When it comes to recipes, there are lots of small tweaks you can make to gain more nutrition without losing flavor. This week we're focusing on saving money and eating healthier by cooking at home. What better time to try some easy changes to your favorite meals? Here are a few trades you can make to health-ify home cooked meals:
1. Sour Cream → Greek Yogurt
Let's get one thing clear right off the bat. You definitely do not want strawberry yogurt on your taco/burrito/baked potato. Gross. But have you tried plain nonfat Greek yogurt before? If you have, you may have noticed how similar it tastes to sour cream. And it packs in more than twice as much protein with about 25% of the calories and no fat!
Let's get one thing clear right off the bat. You definitely do not want strawberry yogurt on your taco/burrito/baked potato. Gross. But have you tried plain nonfat Greek yogurt before? If you have, you may have noticed how similar it tastes to sour cream. And it packs in more than twice as much protein with about 25% of the calories and no fat!
Sour Cream (2 tablespoons) |
Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (2 tablespoons) |
60 calories |
16 calories |
1 g protein |
2.4 g protein |
5 g fat |
0 g fat |
Recipes where you can make this trade:
2. Ground Beef → Lentils/Black Beans
Even if you like meals with meat, you can replace at least half of it with beans or lentils to add variety, nutrition, and decrease your cost and calories! (Read more about the benefits of beans here.) Hopefully you love tables, because here's another:
*Ground Beef (1 pound) |
Lentils (1 pound) |
1160 calories |
530 calories |
70 g fat |
0 g fat |
0 g fiber |
36 g fiber |
**$3.30 |
**$1.40 |
*85% lean ground beef
**Cost based on average Connecticut grocery prices.
**Cost based on average Connecticut grocery prices.
Recipes where you can make this trade:
3. White/Refined Grains → Whole Grains
Added fiber and protein are hard to pass up when they're so easy to get. Simply switch out your white rice or pasta for brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Especially in recipes with sauces, you won't notice any difference in flavor! (Read more here about why whole grains rock.)
Recipes where you can make this trade:
4. Broth → Water
Broth gives soups and chilis a lot of flavor, so you may not want to get rid of it entirely. However, swapping out half the broth in a recipe for water will cut down your sodium and cost. Win! (If you need to decrease sodium in your diet for health reasons, check out this section of heart healthy recipes.)
Recipes where you can make this trade:
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