Did You Know These Simple Food Swaps Can Save Calories?

You may think that eating healthy means eating becomes boring, but it really doesn’t have to be that way. Below are some ideas on what foods to swap out to cut calories while still eating delicious (and healthy) food.
 
Here are some easy swaps that save big calories:

• On Taco Tuesday try swapping ¼ cup sour cream for a ¼ cup low-fat Greek yogurt. You will experience the same flavor and save 80 calories! (Honestly it tastes the same!)
• Everyone loves mayo on their sandwich, but think about swapping 2 tablespoons mayo for 2 tablespoons hummus and save 120 calories. You can even make your hummus at home to avoid the high sodium store bought brands, and chickpeas have a lot of fiber.
• When baking use applesauce instead of oil. You’ll save 455 calories in a ¼ cup and deliciously moist breads.
• Even though many of the calories come from fat in this compact beauty, an avocado provides healthy fat and lots of vitamins and minerals. Try using ¼ cup of mashed avocado in place of ½ stick of butter and save 305 calories!
• Need breadcrumbs for tonight’s recipe? Make your own substituting a ½ cup of Italian style breadcrumbs with ½ cup old-fashioned oats (coarsely ground) with a pinch of Italian seasoning. You’ll get the same deliciousness and save 70 calories.
• Pasta is a hard meal to give up and guess what? You don’t have to! Substitute 1 cup of past with 1 cup of zucchini noodles and save 196 calories. Your kids won’t even notice the difference!
• Cauliflower is all the rage from cauliflower rice to cauliflower pizza, but did you know you could substitute ½ cup of Alfredo sauce with ½ cup cauliflower sauce, and save 125 calories!? Here’s a yummy recipe to try!
• Granola sounds like a healthy option, but what’s better for breakfast? Good old-fashioned oatmeal. You’ll not only save calories, but you’ll get away from the processed granola that often is not as healthy as we think. 
• Like to enjoy a steak every now and then? Try grass-fed beef to save about 92 calories.

 
These simple swaps should be easy to incorporate into your healthy lifestyle. But if you are looking for more information on how to make these simple food changes Contact Natatia at Functional Performance Fitness to talk about your nutrition goals!