Crave This, Eat That: Smart Meal Swaps for Your Favorite Foods!
Don't Let Cravings Ruin Your Progress; Eat These Healthy Alternatives
Alright, let’s talk about losing weight without feeling like you’re living off carrot sticks and sad salads. Whether you’re in a bigger body or a smaller one, I get it—going on a diet can make you feel like you’ve been banned from every food you actually like. But here’s the truth: you don’t have to give up your favorite foods to get healthier!
One of the biggest myths about losing weight is that you need to cut out entire food groups—especially carbs. Like, come on, who wants to live in a world without pasta? Not me. The good news is, it’s not about cutting certain foods out; it’s about making simple swaps that add more nutrients to your meals.
As someone who loves pizza just as much as protein shakes, trust me when I say that small changes can make a huge difference. For example, swapping regular chips for popcorn or using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream can help you reach your goals without making you feel like you’re missing out. And I enjoy food too much to just completely not eat what I enjoy. Doing that will make you get off track with your weight loss goals quicker than anything, honestly.
So if you’re tired of diets that make you sad and “hangry,” stick around! I’ve got some easy food swaps that won’t make you feel like you’re giving up everything you love. I will say, this took a lot of trial and error starting out, simply because you just have to try new things—some swaps you’ll love and some you won’t, and that’s okay; you just move on to the next thing to try. But I’m proud to say I feel pretty confident in my list of swaps. Everything listed are foods I’ve swapped and truly enjoy, and I think you will too. Let’s make eating healthy fun and delicious!
Pizza
Pizza just might be my favorite food in the world, but it’s definitely not the healthiest. The good news is that most places now offer healthier menu options such as cauliflower and gluten-free crusts; you would then, of course, choose healthier toppings of your choice. But what do you do when maybe you want pizza but don’t want to spend the money for it? You make it at home.
For me, I’ve discovered the power of low-carb tortilla shells and just how wonderful of a crust they make for homemade pizza (I personally prefer the spinach shells). Here’s what I use for my homemade pizza swap:
Low-carb tortilla shells
Any pizza sauce
Low-fat mozzarella cheese
Turkey pepperoni
Veggies of your choice
Pasta
Pasta, whether with white sauce or red sauce, is another favorite of mine that I’m just not willing to give up completely. However, I am willing to make healthier choices with it. Now, it could be just the area where I live, but I haven’t been able to find any restaurants that offer healthier menu options for pasta (if you know of any, please let me know!). So, if I have a taste for pasta, and want to make it healthier, I have to make it at home.
My recipe for pasta at home isn’t a complicated one either, so don’t go thinking that you need a million ingredients. If I’m feeling fancy, I will make homemade Alfredo sauce out of Greek yogurt, but for the most part, I’ll use jar sauce.
The biggest swap for me is the pasta itself. Instead of regular pasta, I typically buy protein pasta. This particular food swap is one that I did a lot of trial and error with, and I’ve come to find that the Barilla brand protein pasta is the best tasting and closest to the consistency of regular pasta. Some of the pastas taste too much like peas (I hate peas) or seemingly never get tender enough no matter how long you boil them! Here’s my quick and easy pasta recipe:
Barilla protein pasta noodles
Any jar pasta sauce
Chopped garlic
Chicken breasts or ground turkey
Low-fat mozzarella cheese
Seasonings (Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken bouillon)
Salads
Okay, you might be thinking that salads aren’t a good meal swap (because they’re already healthy, right?). Well, believe it or not, not all salads are created equally. Did you know that some salads have as many calories as a cheeseburger? It’s true, especially when you start adding the cheeses and croutons and bacon.
When I make homemade salads, I love the bacon and cheese and all the other salad things, but my biggest thing is the dressing. You can call me “Mrs. Ranch,” because that’s what my salads consist of. However, ranch is full of calories. Are tablespoons can blow your calories out the water if you’re not careful! That reason alone is why I like to make homemade ranch dressing with plain Greek yogurt.
Greek yogurt is packed with protein, even low-fat Greek yogurt has more protein than regular low-fat yogurt. I’ll tell you what I do for salad dressing at the most basic level:
Low-fat Greek yogurt
Hidden Valley ranch seasoning packet
Juice of half a lemon
This is all you need to make ranch dressing for your salad. You decide how much and what you put on your salad!
So there you have it—easy, tasty swaps that let you enjoy your favorite foods without feeling like you’re missing out! Eating healthier doesn’t have to be boring or miserable. It’s all about balance and making small changes that add up over time. So, try out some of these swaps, see what you like, and keep experimenting.
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