Healthier Eating – Substitution

Earlier this week the Four State Food Critic wrote about how using portion control helps to drop some calories in his daily diet (and will hopefully add up to some lost pounds for the new year).  Another trick the FSFC uses in his cooking and menu planning is substitution.

Simply put, “substitution” is changing out one thing for another.  In a cooking and meal planning sense, it means replacing something “bad” (or calorie-laden) with something “good” (or a healthier option).  For example, if the FSFC steams broccoli, I don’t add a tablespoon of butter at the end to season and flavor it.  Instead, I’ll use lemon-pepper seasoning.  It gives the broccoli a nice citrus and pepper tang, and in the process I’ve saved 102 calories by foregoing the butter (that’s the equivalent of a 180 lb person walking about a mile in 15 minutes).

(Image Credit – voices.dyc.edu) 

You can “substitute” in quite a few ways, and it’s not that hard to do.  Listed below are several examples that you can try in your menu planning:

• Use ground turkey (instead of ground beef) in your favorite recipe
• Try a cous-cous or quinoa mix (available at your supermarket in the rice aisle) instead of potatoes
• Have cut carrot or celery sticks on hand for snacks (instead of chips and other snack foods)
• Drink a glass of water (instead of a soda) on your break at work
• For dessert, have a nice bowl of cut strawberries (instead of that slice of cake, pie, or ice cream)

The possibilities are endless, and the internet can give you plenty of ideas.  The “Eat This, Not That” book series also lists plenty of brand name substitutions that can be used at both the grocery store and fast-food locations.

Healthier eating only takes a conscious effort in the choices you make – it doesn’t mean one has to sacrifice taste in order to achieve healthier goals.