Simple Healthy Substitutions
by adustyframe ~ April 3rd, 2009I’m always looking for ways to boost nutrition or add healthy to our meals. Here are some simple ways to add good stuff to your diet.
*This is what I’ve done, we don’t have food allergies or special needs. Obviously you have to take your family’s health issues into account.*
You may want to add one at a time if you think your children will revolt. I’ve been doing this since James was small thankfully.
If you do other things, share them. I’m not talking about the big steps but just quick simple ways to boost health and nutrition.
Purchase these items rather than their counterpart.
*Natural peanut only peanut butter
*100% all fruit jam
*Red Grapes rather than green grapes
*Whole grain wheat bread–not the fake “Wheat bread” but the real stuff. Look for something with 4 gr. of fiber or more per serving.
*Romaine lettuce
*Plain non fat yogurt--it works great as a sour cream substitute (not as thick) or in smoothies. If you want to serve it to your children as yogurt, you need to stir in something to sweeten it– all fruit jam or pureed fruit.
You can also use it as a substitute for oil in baked goods. I think the texture of the baked goods is better with yogurt than with the common oil replacement, applesauce.
*Brown Rice--I shared my quick tip for cooking it here.
*Unsweetened applesauce–James loves to stir in cinnamon.
*100% fruit juice
*Cook with Olive Oil
*Bake with Super Flour–in your empty measuring cup add 1 Tb wheat germ, 1 Tb soy flour, 1 Tb ground flax meal for each cup of flour then fill up your measuring cup with flour. This gives a boost in nutrition but doesn’t change the texture of your baked goods.
* Old Fashioned rolled oats–they only take a few minutes more to cook and they taste so yummy. You can use them in any recipes that call for quick oats with no substitutions.
A fun game that James and I play at the grocery store is, “Choose a new…” I let him pick out a new fruit or vegetable to try. It gets him more interested in trying new things and it’s good for mom too.
I found a new blog you should check out. Lots of health tips–it looks like she’s written down all the research I did but never took the time to write up. Health Begins with Mom.
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 am
Your “Super Flour” is like Cornell Bread flour only it uses 1 T of powdered whole milk. I often knead a little milled flax seed into bread or add a little to quick bread or oatmeal.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:52 am
I like the idea of choose a new vegetable. I usually don’t take the kids grocery shopping with me, but I could pick out something new and make a big deal about it at home.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for the tips and the new website!
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I love to buy whole wheat tortillas. Since you usually eat tortillas with flavorful stuff like taco meat, and salsa, etc, you don’t even notice they are whole wheat. I think they have 5 grams of fiber each, and they are more filling than white. =)
April 4th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I throw a handfull of flax meal into all of my baked goods. And you know I hide blended veggies in all sorts of things.
And I use plain yogurt in place of mayo in recipes.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 am
I was wondering if there was a substitute for the soy flour since my son is allergic to soy?
We do all the others though and they are great!
Yes, you can use powdered milk too.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:04 am
Great ideas! Thanks!
I’ve found that finely chopped kale can be added to a lot of foods. It’s one of the most nutritious vegetables. Click on my name for some tips on how to use it.
Do you read Nutrition Action Healthletter? It’s a very informative but fun-to-read magazine from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (cspinet.org) and although it has no ads, it’s pretty affordable! I don’t work for them or anything, I just like it so much I want to tell everyone.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Great tips. I have never heard of Super Flour before-cool