10 Nutritious & Healthy Alternatives For Your Kitchen Pantry
If you’re looking for some easy, nutritious swaps for your kitchen, I’ve got you covered.
Check out these 10 healthy alternatives to foods you’re already consuming regularly. They are easy product-for-product swaps that taste the same, but provide more nutritious value.
Quick side note – Everyone has different dietary needs and lifestyles. I personally aim to eat a well-balanced and healthy diet without strict rules, and I try to limit my intake added sugars, dairy, and animal products. I will provide nutritious info on each of these swaps so you can decide if it’s right for you. Thank you for reading!
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The 10 Healthy Alternatives
1. Almond Butter
(instead of peanut butter)
Both almond and peanut butter serve their own nutritious value. However, almond butter is a slightly healthier option because it often contains less added sugar, and more vitamins, minerals and fibers.
2. Coconut Aminos (instead of soy sauce)
Coconut aminos is a gluten, soy and wheat free alternative to soy sauce. Coconut aminos also contain significantly sodium than soy sauce. Plus it tastes the exact same! We’ve been using it in place of soy sauce in our home for years.
Coconut Aminos are a popular soy sauce substitute with diets such as vegan, Whole30, paleo and keto.
3. Plant-based Butter
(instead of dairy butter)
This is a really easy swap if you’re looking to consume less dairy in your diet. Plant-based butters are made with plant-derived oils such as olive, avocado, coconut, etc.
Plant-based and regular butters are relatively similar amount of calories. Plant-based butters are generally lower in saturated fats.
Let’s be honest, a lot of plant-based alternatives can taste disgusting. But vegan butter is delicious! And aside from it melting slightly differently from regular butter, it tastes very similar! My favorite brands of vegan butter are Earth Balance and Country Crock. Found at your local grocery store.
If you want more information on making the switch, this article breaks down the difference of nutrients between dairy and non-dairy butters.
4. Sparkling Water
(instead of soda)
A total staple for our household is flavored sparkling water instead of sugary sodas! The obvious benefit here is no sugar. Sparkling water doesn’t contain any sugar. Plus it doesn’t contain any of the harmful chemicals in soda that harm the health of your teeth, pancreas, livers and kidneys.
Our favorite brands to buy at the store are Spindrift and La Croix. But there are loads of options and they’re all yummy! We also have a Sodastream to make our own, since we drink so much of it! We make our own and flavor it with fresh fruits. It’s SO good!
If you just don’t like the less-sweet taste of sparkling water, give this a try. Force yourself to drink one can of ice-cold flavored sparkling water per day for a week. You won’t enjoy the first few, but by the end of the week you won’t even notice it! It’s mostly in your mind.
5. Chick Pea Pasta
(instead of regular pasta)
Chick pea pasta has been all the rage in recent years! It contains half the carbs than traditional pasta, and triple the fiber. Plus it’s gluten free. Chick pea pasta also has double the protein as regular pasta, which makes it a great swap for those who like a high-protein diet.
It does have a different taste and texture than regular pasta, but once you cover it in sauce, veggies & parmesan cheese, you can’t tell any difference. It’s so yummy! My favorite brand is Banza, sold at your local grocery store.
6. Ezekiel Bread
(instead of regular bread)
Ezekiel bread is as healthy as bread gets! It’s a sprouted bread, made from a variety of whole grains and legumes.
Did you know regular bread is full of sugar? Ezekiel bread contains none.
Ezekiel bread is made with several types of grains and legumes, which are all organically grown and allowed to sprout before they are processed.
You can buy Ezekiel bread in the freezer section of your grocery store. It’s different from regular bread, there’s no lying about that. I personally love the taste! I keep it frozen, then pop it in the toaster whenever I want a slice! It’s oh-so-yummy with some nice plant-based butter belted on top. The cinnamon raison loaf is my all time favorite!
7. Sugar-Free Ketchup
(instead of regular ketchup)
This is the easiest swap ever! It literally tastes exactly the same.
Ketchup is full of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. No good!
Get yourself some organic, sugar-free ketchup instead. It’s the easiest swap you can make!
8. Veggie Chips
(instead of regular salty chips)
Our house eats a lot of veggie chips!
If you love eating chips like us, then you may also love veggie chips! Compared to potato chips, veggie chips are a better snack choice due to the lower contents of fat and sodium. You’re getting your nutritious values in while still snacking on something light and tasty.
Our favorite are Veggie Straws by Sensible Portions, the sea salt flavor!
9. Dairy-Free Milk
(instead of cows milk)
Plant-based milk is another great option if you’re looking to cut down on your dairy intake. There are a lot of great dairy-free milk options, and they all have their pros and cons.
Oat milk is my current favorite plant-based milk because of it’s creamy taste. It’s similar in calories to regular whole milk, but contains more fiber and less sugar (note: some oat milks, like vanilla-flavors, can also contain added sugar, so check the label.) My favorite brand is Califa Farms Unsweetend Oat Milk. Also, Planet Oat and Oatly are super yummy.
If you’re looking for a plant-based milk with less calories than oat milk, give almond, coconut or soy milk a try! It’s an easy way to cut down on dairy in your diet.
10. Sweet Potato Fries
(instead of regular fries)
White potatoes aren’t evil, sweet potatoes are just slightly more nutrient dense. Mainly because they contain Vitamin A, which white potatoes lack.
Keep in mind, deep-fry any potato and you’re introducing extra fat and calories. The best way is to bake your fries from fresh potatoes to lock in those nutrients.
Which nutritious alternatives on this list are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments!
It’s great to know that you can still eat all the foods you love by trying healthier alternatives to them!
Do you have any healthy alternatives that you want to share?
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