Creative Healthy Food Options

Please welcome today’s guest post from Brittnay of The Nut Butter Hub. Today Brittnay is sharing 7 creative ways to make healthy food choices. She offers way to still enjoy your favorite foods without the guilt!

7 Creative Ways to Make Your Favorite Food Healthy

Junk food is great right? It’s scrummy and tasty and moreish, but it’s not always so great for our health. The yummy likes of deep dish pizza, chocolate and ice cream make it difficult to avoid, but don’t worry! Here are some healthier alternatives to junk food, and ways to make your favorite food healthy.  

Don’t Step Away from The French Fries

The next time you want fries try baking them instead of deep frying them in litres of oil. When at home, try tossing your sweet potato wedges in a bag with olive oil and semolina. This coating with ensure you get a crispy oven chip every time. You can also try using a healthy oil like coconut to help reduce your cholesterol levels.

Don’t Deny Your Sweet Tooth

You will find that dark chocolate is much more flavorsome than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate has a higher percentage of cocoa, less sugar & milk solids than regular chocolate. As a result, a little goes a long way. Not only that, without the extra sugar you won’t end up eating the whole bar (we have all been there). You will find that a couple of squares of dark chocolate might satisfy your longing for chocolate. (Plus dark chocolate is made from the seed of the cocoa tree which is a great source of antioxidants. Healthy food, right?)

If already enjoy dark chocolate and looking for a something a bit different, try melting a few squares and drizzling it over some strawberries and coconut yogurt.

Add Some Smoky Flavors

Smoking food is a simple way of packing loads of flavor into your food. It also adds a great complexity to your dishes. You can either hot or cold smoke your food to give different depth of flavor. If you were wondering, hot smoking both cooks and flavors your food whereas cold smoking only flavors it.

I’m sure we’ve all heard of smoking meat and fish however, you can also smoke fruit and vegetables using a propane smoker. Smoking can open you up to a world of new flavors! What about smoked garlic, smoked aubergines or even smoked mushrooms? You can also use different woods to give different flavors or even soak the wood in your wine. Our favorite is soaking cedar in our local wineries cabernet sauvignon!

Can’t Give Up Mac and Cheese?

Processed pasta is not a good thing to eat on a regular basis. Get rid of boxed mac and cheese and make some at home. You can make a velvety cheese-based sauce with added butternut squash. This sweet taste on mac and cheese is sure to be satisfying.

Take it a step further and replace your high carb noodles with a plant-based pasta made out of chickpeas or legumes. The texture may be a little grainier than regular pasta but it tastes almost the same.  

Get Ready to Spice Up Your Life

You can add some really punchy flavors by creating your own spice mixes. You can use these to season your dishes, and you can even use them to marinade meat in (by combining with a little oil).

It’s super easy to make your own curry powder for a tasty chicken, lamb or vegetarian curry or your own Mexican inspired seasoning for tacos and fajitas.

Don’t Ditch the Desserts

Most kids love cakes and desserts, but they can be full of fat and refined sugar Trying to get kids to stop eating sweet treats is nigh on impossible, but you can transform them into a healthy food choice. Some healthy dessert recipes are so crafty, you can hardly taste the difference

With a little of creativity, you can even make chickpeas or sweet potatoes into a dessert. Why not give Chickpea Blondies,  Beet Berry Coconut Chia Pudding or Sweet Potato Brownies a try? There are so many options for healthy desserts using alternative ingredients. Just remember, that just because they are healthier, doesn’t mean you can eat all of them, save some for the kids.

Homemade Muesli

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so start it off the right way. Instead of kicking off the day with a bowl full of commercial cereal, which are sure to be filled with processed sugars and other preservatives, try having a bowl of homemade muesli as a healthy food alternative!

Treat your body and taste buds the right way, by adding in your favorite fruits into your healthy homemade bowl of muesli!

Switching out your favorite foods for healthier alternatives is easy and simple! Take the time to prepare food at home, get to know what you’re putting into your body and say goodbye to the guilt of satisfying cravings — because with these healthy alternatives — your body will thank you for it!