Healthy food swaps you can make today

In this month's Know Your Nutrients series with Nutracheck, we're focusing on healthy food swaps

Whether you’re trying to slim down or want to be your healthiest self, the food you eat has a huge impact on your body and mind. Arm yourself with a bit of nutritional knowledge and you’ll soon be on your way to making healthier food choices every day, whether you’re cooking at home or eating out.

Start your day right

Breakfast is an opportunity to start your day off with a super nutritious meal. Make a good choice and you’ll be well on your way to meeting your nutrient goals for protein, fibre, calcium and fruit/veg. But don’t choose well, and you could find yourself hungry an hour later and reaching for the biscuit barrel!

Start your day right by swapping…

Sugary cereals FOR porridge with milk & fruit
Bagel with jam FOR wholemeal toast with nut butter & banana
Pancakes with chocolate spread FOR homemade banana pancakes & berries
Skipping breakfast FOR homemade fruit, veg, yoghurt & flaxseed smoothie

Choose healthy carbs

Carbs can get a bad rap – but in truth, this food group is an important part of our diet. It’s just about choosing the right type e.g. wholegrains over white refined versions. Wholegrain carbs are higher in fibre, protein and other important nutrients such as B vitamins – and are actually one of the best sources of fibre in our diet! If you cut out all carbs, it means you miss out on this super important nutrient.

To get the most from your carbs, make these swaps:

White bread FOR wholemeal
White pasta FOR whole wheat
White potato FOR sweet potato
Rice FOR quinoa

Snack smarter

It’s often thought snacking isn’t a healthy habit – but it depends entirely on the choices you make. While snacking on a chocolate bar every afternoon is not the most nutritious choice, switching to a snack that contains important nutrients can positively benefit your overall diet.

Next time you’re peckish at 11am, give these swaps a try:

Chocolate bar FOR chocolate fibre bar
Crisps FOR a handful of nuts
Flavoured yoghurt with chocolate balls FOR plain yoghurt with apple & cinnamon
Muffin FOR a slice of wholemeal toast with nut butter
Pack of wine gums FOR six dates

Stay hydrated

It’s important to keep well-hydrated – and ideally we’d all be drinking pure water exclusively. But there are times during the day when only a nice hot drink or something with some added flavour hits the spot! All drinks (except alcoholic ones) still provide fluid and help hydrate us, but some choices can also contain added sugars and saturated fat. Vary your hydration in a nutritious way by making these swaps:

Sugary tea FOR herbal fruit tea
Coffee shop hot chocolate FOR low cal hot choc sachet
Sugary carbonated drink FOR flavoured kombucha drink
Shop-bought milkshake FOR homemade banana milkshake – just blend banana & milk

Make the better choice when eating out

Restaurant food is back on the menu! This is great for our social life but can wreak havoc with our healthy eating plans if we don’t choose well. Fear not: eating out can be a part of a healthy, balanced diet – it’s just about making the best choices.

Make these healthy swaps the next time you dine out…