Over the years I’ve consulted with patients who aren’t feeling great and know they need to make improvements with their diet. Often they completely overhaul their diet and eliminate entire food groups (which they struggle to sustain) whilst overlooking the basic changes they can make which will undoubtably improve their health.
So this weeks post is a bit of back to basics guide with loads of simple swaps that will all positively impact on your health, without the stress of being on a diet. Anyone can make these simple swaps and in my experience, it’s often these micro changes that can have the hugest impact on ones long-term health.
Swap Margarine
Swap margarine or spreadable butter ⎮ For just plain old butter (pop it in a butter dish and leave it out of the fridge to make it spreadable). You can also blend butter and extra virgin olive oil to create a spreadable butter. Read more about why margarine (or spreads containing damaging vegetable oils) are not a healthy choice here.
Swap White Rice
Swap white rice ⎮ For brown rice, brown basmati or quinoa. All are less refined and more nourishing.
Swap White Flour
Swap white flour ⎮ For wholemeal or wholemeal spelt (or for gluten-free, I find a mix of buckwheat flour and almond meal is a great substitution).
Swap Regular Sandwich Bread
Swap commercial bread (which has up to 20 ingredients) ⎮ For artesian sourdough or a bread with the only ingredients being flour (preferably whole), salt, water and a raising agent (sourdough preferably). Read more about choosing bread here.
Swap Wheat Pasta
Swap wheat pasta ⎮ For a wheat free pasta (I love this Rice Quinoa Spaghetti, you wouldn’t know the difference) or zoodles (spiralised zucchini noodles).
Swap Vegetable Oils
Swap toxic vegetable oils (canola, rice bran etc) ⎮ For extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, butter, ghee, coconut oil (read more about the best choices in oils here).
Swap Breakfast Cereals and Drinks
Swap nutritionally void breakfast cereals and drinks ⎮ For oatmeal, home made muesli, homemade smoothies, chia puddings or a cooked brekkie. There are loads of breakfast recipes here or in my gorgeous ebook Rise and Shine.
Swap Low-fat Cows Milk
Swap low-fat cows milk ⎮ For a milk with the least processing possible (un-homogenised and full-fat cows milk is a better choice). Also consider nut milks (as long as they contain no added vegetable oils or sugar).
Swap Flavoured Yoghurts
Swap fruit, vanilla or lite yoghurts ⎮ For full-fat natural yoghurt or coconut yoghurt. For ideas on making the switch to a natural yoghurt, click here.
Swap Salad Dressings
Swap store bought salad dressings (which contain horrible vegetables oils and loads of sugar) ⎮ For a simple home-made one, here are some recipes.
Swap Meat
Swap some of your meat meals ⎮ For different sources of protein, perhaps add in a fish meal or perhaps a vegetarian meal. Or bulk out meat in a dish by adding in legumes, pulses and more vegetables. Instead of having the same cuts of meat on rotation, try adding in more variety. Read more about healthy choices in meat here.
Swap your Coffee Habit
Swap coffee ⎮ For a short coffee or a single shot per day if you just can’t live without it. Try to substitute coffee with dandelion root or even a turmeric latte.
Swap your Tea Habit
Swap tea ⎮ For green tea or a healing, good quality organic herbal tea (there are so many available, find one you love the taste of).
Swap Dairy Milk Chocolate
Swap dairy milk chocolate ⎮ For dark chocolate, home-made raw chocolate or a home-made chocolate-y treat like my raw snickers.
Soft drink and Juice
Swap soft drink and juice ⎮ There are so many great low sugar options for drinks (though water is numero-uno). Kombucha and coconut water are my families favourites. Also mineral water with fresh lime is a firm fave. Also whole fruit should always replace juice.
Others:
Swap chips for popcorn
Swap peanuts or roasted nut mixes (often contain added vegetable oils and large amounts of salt) for raw or dehydrated nuts and seeds.
So these are my favourite swaps. Even if there is just one small thing you can swap, your health will benefit and before you know it, it will be the norm. All those 1%’s add up!
After a bit more detail? For a comprehensive healthy pantry list, click here.
Now over to you. Have you swapped out a food and found it made a huge difference to your health. Anything you’d add to my list of food swaps? I’d love for you to post a comment below and have your say.
Also feel free to share this with a friend looking to a whole foods way of life!
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Natalie says
Hi Georgia,
I just wanted to ask about swapping tea with green or herbal tea. I don’t drink coffee but do probably drink too much black tea. I am not a fan of green tea or a lot of herbal teas but sounds like I may need to try?
