8 Easy Food Swaps & Healthy Alternatives for Weight Loss
Do you find yourself trying to make a healthy grocery list but don’t even know where to begin? Then you’re in the right place because I’ve been in your shoes, too. Eating healthier can feel like such a hassle because we assume it’s hard and expensive, or that we’ll have to make drastic jumps to cut everything out. Looking at weight loss with that mindset can of course feel scary–but what if I told you that you don’t have to cut everything out? And that you don’t have to stop eating your favorite foods?
An easy first step to taking action on your health is finding healthier alternatives to what you already eat. In this blog post, I’ll share my top 8 easy food swaps and healthy alternatives that helped change my relationship with food for good.
Top 8 easy food swaps and healthy alternatives for:
Soda
Sugar
Carbs & starches
Chips
Peanut butter
Milk alternatives
Chocolate
Oils
Protein powders
Soda
When I was at my heaviest weight I would drink approx. 4 cans of diet coke everyday amounting to two packs a week, sometimes more. I was so addicted to soda, that when I would wake up in the morning, my first instinct was to chug a cold Dr. Pepper. One morning this bad habit caught up to me, and I got a kidney stone directly after chugging a Dr. Pepper. I knew this habit needed to stop in order for me to move towards a healthier lifestyle. So, I found some easy alternatives.
I started swapping regular soda for Zevia, Oli Pop, Poppi, seltzer water, and electrolytes. Incorporating these alternatives made it so that I didn’t have to cut out the habit of having a refreshing beverage entirely, plus I felt 1000x better–no more headaches! I still to this day refrain from drinking diet coke because I now have healthier alternatives that are just as good and make me feel even better.
Overcoming my soda addiction made me realize the importance of hydration–especially after my kidney stone. I learned that it’s so crucial to drink plenty water for hydration, but water doesn’t have all the electrolytes needed to replenish hydration in between workouts. I started incorporating Ultima Electrolytes as a healthy and refreshing daily drink and the 6 key electrolytes helped me feel rejuvenated, hydrated, and more energetic. Shop through my affiliate link here, and sign up for their emails to receive 20% off in your inbox instantly!
Sugar
Minimizing sugar played a major role in my weight loss success. I didn’t realize how much sugar was in everything, how sluggish it was making me feel, and how inflamed I was until I cut it out and started incorporating healthier alternatives. My go-to healthy alternatives for sugar are: coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, and stevia. I love to opt for these ingredients in my dessert recipes–turns out, you can still have a sweet treat without all of the refined added sugars. This doesn’t mean that you have to cut out sugar altogether, it’s just about including a healthier alternative where and when you can with the things you already crave.
Note of advice: Moderation is still key with any sugar alternative. Use your intuition and test out what makes you feel good and what doesn’t. For example, I used to eat a lot of sugar free items that still had fake sugar like erythritol, sugar gum, and aspartame–all of which I also try to minimize because I learned too much of these items made me feel bloated with gut pain and constipation.
To learn more about using your intuition when it comes to your relationship with food, checkout my blog post: “How to Intuitively Eat.”
Carbs & starches
If you want to lose weight fast, a typical method is cutting down your carb intake including your refined starches. Easy alternatives can be swapping regular white potatoes for sweet potatoes. White rice for brown rice or quinoa. Instead of eating white bread, opt for whole grain–or cut out bread altogether and just use lettuce, bell peppers, or rice cakes as an alternative.
For pasta (who doesn’t love pasta), opt for chickpea pasta. I refused to give up pasta on my weight loss journey, but when I used my intuition, sometimes too much pasta made me feel bloated. So, I started eating chickpea noodles instead which actually has more protein and still tastes just as good. I still prefer to eat chickpea noodles over regular pasta as a healthier alternative when given the opportunity. Sometimes, if I know I’m having pasta at a friends house, I’ll even bring my own pasta.
Recommendation: I love the Banza chickpea pasta.
Chips
Let’s be so for real. We all love to veg out on the couch with a bag of chips watching our favorite TV show. I started looking at the ingredients in my chips and also realized how many empty calories I was consuming by binging a whole bag. So, I started buying healthier alternatives with less processed oils like brands Siete and Hippeas Chickpea puffs. Incorporating healthier alternatives like this helped me develop a healthier relationship with food as I began to trust what I was putting into my body, therefore, I didn’t feel any guilt or shame in consumption.
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is good for you in small amounts, but in other amounts–very high calorie. When you’re trying to lose weight fast, you want to minimize extra fats and oils. So I started using PB Fit instead. That way, I could still have PB and enjoy more of it with less calories and fats than a normal serving of peanut butter (plus, more protein). Give this alternative a try!
Tip: If you want to stick with regular peanut butter, find an organic brand without palm oil.
Some of my go-to snacks that I use PB Fit with, include:
Rice cakes: PB Fit, chocolate chips, banana slices, and drizzle of honey.
