When you decide that you want to eat healthier, one of the most challenging things is not being able to eat all of your favorite foods all the time. Healthy eating doesn’t have to mean that you can’t eat the food you love, but it often means that you have to limit some things. However, there are options for you if you want to keep eating some of your favorite foods while still eating a healthy diet.
By making some changes to some of your favorite dishes, you could make them healthier and still enjoy them. You might not be able to get them to taste exactly the same if you change some things, but you can create a close enough version that it’s still satisfying.
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Swap Out Carbs
Carbohydrates are not necessarily a bad thing. They’re an important form of energy, and many of us get much of our energy from carbs. But cutting out carbohydrates can also be a good way to help you lose and manage weight.
Reducing the number of carbs you have can make it easier to control calories and eat a healthier meal. If you still want to enjoy a meal that usually has a lot of carbs, consider swapping the carb portion for something else. It could be cauliflower rice, spaghetti made of zucchini, or other substitutions. You could also simply cut back on carbs and have a bigger portion of something else.
Use Less Oil
Oil isn’t always inherently unhealthy, either. A lot of people think that olive oil or coconut oil can be good for you, for example. But cutting back on the oil that you use in your food can help you to reduce the calories in your meals and remove some of the fat too.
If you want to use less oil, you can try to avoid frying your food. Baking, poaching, broiling, and other methods of cooking can allow you to make flavorful foods without lots of oil. If you do fry your food, use a low-calorie cooking oil or spray.
Make It Veggie or Vegan
Turning your favorite meals vegetarian or vegan can be a good way to make them healthier. Cutting back on meat and dairy can make your diet healthier, and it can often make it cheaper too. Of course, not everything that’s vegetarian or vegan is automatically healthy.
Oreos are vegan, after all. But you can find healthier options like the vegan potato salad recipe at Noracooks.com. By swapping out one or two ingredients, you can make your favorite meals suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet while also making them a little healthier.
Avoid Too Much Salt
Salt is something that you definitely need to limit for a healthy diet. Salt may not be as necessary for some recipes as you think, whereas, for others, you can probably divide it in half. Salt does provide flavor to your food, but it’s not the only thing that can make your food flavorful. Some of the ingredients that you use may also already have salt in them if they’re prepared or processed, so be aware of that when you’re cooking. Try using other herbs, spices, and flavorings to provide flavor.
Bake With Whole Grains
If you enjoy baking, consider experimenting with whole grains. They can make your baking healthier and you can bake some delicious things too. Baking with whole grains can be a little different if you’re not used to it, but a little practice can help you to become more familiar with them. You can try replacing half of the all-purpose flour in a recipe with whole wheat flour if you want to make it a little healthier without having to completely substitute all of the flour.
Cut Back on Portions
Portion size is one of the biggest things that can make a difference to how healthy a meal is. Even if you want to eat a healthy diet, you don’t have to completely cut out “unhealthy” foods. Reducing your portion sizes can be a great way to still enjoy what you love but fit it into a healthy diet. If you feel like having a pizza, you can get a smaller one with a salad on the side instead of choosing the larger pizza. If you find that you often eat until you’re past full, cutting down on what you put on your plate can help.
A healthier diet doesn’t have to mean ditching your favorite dishes. You can find ways to make your favorite foods healthier instead.