For most foods, we are aware that there are healthier alternatives. Most people are creatures of habit and rarely want to change anything. “That’s not tasty!” & “That doesn’t help anyway” is what we often hear in this context. Not correct! Alternatives that taste at least as good or result in new tasty dishes. We have put together healthy and unhealthy foods for you at a table. In this way, you save calories and time, do something for your health and get one step closer to optimal weight.
In addition, there are also ways to save fat and calories in the cooking process itself. In contrast to frying in the pan, the grill is a fat-saving alternative, as the fat can drip off, and the meat does not develop with it. If you should fry something, it is better to use a healthy, high-quality oil made from sunflower or flaxseed instead of butter. It would be best if you usually had less of these, and these oils contain more high-quality fatty acids. It is also worthwhile to put the seared meat or vegetables on some kitchen paper or dab it. With this, you can easily catch excess fat.
Steaming and stewing is an exceptionally healthy and low-calorie type of cooking. You should almost completely avoid fried food, whether at home or on the go. The trans fats used in fried foods and baked goods are very high in calories and harm your health. When choosing the food, it is often worth looking twice. Whenever you can, try to use the freshest and unprocessed foods possible. Fresh vegetables often have a more natural taste, are cheaper, and are usually free of flavor enhancers and additives.
The more processed a product is, the more time you should take to look at the ingredients. In particular, foods that have little to do with their original appearance, such as sausages, contain many undesirable and, above all, avoidable additives. In particular, supposedly healthy finished products are usually enriched with preservatives, preservatives, colorings, or stabilizers. Even if they do not pose an acute health risk, they distort the nutritional culture and the perception of the natural taste of many ingredients.
Some of the following additives are commonly added to food:
- Emulsifiers: auxiliaries to mix immiscible substances (e.g., oil and water) into a so-called emulsion.
- Dyes: Are used to preparing or coloring the product more appealingly. It comes from either natural or synthetic processes (e.g., E 142 for green products)
- Preservatives: Increases the shelf life of food.
- Flavor enhancers: intended to improve the taste of the product. This also includes sweeteners for light products such as aspartame.
Some sweeteners or additives have been banned over the past few years. Despite strict quality controls, the health risks of some additives are still unexplained or not yet adequately researched. Consumption of these substances does not pose an immediate threat for many people, but they indicate an industrially processed product and should be treated cautiously. In our table, we show you that healthy alternatives are not challenging to find. Almost any unhealthy food can be replaced in this way.
Also Read: TIPS& TRICKS – HOW YOU ESTABLISH MINDFUL EATING IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE
“Fixed” Seasoning Mixes
Ready-made seasoning mixes for lasagna, sauces & Co. are trendy due to their very intense taste. For example, thickeners, a lot of salt, and sugar suppress the actual taste of the dish to a great extent. These spice mixtures are often neither cheaper nor faster to prepare than the classic variant. Unfortunately, we miss a little bit of the sense of the different aromas and tastes of fresh spices and foods.
That doesn’t mean at all that you have to do without your favorite dishes completely! Often you can replace unhealthy foods, for example, with a healthier counterpart. For example, pork can be substituted for lean chicken. Rice should, e.g., B., can be bought in its original form as brown rice. Whole grain products should be preferred for baked goods.
The light wheat flour is ideal for baking but contains many short-chain carbohydrates processed into sugar molecules in the small intestine. As a result, our blood sugar rises sharply and quickly flattens out again, similar to soft drinks. This often causes cravings and a decreased feeling of satiety. The following list is a good overview if you want to swap out unhealthy foods from your kitchen.
The “Instead Of” Food List
| FOOD | ALTERNATIVE HEALTHIER FOODS |
| Meat: pork belly, sausage, goose, duck | Meat: game, turkey, chicken, duck (skinless), veal |
| Sausage: bacon, salami, Lyoner, mortadella, liver sausage | Sausage: cooked/smoked ham, salmon ham, turkey breast |
| Fish: fish fingers, herring, mackerel | Fish: steamed/smoked fish, saithe, cod, haddock |
| Rice (white) / couscous | Quinoa, cauliflower (grated), brown rice, millet |
| Wheat noodles, e.g., spaghetti | Zucchini or pumpkin noodles , whole wheat noodles |
| French fries, fried potatoes, croquettes | Jacket potatoes, baked potatoes, baked potatoes |
| Conventional breeding or breadcrumbs (based on wheat) | Sesame breading |
| Croissant, white pastries, white toast | Wholemeal biscuits, spelled biscuits, wholemeal toast |
| Ready-made (salad) sauce, light sauce, mayonnaise | Use oil, vinegar, mustard, soy, salt, pepper, and water or just balsamic vinegar and a little oil |
| Lemonade, fruit juice | Water with berries, lemon water, tea, black coffee |
| beer | Radler, Alster (with sugar-free lemonade), wine spritzer |
| coffee with milk and sugar | Black coffee (without milk and sugar) |
| peanut butter | Cashew butter, almond butter (caution: high-fat content, many calories) |
| peanuts | Almonds |
| chocolate | Fruits, chocolate (100% cocoa) |
| Conventional cocoa powder | Raw cocoa |
| Nut nougat spread | 100% jam |
| Chips, pretzel sticks, flip | Vegetable snacks, vegetable sticks (sliced carrots/peppers) |
| Margarine, sour cream | Reduced-fat cream cheese & herb quark, tomato paste, grainy cream cheese |
Healthy Recipes In Your Eating Plan
Do you want to replace more than just a few foods? Do you want to lose weight in a healthy and long-term way? Then your personalized nutrition plan will help you on the way to your desired weight. All of your needs are taken into account when creating your nutritional plan. Whether with meat, vegetarian or vegan – you can create your tailor-made nutrition plan in just a few minutes. In addition to food intolerances or allergies, it also considers which foods you do not like and specifically addresses your needs.
Also Read: WHAT ARE MEAT SUBSTITUTES AND THEIR ALTERNATIVES?
