more of an impact healthy habits can have as I encourage my kids to be healthy and active. There are a lot of healthy websites and diets out there, but here is my take on it: Instead of trying to get everyone in your family on board with a new diet plan that cuts out favorite family meals, why not just make those meals healthier? A LOT of unhealthy foods can be substituted for healthier options without losing flavor.

5 Easy Food Substitutions You Can Start Using Today

  1. Plain yogurt: Try using plain non-fat yogurt as a substitute in recipes that call for sour cream or mayonnaise. If you want that sour cream or mayo flavor, substitute plain yogurt for half of the amount it calls for.
  2. Un-sweetened Applesauce: You can use applesauce as a substitute for butter in baking. Again, try using half butter and half applesauce to cut the calories and fat in baked goods, but keep the flavor and consistency of the recipe.
  3. Agave Sweetener: Agave (commonly found in the health food section) is low-glycemic and diabetic friendly and is sweeter than sugar, so you can use less to sweeten anything from baked goods to your morning oatmeal. I use it as a substitute for maple syrup or honey.
  4. Whole Wheat Pasta: Okay, maybe you’ve tried this and you thought the texture is different than regular pasta. I’ve found that if you “overcook” it, it’s less crunchy. It’s worth trying again since it actually has nutritional value compared to it’s loser cousin, white pasta.
  5. Healthy Request Campbell’s Soup: I know you like your cream based dishes (where I live there is a weird obsession with Funeral Potatoes). If you start substituting the Healthy Request version, you cut your sodium in half, your calories by 40 per serving, and your fat by 5.5 grams.

Try these tips and you will have your family eating healthier in no time.

They won’t even know….I promise.

Do you love makeovers? How about a makeover of your favorite recipe to transform it into something that is healthier and more nutritious! Cristina has graciously offered to do a recipe makeover for three lucky readers! Interested? Send your favorite recipe to [email protected], three will be chosen at random. Next Wednesday, we will publish the three original recipes, and their fabulous new makeovers– along with links to the recipe owners! Send your best and most favorite recipe. You could be on your way to a happy and healthier you!

About Tracie Nall

Tracie lives in Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and more books than her shelves will hold. She spends her days writing and editing. Many of her words end up on her blog, From Tracie. Find Tracie on Twitter @FromTracie and on Instagram where she takes pictures of things that are yellow.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Karen @ Time Crafted says

    Great tips! We have a kidlet who eats gluten, casein, msg free and as much soy/preservatives/dye free and organic as we can. So, we’re always making substitutions around here! As for sweeteners, we hardly ever use sugar (kidlet reacts to sugar), so we use agave and stevia. :>

  4. Lady Jennie says

    Okay I am definitely following you. I need this (even though I live in France and plan to attend patisserie school and just posted an entire thing about butter) but if I can cut corners in all the ways possible, so much the better!

  9. Grams says

    Love your tips! I haven’t tried agave sweetener yet, but I’m going to try it. And, based on your advice, I’m going to try whole wheat pasta again.

  11. Myne Whitman says

    It’s very useful to know the sodium content of the food we eat, especially for those with loved ones and family having heart conditions. Thanks for sharing.

  12. Leah says

    Thanks for the great tips. The sodium one’s a killer and not something people think about. I started looking at sodium counts when I went on blood preassure medication. It’s amazing how much salt is in products. Can’t wait to check out your blog!

  14. Stephanie says

    LOVE THIS! My latest recipe actually uses plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream because the taste and texture are practically IDENTICAL but Greek yogurt has protein, no fat, and less calories! WIN-WIN!

    And I have to overcook whole wheat pasta by 2-3 minutes so that my husband will eat it. And to those who have already tried it, try it again! They say it takes SEVEN TIMES of trying a food before a child can really tell if they like it or not. Why would adults be any different? 🙂

    • Cristina says

      Good point! It’s true about trying things a couple times. All my recipes I post to my site are husband (sorta picky and loves his meat and potatoes) and 3 year old son (won’t eat tomato, green veggies except broccoli and green beans) approved 🙂

  15. Krysta MacGray says

    I love these little tips and tricks. I write a food blog, and while I still make full fat sinfulness, I eat very clean and healthily most of the time so I appreciate this advice.