Georgia Harding says
With tea and coffee I always suggested to patients that if you are going to sit, relax and TRUELY saviour/enjoy the tea/coffee then I’m not going to suggest otherwise. But if you drink it out of habit, then it’s time to cut back. Many tea drinkers find Rooibos a fair alternative (die-hard tea drinkers will be scoffing right now lol). At the very least try organic tea (as I’ve read it is heavily treated). Hope this helps Natalie G x
Jillian McKay says
Using raw cacao powder instead of cocoa or more processed options?
Jillian McKay says
We also find that toasting sourdough or even quality fruit breads make them more enjoyable for our kids.
Georgia Harding says
Great tip too- I tend to slice, freeze and toast my sourdough G x
Georgia Harding says
Yes great suggestion Jillian, thanks for your input G x
Emma says
Not a food swap but I’ve recently purchased a butter bell to keep my butter in. Great way to store butter on your bench top and keep it spreadable.
Georgia Harding says
Great suggestion Emma, thanks for that G x
Katie says
Hi Georgia, I’ve recently swapped Tasmanian salmon for sardines, herring, chia, flax and hemp seeds to get the Omega-3s. I think most consumers are under the impression salmon from Tasmania is healthy, but when you read they are fed antibiotics, toxic pellets containing soy and other questionable ingredients including dye to make their skin look pink (because apparently farmed salmon are more a grey colour!), and have become the battery farms of the sea, I wonder if it’s a better option to choose grass-fed beef for the anti-inflammatory omega 3s. What do you think?
Georgia Harding says
Yes great suggestion. I try to buy an organic and sustainable salmon by a company called ‘This Fish’ – my local butcher stocks it so I’m lucky G x
Debbie Tucker says
Hi,
I’m just wondering which milk is best in your opinion when it comes time for my toddler to finish breastfeeding?
Is organic un-homogenised milk a good option or should i swap it for kefir, goats milk, almond milk etc…?
Georgia Harding says
Hi Debbie. My kids both weaned onto water. Once they are eating a varied diet, they really don’t need milk (in fact I’ve found it to be a big problem contributing to fussy eating by ‘filling’ tiny tummies so they have no appetite for more nourishing whole foods). If you do decide to supplement though just go with the least processed. All of the above are okay (as long as no lactose intolerance) and nut milk is best to be home made for a bub. G x
Debbie says
I have recently found a recipe for home made vegemite based on black tahini. It’s a yummy substitute without the synthetic b vitamins. My 4 year old also loves it!
Anna says
that sounds amazing! Any chance you might be able to add a link to the recipe?
Anna
Georgia Harding says
Yes would be great if it is online you can post the URL here. G x
Georgia Harding says
Ah brilliant – sounds like a the perfect substitute, thanks for mentioning it G x
Annabel says
Love this helpful list. Some I’ve already done but still lots of room for improvement.
Georgia Harding says
Glad to help Annabel – slow and steady wins the race G x
Debbie Tucker says
Thanks for the advice on milks.
Here’s the recipe for healthy homemade vegemite. It still has yeast so not ideal if you’re trying you avoid.
https://www.recipecommunity.com.au/sauces-dips-spreads-recipes/healthy-homemade-vegemite/jnz6d6c3-5639c-578621-cfcd2-3h90eixd
I don’t have a thermomix so i just put it all in my mini processor and it worked fine.
Carly says
Hi Georgia
I just wanted to ask about milks and butter as my daughter has an egg and dairy allergy so we use soy milk and nuttlex as recommended by the allergy dietitian – obviously very processed but hard when you already have limitations x
Georgia Harding says
Hi Carly – Yes I understand it is difficult with limitations, but there are way safer options.
Other than not containing milk solids and a preservative, Nuttlex is sadly the same as margarine and not something I’d personally feed to my currently DF boy. We use ghee (but he is intolerant not allergic), olive oil, avo, cashew cream as spreads. I bake mostly with ghee, coconut oil and macadamia nut oil (coconut milk is great for subbing milk in baking).
With milk…the biggest problem with DF alternatives are many contain massive amounts of sugar and vegetables oils (though there are many brands without). Only buy organic soy products (non-organic is very often genetically modified and treated with glyphosate). Where there are limitations I always encourage parents to have a few different options (because variety is very important nutritionally and also for gut bio-diversity which is critical for overcoming allergies). So perhaps rotate between good quality, vegetable oil free organic soya milk, a nut milk and say a rice/coconut milk.
Hope this helps 🙂
Rahul More says
Proper diet adding whole nutritional value is really difficult but made easy by you . Thank you for such great info