The Art of the Swap
Changing up your lifestyle to be healthier can be hard…trying to exercise 150-300 minutes per week, trying to stay hydrated enough, trying to manage stress, trying to eat well…the list goes on and on.
One of the simplest things that you can do to begin your journey to a healthier lifestyle is to make healthy swaps with the foods you eat regularly. What is a healthy swap you might ask? Healthy swaps are small switches and substitutions with healthier food options. For example, rather than using butter as your main cooking oil, using an oil with a healthier nutrient profile such as canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, safflower oil, etc. Using these oils rather than butter as a cooking oil reduces the amount of saturated fat and adds healthier unsaturated fats into your diet.
These healthy swaps can be thought of as little steps towards a healthier pattern of eating- rather than taking away something that you like to eat as restrictive diets may recommend, healthy swaps are about emphasizing a healthier nutrient profile; whether you’re reducing fat, adding dietary fiber, reducing sugar, reducing sodium these swaps are the simplest way to “healthify” your eating style.
A few examples of healthy swaps include:
switching reduced fat/fat free/non-dairy milk for whole milk (this reduces saturated fat)
switching brown rice for white rice (this increases dietary fiber and vitamins and minerals)
switching whole grain/whole grain white/whole wheat bread for white bread (this increases dietary fiber)
switching reduced sodium soy sauce for traditional soy sauce (this reduces the sodium content)
switching whole wheat/whole grain/lentil or chickpea pasta for plain pasta (this increase dietary fiber and protein and vitamins)
As a registered dietitian nutritionist and a chef, I apply a lot of these swaps in my own home and my family enjoys these options equally. I find that the flavors and textures remain pretty close to their counterparts, but for some people they may require adjusting to. One suggestion I might have is if you want to make these changes but you don’t think you’ll tolerate them well is to only swap out a part for these healthier options; for example rather than switching out an entire cup of white rice for brown rice- switch half. Ease your way in.
