Healthy Food Substitutes - Choices

Did you know we make an average of 35,000 choices a day ?!

Substitute Sugar Sauces with Fresh Salsa on Fish & Meat



With all that running through your head no wonder we it's difficult making healthy choices. Sometimes a simple decision though can have a tremendous affect your health. One decision that we should all strive to do everyday because it's so simple, is making simple food substitutions. The amount of calories, fat and sugar you can save from your body is incredible and with only one simple swap. I know it can be difficult sometimes when your in a rush, trying to figure out a meal but compared to having to an extra 30 minutes of cardio to burn off that unnecessary intake... hmm I'll go for stopping and thinking!

Here are a few of the simple food substitutions that I find easy to integrate into my daily diet:

• Instead of using rice as a side or in a recipe, I like to use Quinoa as my substitute. I find that quinoa takes on the same texture as rice and it also has the same type of flavor. It's easy to use just like rice. The Quinoa Queen has some great recipes on her blog. I'll be posting my quinoa "Fried Rice" dish soon.

• Salad dressings can be a killer to your diet. A healthy easy alternative to the store bought is Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, a touch of Dijon mustard and seasoning (try to avoid salt). I make a batch each week and store it in a recycled bottle in the fridge. This makes it easy just like the store bought salad dressings minus the unwanted additives.

• Greek yogurt is a great substitute. You can use it to substitute sour cream in recipes which has the same taste and texture. I like to substitute the store bought fruit yogurts with Greek yogurt. I just add some cut up fruit and if I'm craving something a little sweeter I will add a teaspoon of "no sugar added" jam to it. This way I am controlling what is in my yogurt.

• I'm not a huuuge fan of chips (more of a sweets girl) but instead of reaching for something processed and deep fried a great alternative is Kale Chips. Ok.. hear me out - they actually taste good! Surprising, I know but give them try. Michelle over at Find Your Balance has a great recipe for Chili Lime Kale Chips. I like to just bake them with olive oil sprinkled on top, a dash of sea salt and sesame seeds sprinkled over.

What food substitutes do you use/make? I always love hearing about different ones so please leave me a comment below if you've got one you would like to share.

-Michelle