Apple nachos: Apple slices drizzled with PB fit, granola, and honey.
Checkout my blog post: “5 Easy Protein Dessert Recipes for Weight Loss” for more yummy snack and treat ideas.
Milk alternatives
To lose weight fast and reduce my inflammation I also decided to reduce the amount of dairy I was consuming in my diet. This meant instead of drinking regular milk, I started drinking almond milk, coconut milk, or oat milk. Instead of eating cheddar or mozzarella cheese, I started eating more feta, goat cheese, and parmesan–which are cheeses that are on the lower end of dairy spectrum. In recipes that called for heavy cream, I started swapping for a can of coconut cream which is a LIFE HACK. Not only does it taste better in my opinion, but I just feel cleaner eating it.
Try reducing your dairy intake, and see if you notice a difference in your skin, inflammation, and bloating. This is just something I learned about me and my body, but others may be different when it comes to level of tolerance for your bodies reaction to dairy consumption.
Chocolate
You don’t have to cut out chocolate altogether. Go for dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate because dark chocolate has less dairy, sugar, and fat–which is why it is claimed to be healthier for you. Of course practice moderation, but I feel better when I know what I’m consuming is a healthier option.
Recommendation: My favorite dark chocolate is the HU chocolate because it has very clean ingredients. My favorite one is the nut butter filled, cashew butter dark chocolate!
Oils
With weight loss, it’s important to reduce your fat or minimize it where you can. Instead of butter I started using more olive oil instead (if you use butter, opt for grass-fed butter). I always make sure to look at the ingredients in olive oil to make sure they aren’t fooling me by adding other oils as well. If it says Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the only ingredient, you’re good.
Believe it or not, I also started using coconut oil in my dessert recipes. Specifically, to add a coco-nutty, sweet flavor. Also works well to melt with chocolate chips if your dessert recipe calls for it. It’s a great lubricant to include in any recipe if you need it!
Coconut oil tip: Not to mention, I moisturize my whole body with coconut oil, lol. It’s actually great for reducing stretch marks and cellulite during weight loss!
Protein powders
There are tons of different protein powders on the market all of which can be filled with additives, chemicals, and sugar leaving you feeling bloated. At the start of my healthy journey I was looking for an organic protein powder that wasn’t chalky, but also wasn’t full of sugar and dairy. That’s when I found Orgain, which is a healthier option that has real high-quality ingredients I can trust. Orgain is my go-to protein powder that helps me incorporate more protein in my diet–whether it’s yummy smoothies or a healthy sweet treat.
I highly recommend you to give Orgain Protein Powder a try if you’ve been on the hunt for a quality protein powder that actually tastes good. Use code: LINDSEYBUCHANAN to save 20% on your entire purchase!
Small changes compound quick
Incorporating these easy alternatives in your diet will contribute to massive results fast. Even the smallest changes in your habits compound quick into huge transformations. Remember that when you don’t change, nothing changes. Through trial and error of finding swaps that work for you, accomplishing your weight loss, health, and fitness goals finally feels sweet and simple.
Use these ideas I just listed for healthy alternatives as a starting point for improving your relationship with food. Submit your name and email below to get my FREE Grocery List Template with the ingredients I just mentioned (plus more) to help you plan your weekly meals and snacks.
You can also use my Recipe Book as a helpful guide to cooking healthy and easy high-protein meals that implement these healthy ingredient swaps. You’ll finally realize eating clean does not have to be difficult! Save 20% during my FLASH SALE here!
My recipe e-book is designed for beginner chefs like you who are looking for yummy protein recipes that are easy and make cooking more fun and enjoyable.
This is a digital download, so you’ll get instant access to my exclusive weight loss recipes right away!
What’s Included (Let her cook👩🍳)
34-Recipes: My 40-page cookbook contains 34-recipes separated into 3-sections (breakfast, dinner, & dessert options) each with weight loss tips to better understand how to approach intuitive-eating with your diet.
Each recipe is outlined with specific ingredients, measurements, and instructions–plus, guided-tips to “juice-the-squeeze” out of each tasty recipe.
Breakfast: 8 recipes
Dinner: 17 recipes
Dessert: 9 recipes
Includes my famous coconut chickpea curry and protein puppy chow recipe!
This cookbook is for you if you’re looking to:
Learn how to cook and incorporate more home cooked nutrient-dense meals in your diet
Lose weight–these are the exact recipes I created to lose over 100 pounds
Improve health and build muscle through whole-foods based meals
Boost your protein intake while reducing bloating and inflammation
Discover your passion for cooking and develop a healthy relationship with food
Eat clean and find presence in your body through intuitive-eating
*DF and GF options available.
Note: To use the product, you can simply print the PDF file or access directly on your phone through the PDF. Due to the digital nature of this product, there are no refunds.
Your progress is built in the kitchen–start eating healthy today!