Does your family love a sneaky trip to a fast food place or to the local mom and pop restaurant? Though those places in moderation are fine, what if you could enjoy that type of food at home, but a little healthier? You’ll need to make a few changes in the way you eat, that’s all. Here are 8 Hacks to Make Your Favorite Food Healthy so you can keep on enjoying them.
Have you ever tried frozen bananas in the blender? Well, it is a game changer, and it tastes exactly like ice-cream, well, almost! I’ve mentioned more below.
8 Hacks to Make Your Favorite Food Healthy
So, today, you’re going to learn to make some simple changes that will have you eating your favorite food but with “better for you” ingredients in no time.
Fries made healthily
Who doesn’t like a good ole serving of fries? The next time you want fries, bake them instead. Take a couple of sweet potatoes and cut in wedges. Place them in a bag with olive oil and unbleached flour and shake. This coating will ensure a crispy fry every time. You can also try using coconut oil for an even healthier french fries. Bake as directed on recipe.
Make faux rice at home
Rice is good in moderation. However, if you find that when you cook it there is enough for a village (and you managed it eat it all), it might be time to find an alternative. All you need to do is roughly chop up cauliflower and throw in a food processor or a blender for one minute. The texture is very similar to rice. Use this ‘faux’ rice in any dish that calls for white rice. I bet no one will even know!
Snack healthier to make your favorite food healthy
Processed snacks might be convenient, but you need to think outside the wrapper. With a little planning and prep, you can have all the snacks you want. Are you looking for something sweet? Create small packs of dates, almonds, and coconut shavings. Like savory snacks, try making the same, but adding in salted almonds and Brazilian nuts. Here’s a little hint – you might see snacks in health food stores and think that they are healthy, but be sure to read the ingredients because not all “healthy” snacks are healthy for you. For example, I don’t eat soy anything, and a lot of so-called healthy snacks are loaded with soybean oil, soy lecithin, soy isolate, etc. It’s best to make your snacks at home.
These 8 hacks to make your favorite food healthy are intended to entice you to eat healthier and are only suggestions.
The difference between cocoa and raw cacao
If you crave chocolate in your baked goods but want healthier options, you’ll want to know this.
Did you know there is a considerable difference between cocoa and raw cacao? Making a conscious decision to understand what is in your food, will significantly improve your health – this includes chocolate. This is one excellent way to make your favorite food healthy, or perhaps healthier!
Raw cacao is made by cold-pressing un-roasted cacao beans. The process keeps the living enzymes in the cacao and removes the fat (cacao butter). Cocoa looks the same but it’s not. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that’s been roasted at high temperatures. Straight from Google.
To add to the above, raw cacao such as Navitas Organics is considered dark chocolate and a Superfood. So, really, dark chocolate is a Superfood. It may take getting used to, but the benefits out way the not so sweet taste of raw cacao.
Switch your cheese
Whether it’s salty, creamy, sharp, yellow or white, we all have our favorite cheese and couldn’t dream of giving up. First, have you thought about switching to white cheese instead of yellow? That will save you plenty of calories and fat right there.
Want to make your own cheese? I suggest to start with something easy like ricotta; all you need is milk, salt, and a cheesecloth. Find a good recipe (sorry I don’t have one) and you’ll be able to enjoy a delicious combination of blueberries and ricotta on sourdough or spinach and ricotta ravioli in no time!
Make your own sauces, condiments, and salsa at home
If you have ever read the ingredients of some of the store-bought condiments and sauces, you probably noticed that sugar is one of the main ingredients and that the preservatives are a mile long. If you see some tomatoes on sale, why not make tomato sauce? You can combine extra virgin olive oil and balsamic for a fine dressing. Here’s something you might not have thought of; when eating a salad with avocado and strawberries, try to eat it without any dressing. Who said we have to eat salad dressing in a salad? It is also super easy to make homemade salsas and healthy, nutritious hummus.
https://mytravelingroads.com/20-healthy-nutritious-hummus-recipes/
We All Scream for Healthy Ice cream
We all love ice-cream, but if you have ever bought a tub and ‘accidentally’ finished the entire container, this may help.
Grab some organic ripe bananas (they might be on sale) at the grocery store or maybe you have some on-hand, don’t throw them out. Peel and freeze them now! When you’re ready for some yummy ice-cream, take the bananas from the freezer and throw them in the blender for 1-2 mins. You will find it turns into fluffy banana ice cream in minutes. This is delicious on its own, but you can add anything you love in or on top. You could throw in some blueberries, coconut milk or mint. You won’t believe how similar the consistency and taste is to ice cream! Sprinkle cinnamon on top for added antioxidants.
Educating yourself is crucial when it comes to eating well. Rather than denying yourself or overindulging it takes just a few tweaks here and there to enjoy your favorite food. Turn these 8 Hacks to Make Your Favorite Food Healthy and behaviors in habits to ensure you lead the healthiest lifestyle possible!
You May Also Like
Our journeys and current mindsets/approaches towards food are so similar. I do the best I can with what I have/the situation I’m in and always leave some room for fun. This mindset, unlike others, has never really led me astray!
Thank you for the this. I like your tip on cheese, I will be sticking to the white kind from now on. I also don’t eat any of the ‘healthy snacks’.
All good suggestions/tips, but the ones you shared about cacao and banana ice cream? Happily mind blown. Gracias for the tips.
These are such great ideas. I’ve always loved the idea of healthier fries too. My daughters love french fries, so we make them as healthy as possible for them.
I grew up eating rice so it is hard for me to cut it from my diet. I still eat rice everyday but no longer three times a day. Great option you provided.
These are really good tips for healthier food! I am so agree that making homemade snacks but also sauces improves the quality of our eating!
This is more I like it thanks for sharing this great post this is so helpful especially to those have kids perfect it helps a lot.
I feel like I eat healthy about 90% of the time so a trip to a fast food place is really a treat that I enjoy!
I have been using cauliflower rice for a lot of rice dishes lately. It is surprisingly tasty.
Great hacks for making your favorite foods healthier! With the new year approaching, it is good to get everything in order for a healthier year!
I really enjoyed this post. These tips are really helpful. I made the switch to cacao last year. I use it a lot in baking and also making vegan hot chocolate.
These are some easy enough ways to make my favorite food healthy. I am going to use your tips for sure.
I love these! I’m all about making my favorite dishes more healthy. I have one, too. Greek yogurt makes an excellent replacement for sour cream!
I need to try out these ways. I’m not the healthiest person, but I’m slowly working on it. I won’t ever give up fried fries, but once in a while I will go for the baked option. That healthy ice cream sounds great!
These are great tips for how to make your favorite food healthy! I never knew that white cheese is better for you! I do several of the other things but will switch over to the rest now.
Great tips. I confess it took a while to convert me to cauliflower rice. I chopped it too fine and so it was a mush instead. Practice makes perfect though.
These are all wonderful ideas and hacks for the kitchen. Good to have substitutes and to learn how to change up our food.
I’m trying not to overindulge during the holiday season so these tips came at just the right time. I’m going to try your coating for sweet potato fries. Yum!
You definitely have some great ideas here. I am trying to stay healthy her over the holidays and I have a huge sweet tooth so it is difficult. I am trying a few different things and I think I will pin this so that I can use some of these recipes too.
One of the reasons I never baked my fries was because they always came out soggy. I will have to try your coating next time.