Spring is a season of renewal, and there’s no better place to start than in the kitchen. When you refresh your pantry, you refresh your nutrition, and when you improve your nutrition, you improve your life!
The changes I’m making today are simple swaps that prioritize your favorite foods in a healthier way. One of the biggest misconceptions about nutrition is that eating healthy means giving up the foods you love. The truth about nutrition is that you can still enjoy the foods you crave, just in a healthier way. (You might have seen how I gave some of my family’s cherished recipes a healthy makeover a few weeks ago.)
In the video below, I show you simple swaps to help the whole family eat better. Read on to learn the science behind why these small decisions have a big impact!
Here are the swaps I made:
- Peanut butter is a pantry staple, but it can be a sneaky source of added sugar and oils like palm oil. Most brands, like Jif and Skippy, add sugar to their product. In the grocery store, be sure to read labels to see what additives are in your peanut butter. The best peanut butter has one ingredient: Peanuts!
- Tomato sauce can be a great source of vitamins A and C, which are found in tomatoes and support the immune system. Unfortunately, many store-bought sauces are loaded with extra sugar and salt. Sauces that get their flavors from tomatoes, other vegetables, and spices have stronger flavor and better nutrition.
- Breakfast cereals can also be loaded with sugar, which leads to a sugar spike and then an energy crash. Cereals like Froot Loops and Lucky Charms are some of the typical culprits, but even cereals marketed as healthy are often full of processed sugar! Some better options include Food for Life Organic Cereal, Magic Spoon, and KIND Healthy Grains Granola.
- If you’re not quite ready to give up your favorite breakfast cereal, there are ways to make it healthier! Consider adding fresh fruit, like berries or a banana, to your cereal bowl for a burst of nutrients. Adding chopped nuts makes for a satisfying crunch, and the nuts provide your body with brain-boosting healthy fats and protein for muscle repair and all-day energy.
- Sliced bread gets an upgrade when you switch from white bread to whole wheat bread, which has more fiber and a deeper flavor. White bread is full of simple carbohydrates, which the body quickly converts into sugar. Wheat bread is less processed, so it has more fiber. Fiber is helpful for digestion and also keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
The foods you eat most often have a big impact on your health. By making informed choices in the grocery store, you can improve your nutrition while still enjoying foods you love.
