7 Healthy Food Upgrades You Won’t Even Notice
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Of course you know that too much salt, sugar, and chemicals in your diet makes you feel sluggish, overloads your system, and brings on the pounds. However, there are simple upgrades that help you avoid these traps and add vitamins and minerals to your diet painlessly.
I don’t like to call them “swaps” because they really are just enhancements rather than changes. You likely won’t even notice a difference.
Please keep in mind that the items on the left side of the arrows are not necessarily terrible for you, but there are upgrades to them to improve the quality of your meal.
1. Deli turkey —> Rotisserie chicken.
Deli meat is not the worst thing you can eat, but it is certainly not the best. While turkey is calorically low and protein-rich, the deli versions are loaded with sodium and preservatives (even the low sodium varieties). Sparingly this is not bad, but if you want an instant upgrade, buy a rotisserie chicken or chicken breast, shred the meat, and use that in place of your sliced turkey.
2. Fruit yogurt —> Plain nonfat Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey, berries, and nuts.
You already know that fruit flavored yogurt is not your friend. There is an insane amount of sugar, regardless of the brand, and there are really only trace amounts of fruit in it.
This upgrade packs a triple punch. Greek yogurt has more protein, the absence of pre-provided flavor means you are reducing the amount of sugar, and the fruit and nuts add nutrients.
Adding the sweetness in the form of honey allows you to control how much sugar you are adding rather than taking whatever is in the package. Also remember that honey has antioxidants and antibacterial and antifungal properties, so while you are adding sugar, they come with nutritional benefits.
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3. Bottled salad dressing —> olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic shaken in a teeny Tupperware container.
The go to ratio is 1:1 oil to vinegar, a squirt of mustard, and a clove of minced garlic (to start – you can always add more, which I certainly do). Add it all to your Tupperware or mason jar and shake. This also serves as a great marinade for chicken, pork, or fish.
This one should also not be surprising. Bottled salad dressing is a minefield of sodium, sugar, and scary stuff (the number of difficult to pronounce ingredients on the back of that bottle means a lot of chemicals, plus there is a prevalence of soybean oil, which is debatably an agent of inflammation in the body). However, when you make your own, you can sidestep these negatives and replace them with nutritional boosters. Not to mention tailor the dressing to your taste buds (whether you like it extra garlicky or with a sweet note) and make it more delicious to you.
A benefit of using olive oil is that having some fat with your salad allows your body to better absorb the vitamins and minerals in the veggies (and fruit, if you’re one of those fruit-on-salad people). And I have already described at lengths in other posts the benefits of olive oil to your body over all.
4. Granola bar —> homemade pumpkin oatmeal bars.
Most of us remember those delicious Quaker granola bars from childhood (or, if you are really lucky, Kudos bars). While those are delicious, most store bought granola bars are loaded with sugar and chemicals. A better option is to whip up your own. When you start with a basic recipe like the one below, you can adapt it to your taste (for instance, add more or less honey). These also freeze well and are great to throw in your bag for work, a flight, or a road trip!
Also, here I join my counterparts across the US and beyond who delight in all things fall flavored (in other words, pumpkin and apple, both of which are remarkably beneficial for your body). This is an easy and quick throw together recipe for energy bars (I tend to shape them like cookies, but you do you).
Combine 2 heaping cups of regular rolled oats with a scant cup of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix), three generous squirts of honey, 4 or 5 shakes of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, and a handful of chocolate chips and/or nuts. You could also do raisins if you really like them, but I won’t acknowledge that option…
Place smashed balls of the mix onto a baking sheet topped with nonstick sprayed foil and bake at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes.
5. Artificial sweetener for coffee —> Monkfruit or Stevia.
“Artificial sweeteners” is another way of saying “chemicals.”
Monkfruit has no known side effects (ahem, tummy issues) and is a potential anti-inflammatory agent. Stevia is made from leaves, though it does have a bit of a taste to it that is different from sugar. When you are putting it in coffee, though, it is not as noticeable as if you were baking with it or dusting it on top of something.
In other words, these two options are plant-based, don’t have negative cringey side effects, and sweeten your morning cup (or three) of coffee.
6. Bottle lemon juice —> juice from a real lemon.
The bottles (even the cute little lemon-shaped ones!) are made from concentrate and have additives. You are better off slicing a lemon and squeezing it in your water, in your salad dressing, or on your fish.
The lemon is one of nature’s biggest powerhouses in terms of nutritional value. Lemons have a lot of vitamin C, and they improve heart health and cholesterol levels, fight infection, and support the liver.
Also, quite honestly, actual lemon juice tastes far, far better.
7. Peanut butter —> peanut butter powder.
Peanut butter is a good snack with some solid protein and healthy fat. The problem is the serving size is so small, and anyone who says he or she has never eaten it right out of the jar is lying.
Peanut butter powder reduces the calories by removing the oils.
If you have never tried it, you add a bit of water to make it a paste. Follow the directions on the package, but I begin by adding a little less than recommended if I want it extra thick. You can always add more to thin it out a bit. Peanut butter powder is what I always use in Asian peanut sauces because what I am looking for is the actual peanut flavoring – the oil component comes from sesame oil, so I do not need it from peanut butter.
There you have it - simple enhancements to things you frequently eat without even noticing it!
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