Admit it to yourself honestly: can your diet be called 100% correct, or are there still foods on your table that are far from the ideal diet? Most of us put sugar in our tea or coffee, eat store-bought cakes and make quick breakfasts from time to time. It's delicious, but is it healthy?
No, we don’t urge you to deprive yourself of all the goodies and joys of life - just let’s learn to replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones and do it right. Today we will talk about useful and harmful substitutes for our usual products. The former should be gradually introduced into your diet, and the latter should be avoided like fire. So let's get started...
Breakfast cereals
Breakfast cereals and instant cereals have nothing to do with healthy eating and benefits. Their only advantage is the speed and ease of preparation.
Ready-made breakfasts contain a huge amount of sugar, food additives and flavorings, which do not have the best effect on your figure and overall health.
Any cereal that requires at least 10 minutes to cook will be a useful alternative to breakfast cereals.
An excellent option for breakfast is porridge: oatmeal or rice can be supplemented with a fruit or berry composition, while buckwheat goes well with vegetables.
Another alternative option is low-fat cottage cheese with added fruit.
This breakfast will give you energy for the whole day and replenish your supply of vitamins and minerals.
Jus de boeuf
Literally - meat juice, or juice from beef. Throw a piece of meat into a hot frying pan, and after a couple of minutes these same juices will appear on its sides (and then drain into the frying pan and caramelize). From a chemical point of view, jus de boeuf is a mixture of blood, intercellular fluid and fat. From a gastronomic point of view, it is a concentrate of all the delicious things that are in meat.
For what. First of all, of course, for preparing sauces, both classic and homemade, as well as the most avant-garde. If you have a package of jus de boeuf on your household, cooking, say, ragu Bolognese turns from a multi-hour meditation into a 20-minute impromptu. The same can be said about all the other numerous stews, as well as about a much faster dish known as "beef Stroganoff" - oh no, it won't be faster, but it will be a hundred times tastier. Where to get. After frying a large piece of beef in a frying pan before baking, then fill the frying pan with hot broth with the addition of one or two tablespoons of dry white wine and heat over medium heat, carefully scraping off anything stuck with a spatula. After 10-11 minutes, strain this unsightly liquid through a sieve into a clean pan, cool and refrigerate. After an hour, carefully remove the frozen fat with a slotted spoon, and pour the finished juice into a glass bottle and seal it. Store in the refrigerator.
Yeast bread
Yeast bread can not only harm your figure, but also disrupt digestion, since yeast helps to intensify the fermentation process.
Of course, you can give preference to healthier yeast-free bread, but it is also quite high in calories (depending on the type of flour, 100 g of product will contain 180 - 225 kcal).
What to do?
It is enough to replace it with bran whole grain bread, which is no less tasty, but at the same time really healthy:
- Contains B vitamins.
- Cleanses the digestive tract of waste and toxins.
- Promotes rapid weight loss.
A few more useful “substitutes”
Bacon – ground paprika
Paprika is considered an excellent substitute for bacon bits. Of course, the seasoning cannot be absolutely comparable to meat, but any dish will become healthier. Young paprika has a piquant taste.
Salt - lemon juice
To avoid causing swelling while losing weight, try replacing salt with lemon juice. Meat, salads, fish - all this can be poured generously with juice to get a bright, rich taste of the dish.
Butter – avocado
Can't imagine a morning without bread and butter? Instill healthy eating habits in yourself - switch to crushed avocado, which can be spread on a slice of whole grain bread. Mmm... Healthy, and most importantly – very tasty!
Canned beans, peas and corn
When preparing dishes, it is better to use fresh products, which must be soaked and prepared in advance for quick cooking.
White sugar
Sugar is a high-calorie product, 100 g of which contains about 400 kcal.
White sugar has long been included in the list of harmful foods, since its excessive consumption negatively affects the figure, condition of the skin and hair, and the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
If you cannot completely give up sweets, simply replace white sugar with brown sugar, which, although high in calories, is also a source of a complex of vitamins and minerals. It should be consumed in limited doses.
White sugar can also be replaced with honey (recommended daily dose for adults is 2.5 - 3 tbsp). If you want to lose weight, then it is better to reduce the amount of honey to 2 tsp. in a day.
The most useful alternative to sugar is fructose, which has lower calorie content and does not increase blood glucose levels, making it suitable for people with diabetes.
