Don’t Make Health a Hassle: Three Easy Food Swaps That Anyone Can Make
Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be difficult. It doesn’t have to be about chugging shots of wheatgrass every morning, buying expensive superfoods that you can’t pronounce or eating kale at every meal. There’s plenty you can do to keep it simple. In most cases, you can make healthy swaps which require no effort whatsoever. If you want to eat a healthier diet without any added hassle, here are some super simple food swaps you can make.
Switch to whole grain products
Instead of buying white bread, pasta or rice, buy whole grain instead. Look for wholegrain cereals too. These products have more vitamins and fiber since the wheat germ hasn’t been stripped off. While there’s a slight taste difference, it doesn’t take long to adjust, and in time you’re likely to prefer the latter since it has more flavor and texture. Fiber is good for the gut and good for the heart, most of us don’t get enough of it.
Use sweetener instead of sugar
As humans, we’re programmed to like the taste of sweet things- meaning sugar is irresistible to us. It all goes back to when our ancestors needed the energy to function and hunt for their survival. Back then, sugar was scarce whereas now it’s in abundance. We can grab a sugar-laden snack at any store, takeout or cafe with ease. While our lifestyle has changed, our physical makeup hasn’t. We still crave these tastes even now we don’t need all the excess energy. One easy way around consuming sweet tastes without the calories of sugar is to use natural sweetener to substitute sugar. Unlike man-made sugars, there are no dangerous chemicals added and we can get our sweet fix without a massive amount of calories. Switch to sweetener, as well as products that use sweetener over sugar. While we should still limit these things, it’s a great way to have a bit of what you want with much less damage to your body.
Swap potatoes for sweet potatoes
Potatoes are delicious, full of starchy carbohydrates they energize our bodies and they’re full of vitamins and minerals. But while they’re not bad, there is an even better option out there. Unlike regular potatoes, sweet potatoes count towards your five a day since they have different nutritional makeup. They can be used in the place of normal potatoes, making things like fries or mash so there’s no extra hassle. You don’t need to eliminate regular potatoes from your diet, but some of the time it’s well worth switching them out to the sweet variety. You’ll give your body a hit of beta-carotene, vitamin A, copper, B vitamins and more. Just avoid using excess oil which can outweigh the positives of the ingredient. Instead of deep frying, for example, chop up your fries and cover with just a little oil. Then you can bake them for a far healthier option. food swaps
