Losing weight can be one of the most difficult aspects in maintaining good health. You can be someone who exercises 6 days a week for an hour plus each session yet that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have the results to show for it.
Many adults worldwide are becoming overweight and obese, a problem that seemed to be specific to the United States for some time but has spread to many peoples of many nations. This is mainly because of the exportation of this culture of nutrient poor food that is at the same time high in calories. This leaves people fat, bloated and low on energy while still not feeling satiated.
With that being said, luckily a lot of this damage is reversible and much can be done by making simple substitutions in what we are using to prepare our food. What Healthy Substitutes Can I Use to Make My Meals?
Start Using More Fat-Free Yogurt
Non fat yogurt is a great option when it comes to a substitute for other dairy products. It provides that creaminess with that tangy taste at the cost of no fat and very little calories. Eating yogurt can take some time to get used to if you aren’t familiar with the taste, so use it in baking first to see if you’re a fan or not.
Yogurt is an excellent alternative to sour cream so next time you want to have a baked potato or maybe a taco, grab the yogurt instead.
Substitute Nuts in Place of Croutons and Granola
Salads are one of those foods that can either be really healthy or on the other hand could potentially have more calories than a double cheeseburger. Most of these calories come in the form of additives like dressing, croutons, granola and other foods high in calories yet nutritionally poor.
If you want to add some crunch and flavor to your salad, your best options are nuts hands down. Nuts will provide you with healthy fats which are going to kill that hunger while at the same time giving you all of those heart healthy benefits.
Look for the unsalted varieties as they are the healthiest options out there.
Get Rid of White Flour and Switch to Whole Wheat
Almost every recipe out there calls for some type of flour, and it is something that is unavoidable. The problem with traditional white flour is that it is highly processed to the point where most of its nutrients are removed, and are replaced with synthetic versions.
The problem with this is that white flour hardly contains any fiber at all if any, where its natural counterpart whole wheat flour does.
This difference is huge when it comes to how our bodies are able to digest and process these foods.
Since the white flour variety has little to no fiber, the sugars are almost immediately absorbed in to the blood stream, causing spikes in blood sugar levels which can lead to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
When you make the switch you won’t be able to tell any difference in flavor, as the flour comes from the same plant. You will see a difference in color however, as whole wheat tends to be much darker in color than the white flour varieties.
Switch from Ground Beef to Ground Turkey
This is another no-brainer, as turkey is naturally much more lean than beef. On top of that turkey is much less expensive on average, so you will save money in the process. The reason why you want to make the switch when it comes to ground meat is because there is an obvious difference in flavor.
This is because ground meat can be used in a variety of dishes, with many different ingredients which can be used to mask the flavor if desired. There shouldn’t be that noticeable of a difference between a lasagna for example cooked with either turkey or beef as the cheese, sauce and other ingredients over ride those flavors.
Turkey of course is also much healthier than beef as it is much leaner, and is also not of the red meat variety. This means less risk of heart disease, heart attacks, stroke and other illnesses related to the cardiovascular system when you eat turkey as opposed to beef.
Next time you are thinking of cooking up some burgers or making a chili, try using ground turkey as a healthier alternative to ground beef.
