Substitute foods

When you're trying to be healthy, it's often easy to get sucked into the advertising hype of magical "low fat alternatives" or "guilt-free pleasures" to justify a little treat. I hate to break it to you, but in the food world, if something sounds too good to be true...well...it's because it is. Take, for example, your 'healthy option' Activia strawberry yogurt[1]. Only 2% fat? Great, you can feel good about yourself and that superb self-control, you skinny minnie. But oh wait. 17g of sugar? I bet you didn't see that one coming. Hi again, thigh fat. 

Basically, the replacement ingredients in "low fat" products are often more harmful than what was there in the first place. So back to square one. Instead of hap-hazard, chemical-filled duplicates of the same treat foods that you oh-so-love, I have my standard list of go-to substitutes that I use in everyday cooking, and have actually come to enjoy much more than the real, full-fat deal. Give them a try...

Butter substitute
Instead of low-fat margarine, which I find kind of weird and chemical-y, I use tomato puree. Sounds kind of odd at first, but hear me out. Tomatoes are super super good for you with lots of vitamins and minerals, contain no fat and barely any calories[2]. They're like the chia seed of the normal, non-celebrity superfood world. It may seem bizarre spreading this gloopy red stuff on bread, but in my opinion it often enhances the base of dishes - whether it be a little extra flavour in scrambled eggs on toast, a nice twang in a cottage cheese sandwich or enjoyed simply fab on its own as a topping with a little extra sprinkling of some herbs and pepper.

Granola substitute
The huge elephant in the room of all diet plans, the sugary fatty deliciousness that is granola is often mistaken for health food when actually secretly operating for the enemy. Instead of sprinkling this calorific explosion on your yogurt, why not try nuts? More specifically, walnuts. They basically look like granola. They have the basic texture of granola. They're delicious when paired with fruit or yogurt like granola. Except unlike granola, they have a huge amount of nutritional value, including better protein than that of which is found in most meats[3]. What is more, instead of the more-ish sweetness of granola that makes you want to keep picking at it until it's all gone and all that's left is your empty soul and full stomach, walnuts are choc-full of fibre which fills you up quickly, meaning you need to eat less to feel full. 

Chocolate substitute
I'm lucky in that I don't really like chocolate, but if you are a chocoholic, it's easy to lapse when you see a nice bar of Cadbury's. I suggest making chocolate porridge. Using plain oats and skimmed milk to make a normal porridge mix, spoon in 1 and a half tablespoons of cocoa powder, 1 mashed very ripe banana and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. The ripe banana provides natural sweetness, and the cocoa powder supplies you with low calorie vitamins and minerals, as well as a chocolate kick[4]. With less than 1g of saturated fat per serving and the added healthy goodness of porridge complex carbs (I eat porridge religiously every morning!), this would be an ideal way to survive your chocolate cravings.

Pasta/rice substitute
Everyone loves a huge bowl of carby goodness every once in a while. But if you want to enjoy pasta dishes on a more regular basis without the starchy overload, try alternatives such as quinoa. An ex-hipster food, it's now more affordably sold for under £1 a packet in supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Asda. I use it with the same pasta sauces and toppings that I would normal pasta. Quinoa is rich in calcium, protein, fibre and other vitamins which absolutely dons your bog-standard strand of spaghetti[5]. 

Pizza substitute
I have a really big thing for Warburtons brown sandwich thins. They're already split in half, only 100 calories and really, really thin, so no stodginess here. Top them with tomato puree, a slice of mozarella or cottage cheese and any veg or protein that you want and pop them under the grill. 


Have any other treats that you want naturally substituting? Drop me a comment:)

     


References:
1) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2408916/Fat-free-How-misleading-food-labels-worsening-obesity-crisis.html

2) http://www.livestrong.com/article/458358-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-tomato-paste/

3) http://www.livestrong.com/article/345513-benefits-of-eating-walnuts/

4) http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/cocoa-powder-nutrition-information-2144.html

5) http://www.naturalnews.com/041553_quinoa_nutritional_benefits_health.html