Great tasting foods such as creamy soups, baked treats, and fried foods tend to be high in calories. So if you can make simple food swaps that reduce calories, but still satisfy your taste buds, you can drop pesky pounds or prevent weight gain.

When making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I skip the sugar-based jelly and substitute real fruit instead. And when I crave ice cream, I opt for a little bowl of vanilla Greek yogurt with maple syrup since it has less fat and fewer calories, but contains more protein. What about you? Share some of your simple food swaps that make your daily diet healthier and lower in calories.
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Vive Maria
Dimensione Danza
Argos
avocado instead of mayo.... sure it may have fat in it but its healthy fat and tastes delicious
hummus instead of cream in sauces and soups..... adds a ton of flavor and protein
1I substitute name brand sugary peanut butter for fresh ground peanuts from health food stores. I substitute stevia for sugar. I have whole wheat everything instead of white bread. I even buy whole wheat pizza dough.
2I will always go for mustard on sandwiches instead of mayo. And instead of veggies dipped in ranch dressing, I use nonfat greek yogurt flavored with onion soup mix
3kale chips instead of potato chips! light chocolate soy milk instead of cookies/ice cream/chocolate bar dessert. quinoa instead of pasta.
4Sometimes, I like to replace ranch dressing on my salad with cottage cheese. I know that is a popular swap but I couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
5I never cook with butter, I always use a little canola oil with salt. It's really good on popcorn! Also, I love fit's edamole recipe.
6I always use plain nonfat yogurt instead of sour cream!
7also, it had never even occurred to me to use fruit on a pb sammy or avocado instead of mayo. I'll have to try it out!
8I have a lot of healthy swaps. Use salsa mixed with a little nonfat yogurt instead of fatty dip for veggies, freeze a yogurt for a couple of hours and eat it instead of ice cream, use mustard instead of mayo, and have a cup of coffee with a bit of cream and sugar instead of an actual dessert. And another swap that isn't really exactly "healthy", but it's a lesser-of-two-evils: instead of eating Doritos, I'll have pork rinds instead. They are lower in fat, don't have trans fat, and have 8 grams of protein. Doesn't make them healthy, but they're better than chips.
9mamasita that's an awesome idea with the cream/hummus swap! I'll have to try that!
10i use balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette) on my salads without any oil. it gives the same powerful flavor kick but for a lot less calories.
11baked apple with some cinnamon instead of apple pie
12Applesauce instead of butter in baking, an egg white wash and crushed fruit juice-sweetened cornflakes to crumb chicken or fish fillets, hummus mixed through a warm vegetable salad instead of dressing (it goes all melty and delicious), 100% dried fruit leather instead of fruit roll-ups or lollies, natural yoghurt with a spoonful of 100% fruit preserves instead of flavoured yoghurt; and stewed apples tossed with cinnamon, chopped dried apricots and raisins, a spoonful of all-fruit jam, & topped with a mixture of oats, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, applesauce, spoonful of maple syrup and a light coating of olive oil spray, baked in the oven until golden and crispy - a yummy healthier version of apple crumble!
13shirataki noodles instead of pasta
14agave nectar instead of sugar or honey
oat bran instead of flour
hummus instead of mayo
i go for cabbage leaves to eat with hummus salad instead of bread, mustard instead of mayo, mousley bars instead of chocolate, lemonade instead of milk shakes, cereals and granola with skimmed milk instead of ice creams and finally yogurt with fruits, honey and nuts instead of cheese cakes.
15Wild Magelet! liked your yummy healthier version of apple crumble!
16Mustard instead of mayo.
17Skim milk instead of full fat.
One spoon of honey instead of three spoons of sugar.
Soda/mineral water instead of lemonade.
Wholemeal/multigrain breads instead of white.
Tibetan noodles instead of pasta. (I still eat pasta though.)
mustard instead of mayo
canola oil instead of butter or vegetable oil
balsamic vinegar instead of salad dressing or meat marinades
whole grain brown rice with diced tomatoes/basil/garlic instead of spaghetti
lean ground turkey instead of ground beef
I pretty much have gave up pasta completely and just substitute whole grain rice for everything.
18Raw carrot "chips" instead of tortilla or potato chips or pita to dip in guacamole and hummus. They're much easier to load up than carrot sticks.
19Tuna + Mustard instead of Mayo = Delicious!
20I free cool whip free in the freezer and it's just as good as vanilla ice cream!
21Thanks for the great ideas! I'm going to freeze my yogurt and bake my apples tonight and try to get up the courage to put mustard on my tuna (gasp)!
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