Smart substitutions will not only improve the way you look, but they will also make you feel better, and can help encourage healthier habits on your journey to a new and better you. Making these 5 easy food swaps will help you lose weight, improve the appearance of your skin, reduce cravings, and increase your energy levels. It is time for “out with the old and in with the new!” Why wait? Start today!
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| Image: Live Love Fruit |
Fruit is literally nature’s candy! Candy is essentially refined sugar, some kind of corn product, and weird thickeners. It isn’t really food, at all, just something that we have substituted for what our brain truly craves – fruit sugar, or in other words, fructose (and some glucose). Fruit also contains beneficial vitamins and minerals which help shut off hunger signals in our brain and prevents us from eating the entire fridge after a hard days work. Fruit provides our body with proper carbohydrates, healthy starches, and cellulose which provide fiber. Instead of reaching for some candy, reach for a banana, peach, mango or if you really want something sweet, try some fresh medjool dates, or dried apricots or goji berries!
Instead of salt swap in fresh or dried herbs & spices!
Sodium dehydrates, and raises blood pressure putting us at risk for developing heart disease or suffering from a stroke. Most people think not using salt will lead to bland tasting foods – this is usually because they leave out salt and don’t add in anything else to help maximize flavour. This is where herbs and spices come in! They help add incredible flavour to your foods and contain plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which help fight off disease. I particularly like to use dill because it is very salty and makes everything taste amazing. The variety of herbs and spices you can use are endless! From mint to basil, to chile flakes and garlic – you won’t even remember that you forgot to add salt.
Instead of butter or margarine eat avocado!
Using avocado in place of butter is a great food swap! Butter is laden with artery-clogging saturated fat and margarine is loaded with ingredients that are found in plastic products – so what better to use than omega rich avocado? Avocados have a naturally smooth, creamy texture, and can be used as a healthy substitute in baking for butter and eggs! You can also use it as a spread on toast in the morning, or just scrap the toast and eat the avocado itself! Avocado is also loaded with vitamins and can help reduce cholesterol and fight heart disease. You can even make a raw chocolate pudding using avocado – click HERE for the recipe!
Instead of mucus-forming milk drink body-slimming almond milk!
Almond milk is a popular milk substitute, and is about 500x healthier than cow’s milk due to it’s incredible vitamin and mineral content and heart-protecting properties. People who are lactose intolerant can also safely consume almond milk without any adverse side effects! Almond milk is packed with vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, iron, fiber, zinc, and calcium! It is also incredibly low in calories (only 40 calories per 8 oz. serving) and is very low in fat. It is free of casein, gluten, lactose, and is completely cholesterol free – it is also void of saturated animal fats which regular cows milk is full of. Cows milk also contains pus (white blood cells), which we probably shouldn’t be consuming. It is also a leading cause of runny and stuffy noses (congestion) and creates a lot of mucus in the body – clogging up our cells and giving us brain fog. Switch to almond milk today! It can be used in place of milk in any situation!
Instead of bagels for breakfast eat bananas!
Grains are not necessarily a human food – in fact, before the Agricultural Revolution, a couple hundred thousand of years passed without consumption of grains. In fact, studies have found that the human brain’s physical ability and functioning was highest just prior to this wheat-based revolution. Not just that, but archeological evidence has shown that since humans became more involved in their agricultural practices, human strength has slowly, but surely declined. Grains contain a compound called Phytic Acid which blocks the ability of our bodies to absorb calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc – when grains begin to sprout, vitamin and mineral content increases and phytic acid content decreases. However, most of the grains individuals consume today are not sprouted, leading to a variety of mineral deficient diseases like osteoporosis. Instead, eat some fruit carbs like bananas! Fully ripe bananas are packed with vitamins and minerals and will nourish your body instead of depleting it! If you please, make a banana smoothie with bananas, dates, and coconut water – you will feel 100x better, compared to the tiredness most individuals feel after consuming breads and pastas.
Source: Live Love Fruit
