We all enjoy indulging sometimes, but when we are aiming at living healthy lifestyles, fatty and high caloric foods should be kept at a minimum. This is why Health Fitness Revolution found healthy alternatives that taste just as good as their unhealthy counterparts! Here are 10 Simple and Healthy Food Substitutes to use in your cooking:
- Greek Yogurt Instead of Sour Cream: Almost any recipe that calls for sour cream can be made with Greek yogurt instead. Sour cream adds a shot of saturated fat to otherwise heart-healthy meals. To cut out that excess fat without sacrificing taste or texture, swap the sour cream with no-fat Greek yogurt—one of the world’s healthiest foods.
- Popcorn Instead of Chips: Popcorn has 93% less saturated fat than chips and more than three times the fiber.
- Quinoa Instead of Rice: Quinoa is a South American seed that serves as a tasty and healthful stand-in for rice or couscous. One cup of cooked quinoa has 15% fewer carbohydrates and 60% more protein than a comparable amount of brown rice; because it also has 25% more fiber, it can help lower blood cholesterol.
- Coconut water Instead of Energy Drinks: Coconut water has 65% less sugar, has potassium, magnesium, and natural electrolytes!
- Ground Turkey Instead of Ground Beef: Red meat is a source of both saturated fat and dietary cholesterol — two of the main sources of blood cholesterol. Ground turkey contains half the saturated fat of 85% lean ground beef, and it can be substituted easily for beef in most recipes.
- Olive Oil Spread Instead of Butter: One tablespoon of butter contains more than 7 grams of saturated fat—that’s more than a third of the recommended daily value. Vegetable fat is healthier for the body in general.
- Vinegar and Lemon Juice Instead of Salad Dressing: As everyone knows by now, drenching a salad in high-fat salad dressing is like smoking cigarettes while jogging: It totally defeats the purpose. A low-fat alternative for lower cholesterol is drizzling your salad with balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.
- Edamame and Nuts Instead of Cheese and Crackers: as a snack, skip the crackers and cheese, which are sky-high in saturated fat. Instead, put out some almonds, which have been shown to lower LDL, and edamame, the boiled baby soybeans that are low in saturated fat and one cup contains about 25 grams of soy protein.
- Red Wine Instead of Cocktails: Switch to red wine; it has about a tenth of the carbohydrates of a margarita, and you’ll also get antioxidants such as flavonoids that are believed to lower LDL and boost HDL. Given the risks of alcohol, however, the American Heart Association recommends that you limit your daily intake to two glasses (for men) or one glass (for women).
- Walnuts Instead of Croutons: Carbohydrates can cause high levels of bad cholesterol. For a healthier salad, replace your carbo-laden croutons with walnuts, which are high in polyunsaturated fat — which lowers bad cholesterol and boosts good cholesterol.
