I don’t know about you but when I was slowly making the switch to more healthier options, one of the hardest things was knowing where to begin and what was ACTUALLY healthy. So many products know how to market to the “healthy industry” and make you think you’re making a healthy choice when, in reality, you could be better off eating the original thing you were trying to swap out. I think one of the hardest things for me was not feeling overwhelmed with it all. What swaps could I make that were easy and inexpensive? I know if I felt this way, I couldn’t be the only one. I wanted to create a simple guide to some easy swaps with links so you can find them quickly. I hope this helps you and your family make healthy eating hassle free!
I have plans to share more easy options to hopefully make healthy eating as easy and foolproof as possible!
Sugar Swap
Coconut sugar for table sugar
One easy switch you can make is sugar. Growing up, I felt like my grandma added sugar to everything! All those family recipes you’d almost always find a pinch or two of sugar. When I started adapting recipes I knew this was one place I needed to change first. Of course, there are lots of options for substitutes, but often they are filled with more bad for you ingredients or they have the same effect on your blood sugar as regular table sugar.
Enter…. coconut sugar!
This sugar measures cup-for-cup in recipes and is way easier on the blood sugar. Blood sugar effects so much (hormones, sleep, energy, body composition and much more) but that’s another blog post for another day. The taste gives a richness and caramelization to your baked goods and can be subbed for brown or white sugar. There is zero coconut taste as well, so don’t worry if you’re not a coconut fan. This one works great in sweet and savory dishes!
Flour Swap
Almond/ Casava flour for All purpose
One of the top things I have been told is that finding gluten free options for flour that work and don’t make the end product dense like a brick seems a little daunting. Even if you don’t have gluten free lifestyle, having options that give your body benefits whiles tasting good is a win! I love using these options especially in baking and any time I need to bread something in a savory dish. It crisps up nice but also gives a light soft texture to whatever it is that you’re baking.
These are a little different, in that, they don’t always measure cup-for-cup in baking. The simple rule of thumb for almond flour is a 1:1 ratio most times, making sure to pack the almond flour in the measuring cup. Casava flour is a bit denser, so usually it is a 1/2 cup casava to flour ratio. Casava makes excellent pizza crusts and cookies! Casava is also a great option for nut free, grain free flour.
Mayo swap
Avocado mayo for mayo
Mayo is one of those condiments we don’t often give thought to what could be in it. However, if you take a close look at the ingredients, you’ll see it’s full of inflammation causing oils, sugars, and some unnecessary preservatives. Homemade versions are easy to make with few ingredients, but I don’t know about you, for me…ain’t nobody got time for that! When Primal kitchen came out with this mayo I was so excited! Finally convenient – good for you mayo that you didn’t have to make. Using it in recipes made me feel better knowing there wasn’t added junk we didn’t need and the flavor is really good! Full transparency, this isn’t the cheapest out there. You can, of course, get cheaper options but you sacrifice quality ingredients in the process. I have linked this brand from whole foods for the sake of finding it. However, you can find it for the best price at Costco. It’s much cheaper for way more!
Just a heads-up: companies have figured out that avocado and olive oil “sells” on mayo jars so they often will add that into their ingredients but still have the other added canola and/ or soybean oils in there. Read the labels. This brand is the cleanest for sure!
Breadcrumb Swap
Chickpea crumbs for Panko
This may seem like an odd one to add in, but I find this super helpful for quick dinners. There’s is something about the crunch and coating of panko breadcrumbs. If you’ve never tried it, it takes your breaded foods up a notch. I love using these chickpea crumbs in place of regular panko. You get such a good crunch with them. It’s contains only chickpeas, that’s it! Mixing them with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, nutritional yeast or parm cheese and coating pork chops with the mix makes a quick and so delicious dinner! Use them anywhere you need breadcrumbs!
I truly hope this was helpful for you and that it makes healthy living more doable even in a little way. I plan on sharing more swaps for the kitchen, cleaning products, beauty products, and more! I don’t claim to be an expert but I’ve been figuring this health journey out for a long time and I’m happy to share what I found useful! Happy healthy swapping, friends!
XOXO-
Heidi
Passion for the Pure by Heidi Staley 