45 EFFORTLESS FOOD SWAPS (THAT ARE HEALTHY & ALLERGY FRIENDLY)
Just one smart swap can pave the way to a healthier body and mind. So because I’m a little OCD I’ve brought you 45 practical “this for that’s.”
The great thing about these simple food swaps is with little to no extra effort we can make a huge impact on our health. Without having to make drastic changes to our diet.
INSTEAD OF THAT | HAVE THIS |
| Tap water | Filtered water |
| Table salt | Sea salt, Pink Himalayan salt, dulse flakes |
| Vegetable oils & Canola oil | Extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, tallow, ghee |
| Margarine, Nuttelex or butter | Avocado, tahini, nut butters, hummus for spreading. Apple sauce, bananas, coconut oil for baking |
| Low fat/zero fat | Full fat all the way |
| Cows milk or soy milk | Almond/cashew milk, rice milk, oat milk |
| Commercial cereal | Homemade granola, porridge, muesli or chia pudding |
| Toast | Seed bread or sweet potato slices (toasted) |
| Breakfast tea | Herbal tea |
| White flour | Buckwheat, besan (chickpea), coconut, sourgham and other GF flours |
| Oat flakes | Quinoa flakes (if strict gluten free) |
| White sugar | Coconut, rapadura sugar or raw brown sugar |
| Eggs (for baking) | Bananas, apple sauce, flax or chia egg |
| Fried eggs | Poached or boiled eggs |
| White sugar & Golden Syrup (for baking) | Dates, maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup |
| Commercial honey and jams | Raw honey and homemade jam (so easy!) |
| Milk chocolate | 70% and above dark chocolate |
| Chocolate chips | Cacao nibs |
| Cocoa powder | Cacao powder (raw) |
| Snack bars | Sliced fruit and vegetable sticks |
| Gummies | Dried fruit (sultanas, raisons, goji berries, figs, dates…) |
| Sports drinks | Coconut water |
| Salted nuts | Raw nuts |
| Crisps | Brown rice and seed crackers, popcorn |
| Bread crumbs | Almond meal, quinoa flakes or rice flour |
| Bread croutons | Crispy bacon or sliced sausages |
| Tinned tomatoes | Glass jar passatta |
| Stocks (commercial) | Homemade chicken bone broth, vegetable broth |
| Cheese | Avocado, hummus and nut butters |
| Dairy yoghurt | Coconut yoghurt (homemade ideally) |
| Dairy cream | Cashew cream (simply blend cashews and water) |
| Sour cream | Tahini (sesame paste) |
| Parmasen cheese | Nutritional yeast |
| Ice cream | Make your own (frozen fruit, banana and sweetener blended) |
| Fruit juice | Freshly squeezed juice or fruit pieces |
| Iceberg lettuce | Spinach, rocket, silverbeet, kale, rocket |
| White rice | Basmati or brown rice (soaked) or cauliflower rice |
| Wheat pasta | Rice/quinoa pasta or zucchini noodles |
| Gluten containing grains | Cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, cauliflower mash, sweet potato mash, quinoa and rice |
| Oven chips | Home made chips with potato or sweet potato chips |
| Tortilla wraps (store bought) | Homemade (chickpea flour and water) or lettuce leaves |
| Canned fruit | Fresh fruit or fruit purees for baking |
| Condiments | Spices |
| Mayonnaise | Mashed avocado, hummus or tahini |
| Tinned tuna | Tinned salmon, mackerel or sardines |
| Processed dressings | Olive oil, lemon, honey or balsamic vinegar blend |
At the end of the day, you will always eat what you see (and have in the pantry). By doing these simple health swaps you will dramatically improve your health without having to do a major diet overhaul.
If you want additional tips and reasons why some of these swaps are highly recommended check out my Facebook Live replay on these swaps. The table salt, canola oil and rice mentions are a bit shocking!
Access the Facebook Live replay below…
I hope you’ve found this helpful and if you have any other food swaps I haven’t mentioned please share them in the comments below.
