If you’ve known me for a while, then it’s no surprise that I LOVE to cook. Now that Fall is right around the corner, ok there’s still a month left, but I’m getting super excited to make all the comfort foods. You know, things like the beef stroganoff, Mac n Cheese (from scratch, not the blue box people) Salisbury Steak with creamy mashed potatoes, Brussel sprouts with bacon. Ok, I need to stop listing all the things or I’m going to have to make them all today! While all these meals are amazing I also have a few favorite healthy swaps to lighten up the comfort classics. .
Let me be clear, I don’t ALWAYS cook my meals the lightened up version because everyone deserves a creamy cheesy mac n cheese, but I try to do so 80% of the time!
Here are my favorite healthy swaps to incorporate into your cooking to lighten up some of your meals:
Favorite Healthy Swaps
Pasta – Zoodles, Spaghetti Squash, Chickpea pastas
- While pasta is great, some nights you just want to add a little more veggies in the mix. Swapping your pasta is a great way to do so! Zoodles are probably my go to. If you don’t have the gadget I’m linking the brand I use here so you’ll never have an issue turning your Zucchini into zoodles!
Rice – Cauliflower Rice
- The best type of recipe I’d use for this swap are for stir-frys and rice bowls. Take a look in your freezer section for the rice that’s already made up so you’re not having to grate your own head of cauliflower which can turn into a disaster.
Mashed Potatoes – Mashed Cauliflower
- I LOVE this swap. It’s perfect to pair with steak, meatloaf or salisbury steak. Here’s my favorite way to make Mashed Cauliflower
Alfredo Sauce- Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce
- Who doesn’t love a creamy rich sauce smothered all over pasta!? This sauce that I’ve made before you honestly can’t even tell the difference! Make this and feel free to pour as much as you want of your pasta, guilt free! Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Chocolate Mousse – Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse
- You guys, I’m a sucker for dessert. I HAVE to have something with chocolate every night. Usually a piece of dark chocolate suffices but then there’s those days where I want something elegant. This is what dessert dreams are made of. Try this recipe the next time you’re craving something extra special for dessert. Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse
Watch Out for Low-Fat, Light & Fat- Free
While these foods that are marketed as “low-fat” and “fat-free” may sound like they’re better, you’d be surprised to know they’re actually not! When you head to the grocery store next time, take a look at a bottle of Ranch dressing (normal) and the Ranch dressing (LIght). I guarantee the list of ingredients on the light version are a lot longer than just the regular. While the companies are taking out certain ingredients from the original, they’re replacing them with more addicting or dangerous chemicals for the “lower calorie” version.
This is a great example that just because something is lower in calories doesn’t mean it’s more healthy for our bodies to consume.
Trust me from experience, I used to ALWAYS buy the “100 calorie” packs of cookies because I thought they were a great snack. Unfortunately, they’re made up of empty calories that don’t add any nutritional value or fill you up!
So, now you’ve eaten food that does nothing for you and you’re still hungry. It sends the signal to your mind that you’ve already eaten chips or something “bad” so you dive into the other bag of chips and you’re spiraling out of control…like I said, I’ve been down this road far too often in the past!.
What Will You Swap?
Remember, the healthy swaps listed below are just some recommendations that I turn to when I want to make a comforting meal a bit more healthy. By no means does this mean you can’t have pasta, rice or alfredo sauce. It’s just some ideas for when you want to incorporate a little more balance to your nutrition plan!
I hope you found my favorite healthy swaps to be useful and if you use them in any of your upcoming meals / recipes I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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