Healthy Food Swaps for Better Nutrition

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Have you recently committed to trying to live a healthier lifestyle? Have you started working out and trying to eat right?It can often be difficult to understand exactly what you should be eating and what is truly healthy. After all, there are many food manufacturers that try to cash in on peoples’ desires to become healthier. This can make it more confusing than ever to know what you should really be eating for a strong and healthy body. It can also be difficult to eat right when you have certain types of foods that you love, and you fear not being able to handle giving them up.

Well, let’s look at some food swaps that you might want to try. These can provide you with the delicious taste that you crave, but they are simply going to be much better for you.

Out With the Jelly in With the Berries

In the morning, do you crave jelly or jam on your toast? That sweet taste tends to be full of nothing but sugar. Sure, it might taste good, but it is not going to be doing too much for you. Instead, you can simply take your favorite berries and serve those instead. You can even mash them together to put them onto toast, or you could forego the bread entirely and just have a bowl of berries for breakfast, along with a high-quality protein.

You should always try to cut out sugar whenever and wherever you can, not just with your jellies and jams. However, that does not mean that you should replace it with artificial sweeteners. They can cause issues with the metabolism.

Change Out Your Bread and Choose Whole Grain Options

Instead of eating white bread, you are should switch to another option, such as whole grain bread, or even pumpernickel. White bread tends to be nothing but empty and unhealthy calories. If you love bread and can’t see yourself giving it up, at least not yet, it makes sense to go with a healthier option. Honestly, these tend to be tastier breads, as well.

In fact, whenever you have the chance to swap out refined grains and eat whole grains, you should. Some of the best whole grain options include oats, quinoa, and brown rice. Those who have more whole grains in their diet tend to have a lower risk of heart disease, and they tend to be leaner.

Say Goodbye to the Salt

It is always a good idea to watch the amount of sodium that you are putting into your body. Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, keeping better control of your sodium intake now can help you in the future. Keep in mind that the recommended amount of sodium that you should consume a day is about 2,300mg. That might sound like a lot, but it equates to a teaspoon of salt.

Because so many foods will already have salt in them, you don’t need to add it to your diet. That does not mean that you should be eating bland foods, of course. It means that you should look to other and better ways of seasoning your food. Fortunately, there are plenty of options that can work. Consider cumin, black pepper, oregano, garlic, onion powder, and cayenne, for example.

These are just some of the swaps that you can do! If you want to be as healthy as possible, you should always think carefully about what you are putting into your body. You want to be sure that you are finding as many ways to swap out the unhealthy foods with better options that are just as tasty.

Resources:

http://www.eatingwell.com/featured/SimpleFoodSwapsBetterNutritionMotts2017?sm_r=myYWZa

https://www.triathlete.com/2015/03/nutrition/tasty-and-simple-food-swaps-for-better-nutrition_26228

http://www.eatingwell.com/article/33766/5-small-food-swaps-to-make-you-instantly-healthier/

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