Lard (or lard)
Rendered and cleaned lard. Despite its origin, industrially produced lard is absolutely devoid of odor and taste. For what . Indispensable in baking, both sweet and savory. Primarily used in all types of shortcrust pastry, as well as in chopped dough, but it is also good for sponge cakes and even puff pastry (partially instead of butter). In addition, lard is excellent as a fat for frying, primarily for deep frying - roughly speaking, for deep frying there is nothing better than lard. Where to get . Cook it yourself. Buy a large piece of raw lard, from as young a pig as possible and preferably without any meat at all. This lard should be cut into small cubes and placed in a large, ten liter pan. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, without allowing the lard to brown. From time to time, the lard should be scooped up with a large spoon and thrown into a warm colander placed over a clean pan, and then, when the fat has drained, returned to the pan for further processing. When the lard is fried to perfect cracklings (by the way, they are great for snacking on vodka), take a pan with the rendered fat and strain it again through a fine sieve. Freeze the finished lard, wrap in film and use as needed.
Candies
Sweets are the same sugar and a source of fast carbohydrates, which slow down metabolic processes and, when consumed in large quantities, lead to excess body weight. In addition, they contain a huge amount of flavors, dyes and preservatives that destroy human health.
A nutritious, tasty and healthy alternative to candy will be:
- berries (raspberries, strawberries, currants, blueberries);
- dried fruits (dried apricots, raisins, dates, prunes).
They contain fructose, as well as a huge amount of vitamins and minerals that the human body needs.
If you cannot completely give up sweets, you can occasionally treat yourself to a small piece of good dark chocolate. This will certainly improve your mood and have a positive effect on the activity of the central nervous system.
But remember that the basis of high-quality dark chocolate are:
- grated cocoa;
- cocoa butter;
- cocoa powder;
- whole cocoa beans.
The higher the percentage of cocoa in chocolate, the more natural and healthy it is: choose chocolate that contains 85, or better yet, 99% cocoa.
But there should be no palm oil in real dark chocolate.
Concentrated broth
These are not cubes or powders. This is indeed a natural broth, boiled to the consistency of jelly. Its difference from jelly lies in the almost complete absence of salt and the extremely intrusive use of herbs. For what. For everything from soup to pate. Along with birth control pills and a vacuum cleaner, one of the most important means of liberating women from domestic slavery. Where to get. There is nowhere to take it, except perhaps to devote half of Sunday to cooking ordinary broth and its further boiling. The main thing: do not add salt.
White rice
This product has a high glycemic index and therefore increases blood glucose levels.
Replace white rice with brown rice, the shell of which contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients. In addition, brown rice takes longer to be absorbed by the body, and therefore saturates the body with energy for a long time.
An excellent alternative to white rice will also be quinoa, a cereal crop that contains 9 types of amino acids and a large amount of fiber. Its only drawback is its high cost.
Table salt
A small amount will not harm the body, but it is better to replace it with sea water or iodized water. Cooked is bleached and stripped of natural minerals. It's also high in sodium, which can cause inflammation and hypertension.
6. Desserts with gelatin
They contain a lot of artificial flavors and sugar, which are harmful to the body. They also contain artificial colors that have carcinogenic effects.
For example, the chemical Red 40, an ingredient linked to hyperactivity in children, can cause serious nervous disorders.
Butter
Despite the fact that butter contains a complex of healthy fatty acids, excessive consumption of this product can lead to the accumulation of harmful cholesterol in the blood in the body, which increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis.
Diversify your diet: alternate between eating butter and avocado paste. To prepare the paste, simply peel the avocado and grind its pulp using a blender. If desired, you can add a small amount of salt, spices and herbs to the resulting mass.
Avocado also contains a complex of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, so it will only bring benefits to your body.
Substitute for sweet soda
To replenish fluid in the body, it is better to use mineral table water without gas. If you bought sparkling water, release the gas before drinking. Make herbal infusions with honey, fruit compotes, jelly, berry fruit drinks. Freshly prepared juices (fresh juices) from vegetables, herbs or fruits are good for your health.
But do not forget that fresh juice is a concentrated drink and contains a lot of acids. Juices can be diluted with water or drunk through a straw to prevent tooth decay. Fresh drinks are not recommended to be drunk on an empty stomach.
Ice cream
In terms of nutritional value, ice cream can be compared to candy. It contains a huge amount of sugar, as well as a variety of “food chemicals” for every taste and color. Such a dessert will certainly make itself felt over time with excess fat deposits in problem areas.
Fruit sorbet will be a healthy and at the same time very tasty alternative to ice cream. Despite the unfamiliar name, this dessert is very simple to prepare. All you have to do is take frozen fruit (any fruit you like) and puree it in a blender. Fruit sorbet is ready!
