Ingredient Swap – Go Healthy!
If your pantry is like mine, it’s a jungle of ingredients used for pretty much every meal created in the home. Sometime ago, during a revolution of ‘get healthy’, long-time staples were swapped out for more health conscious choices. Knowing what ingredient to replace with what alternative can sometimes be confusing. When making the shift, here are some helpful choices you may consider.
You’d be surprised how much sodium might be included in your typical can of tomato sauce. Added items such as oil, sugar, and salt are a surprising mix when all you are looking for is a tomato base for pasta or other meals. Try no-salt added tomatoes that come in cans or cartons. Smooth them out in a food processor and strain as needed as the recipe requires.
Are you looking for a whole grain with a good amount of protein? Ditch the white rice and refined pasta and go with quinoa. It has twice the protein, is a great source of iron and zinc, and pairs wonderfully with meatless meals.
When you hear the word ‘vegetable’, it should be healthy, right? Not so much when it comes to oil unfortunately. Olive oil and canola oil are much better alternatives. Vegetable oil is actually a conglomerate of other oils, many high in Omega-6 fatty acids. Olive oil is a great source of oleic acid which helps suppress hunger.
Croutons on a salad is almost a given in many households. However, by adding them to a salad you are essentially adding fat and salt to an otherwise healthy meal. Try nuts, such as walnuts or almonds, filled with fiber and calcium. Toasting them in a dry skillet really brings out the flavor and will make your salad pop.
Swap butter with avocados in cookie, cake, muffin and bread mixes. Surprisingly it doesn’t compromise flavor as you might expect and provides creaminess to your batter.
Source: FoodNetwork