Trying to eat healthy but sick of eating the same old foods? Tempted by glossy pictures of creamy, greasy foods in magazines? Luckily, it’s easier than you think to cook foods that are both healthy and delicious. In many cases, you can revamp a tasty dish just by making simple substitutions. Knowing the right swaps allows you to turn any dish into a low-fat, low-calorie, low-carb, low-cholesterol, vegetarian, or vegan dish without cutting out taste!To make a dish lower in fat, cholesterol, and calories:
- Swap skim or 2% milk for full-fat milk or cream.
- Use low fat or fat-free sour cream and cream cheese in the place of the regular varieties. The same swap can be made with most shredded cheeses, and there is even a low-fat version of brie!
- Swap applesauce for vegetable oil.
- Swap ground turkey or chicken for ground beef.
- Swap spaghetti squash for actual spaghetti.
- Swap egg whites or egg substitute for eggs.
To make a dish lower in carbs and calories:
- Use a lettuce wrap instead of a bun when eating a burger or chicken sandwich. Some fast food restaurants (Carl’s Jr, In-N-Out Burger) have even incorporated lettuce wrap burgers into their menus.
- Use tortillas high in fiber – some even specify low carb – when making wraps or fajitas.
- Swap Splenda for sugar – Splenda is a component of sugar but contains no calories or carbs.
- Swap Diet Tonic water for Tonic water in your alcoholic beverages to save countless carbs and calories!
To make a dish vegetarian or vegan:
- Use Boca burger patties in place of beef burger patties.
- Use soy cheese in the place of cheese made from milk.
- Soy beef crumbles are now on the market and make a great substitute for ground beef.
- Make a delicious vegetarian lasagna with cottage cheese, spinach, and soft tofu. For a vegan lasagna, replace the cheese with soy cheese crumbles.
- Use soy milk in place of milk or cream.