If you don’t have time to prepare sorbet and you buy this delicacy in a store, be sure to study its composition. Sorbet will not be beneficial if it contains refined sugar, flavorings and dyes.
Substitute for sauces
Our traditional cuisine is unthinkable without two sauces: mayonnaise and ketchup. Ideally, avoid using both. If this is not an option for you, then make sauces at home.
I will give you a recipe for homemade mayonnaise, made from products you know, without preservatives or flavor enhancers. To do this, you need to take an egg, a teaspoon of dry mustard, the juice of half a lemon, a glass of vegetable oil, salt and sugar to taste. Beat the ingredients in a blender until a homogeneous creamy mass is obtained. Store mayonnaise in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days. The product is natural, which means it perishes quickly.
Pasta from soft wheat varieties
A huge plus of pasta is that it can be prepared very easily and quickly. However, pasta made from soft wheat varieties (groups B and C) is very high in calories and contains a heavy dose of fast carbohydrates.
Choose pasta made from durum wheat that says “group A” on the packaging.
In addition, you can replace pasta with low-calorie and fortified zucchini or zucchini paste, which can be easily prepared at home.
To do this, you need to cut the zucchini or zucchini into thin strips (you can grate them on a Korean carrot grater), and then boil them in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes. The finished pasta can be supplemented with a sauce of grated tomatoes, spices and herbs.
Replacement of sausages
You can make delicious sausages with your own hands. You choose the meat for your homemade sausages. You can safely feed your children this dish and have no doubt about the quality of the products.
Take chicken fillet, pork loin or veal. Twist the minced meat, add chopped onion, garlic, spices, and nuts. Form thin or thick sausages from the meat mass, wrap with cling film, and secure with thread. The sausages must be boiled for half an hour, cooled and fried in butter or olive oil. The dish turns out excellent, you will lick your fingers.
Coffee
Who among us doesn’t love coffee, because it perfectly tones and gives energy. However, it is worth remembering that the caffeine present in the drink removes a large amount of fluid from the body.
In addition, excessive coffee consumption increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
You can replace coffee with a healthier and at the same time affordable drink made from chicory, which does not contain caffeine, but at the same time has a mild tonic effect on the central nervous system, invigorates and helps restore strength.
Soda and lemonade
Coca-Cola poisons aphids, ticks and other pests. Naturally, this drink cannot be healthy in any way. Phosphoric acid and synthetic estrogens not only harm internal organs, but also promote fat deposition.
A jar of artificial carbonated lemonade contains three days' worth of sugar, but sugar is the first step to excess calories and obesity.
Switch to compotes, fruit drinks, unsweetened tea and water.
Water will fill the stomach and the feeling of hunger and thirst will not bother a person, unlike soda, after which there is increased thirst and a feeling of insatiation.
Chips and popcorn
In the production of chips, various snacks and popcorn, large amounts of salt, food additives, trans fats and flavorings are used, which together can trigger the development of a malignant tumor in the body. And this is not to mention the high calorie content of these products.
Replacing a food industry product with truly healthy chips is not difficult. You can prepare them yourself, using any fruits or vegetables - for example, bananas, apples, pears, carrots, beets, zucchini. Simply cut them into thin slices and dry them in the oven. Vegetables can be salted and spices added if desired. A tasty and healthy snack is ready.
You can also replace the chips with unsalted nuts.
Replacement for factory chips
If you really love chips and want to pamper yourself with crispy potatoes, then you shouldn’t refuse the pleasure. Chips are easy and quick to cook in the microwave.
To do this, select potatoes of the same size with a flat, smooth surface. Wash and peel the vegetables, cut into thin slices, place on a plate and cover with a napkin. When the potatoes are dry, sprinkle them with fine salt and spices to taste, put them in the microwave and cook at maximum power. The readiness of the chips can be determined by the curled edges of the slices and the golden hue of the potatoes.
Mashed potatoes
Potatoes themselves are a harmless vegetable, but when mashed they contain a large amount of starch. In addition, the dish is high in calories, so it can prevent your figure from becoming slim.
You can replace it with cauliflower puree. This vegetable contains half the calories, cooks quickly and is also a source of a complex of minerals and vitamins.
To prepare the puree, boil the cauliflower, disassembled into inflorescences, in boiling salted water for 10 - 15 minutes, then drain the water, and mash the inflorescences with a press or beat with a submersible blender until a puree of a uniform consistency is formed. Herbs and all kinds of spices will perfectly complement the taste of puree.
Build your diet using the right foods to bring exceptional benefits to your body!
