We all have that one thing we cannot resist when it comes to food. It could be chocolate, cheese or Mexican cuisine—it’s hard to bear the thought of living without it. However, the time comes when you have to take a look at your diet and make some changes. You could be trying to lose weight, or simply wanting to eat as healthy as possible.
You don’t have to make a big sacrifice by completely cutting out your favourite foods—simply swap elements of it to make it healthier. Celebrity Angels has made a list of ways you can eat healthier.
Instead of vegetable oil, use olive oil or coconut oil
Vegetable oil has been proven to be terrible for your heart. If you avoid heating it too high, olive oil—or even coconut oil—can be a great substitute. Avoid frying food altogether and cut out the calories that come from oil. One tablespoon of oil can contain as much as 100 calories! Grill vegetables and meats and poach eggs instead of frying them.
Instead of fizzy drinks and fruit juice, try infused water
While it may not surprise you to learn how unhealthy fizzy drinks are, finding out the amount of calories in fruit juice may come as a shock. Orange juice, for example, contains almost the same amount of sugar as Coca-Cola. You are much better off with fresh fruit. Infused water has become popular recently—put fresh or frozen fruit into your water to give it flavour without the calories.
Instead of crisps, have crudités
Crisps do not make a good healthy snack. They are rarely filling and very unhealthy—a typical 35-gram bag of crisps contains about two and a half teaspoons of oil. If you were to have the same amount of carrots instead, you could divide your calorie intake by 10! With this significant decrease, you can fill yourself up with more crudités or have some hummus alongside.
Instead of white carbohydrates, try wholegrain
White bread, white rice and white pasta have been refined, whereas wholegrain (as the name suggests) contains all the parts of the original wheat. You may find that brown rice, bread and pasta have a different flavour or texture, but they have numerous health benefits. Wholegrain products contain more fibre, which digests far slower than its refined counterparts. This means that you stay fuller for longer and avoid big spikes in blood sugar.
Instead of a latte, have a regular coffee
Milk contains a lot of sugar. Therefore the more milk you add to coffee, the more sugar you are consuming. Try switching to a regular white coffee to avoid the calories and definitely avoid any fancy flavoured coffee shop drinks. A medium caramel Frappuccino contains over 400 calories. Compare that to a mug of an instant coffee with skimmed milk, which is only 20 calories.
Instead of sugary cereal, eat porridge
Most people don’t realise how much sugar cereal has. Even the supposedly healthy wheat flakes contain around 20 grams of sugar per 100 grams. Buying plain porridge can help you control how much sugar you are getting as well as save you money. Mix up the flavours every day by using different types of fresh fruit with your porridge.
Instead of mayonnaise, use mashed avocado
Mayonnaise is a whole lot of fat and not a lot of flavour. When put on sandwiches, mayonnaise only serves to bulk up the calories. Avocado is a great swap as its mild flavour complements a wide variety of fillings. Why not go all the way and put it in your salads? Mix avocado with tuna for a healthy alternative to tuna mayo.
It’s all about making small changes in order to have an overall healthier life. Additionally, you can try and reduce the amount of sugar in your diet by limiting how much you put in your tea. The same goes for salt—try seasoning your food less. It will take a little while for your palate to adjust, but once it does you’ll find you no longer need as much salt or sugar overall.
Read more: High Salt Diet Doubles Risk of Heart Failure
