Food Swaps For Healthier Eating
Welcome to the Food Swaps page — a list of easy food swaps for healthier eating!
Here you will find a list of typical unhealthy ingredients and some healthy replacement options listed right below them.
Click on the links below to skip to its location on this page:
1. Butter, Margarine, Shortening & Oil Swaps
8. Food Coloring/Food Dye Swaps
For Savory Food Swaps, click here!
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1. Butter, Margarine, Shortening & Oil
Any of the replacements below + Natural Butter Flavoring
• Coconut Oil or Coconut Butter
• Non-Hydrogenated Shortening (I use Spectrum Organics)
• Natural Butter Substitutes (like Earth Balance)
• Organic Silken Tofu, pureed
• Unsweetened Applesauce, 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree (canned), 100% Pure Sweet Potato Puree (canned), Baby Food (carrots, peaches, blueberries, etc.), Mashed Avocado, Mashed Bananas
• Plain Yogurt or Plain Greek YogurtClick here to see my opinion on butter.
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2. Candy Bars
• Homemade Snickerz
• Homemade Milky Wayz
• Homemade 3 Musketeerz
• Homemade Take 5z
• Homemade PayDayz
• Clif Builders Bars
• Luna Bars
• Pure Fit Bars
• Simply Bars
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3. Chocolate
• Homemade Dark Chocolate
• Homemade Milk Chocolate
• Homemade White Chocolate
• CocoaWell Chocolate Bars
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4. Cream Cheese
• Organic Cream Cheese (1/3 less fat or Neufchâtel)
• Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt, strained through a cheesecloth
• Organic Cottage Cheese, pureed
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5. Dried Fruits
• No Sugar Added Dried Fruits
• Dried Fruit Sweetened with Fruit Juice
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6. Eggs*
• Egg Whites
• Ener-G Egg Replacer
• Mashed Banana, Unsweetened Applesauce, 100% Canned Pumpkin Puree (in baked recipes, you will most likely need to increase the leavening used… I usually add 1 tsp of Double-Acting Baking Powder for every 1/4 cup of puree used)
• Chia Egg or Flax Egg (1 tbs chia/flax + 2-3 tbs warm water, stir together and let sit for 5 minutes until gelled)
• Organic Silken Tofu, pureed
• Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt*Eggs are perfectly healthy in moderation, but vegans or those with high cholesterol may choose to avoid eggs.
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7. Flour (All-Purpose, Bleached)
• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
• Whole Grain Spelt Flour
• Whole Grain Gluten Free Flours: Oat Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Sorghum Flour, Quinoa Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Coconut Flour
• Nut Flours (basically ground up nuts): Almond Flour, Almond Meal, Hazelnut Flour, Peanut Flour
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8. Food Coloring (Artificial Food Dye)
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9. Heavy Cream & Milk
• Organic Evaporated Fat Free Milk
• Organic Skim/Low-Fat Milk mixed with Organic Dried Nonfat Milk
• Organic/Grass-Fed Half-and-Half
• Canned Light Coconut Milk or Full Fat Coconut Milk
• Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Cashew Cream
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10. Peanut Butter (Skippy, JIF, etc.)
• Homemade Peanut Butter or other Homemade Nut/Seed Butters (Almond, Cashew, Hazelnut, Pecan, Sunflower Seed, Macadamia, Walnut, Pistachio, Tahini, etc.)
• Homemade Dark Chocolate Almond Butter
• Natural Peanut Butter (read the ingredients and avoid hydrogenated oils at all costs!) or other Natural Nut/Seed Butters (Almond, Cashew, Hazelnut, Pecan, Sunflower Seed, Tahini, Walnut, etc.)
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11. Sugar
• Homemade Brown Sugar
• Granulated Erythritol and Powdered Erythritol
• Coconut Sugar or Powdered Coconut Sugar
• Date Sugar
• Maple Sugar
• Sucanat
• Organic Agave Nectar
• Brown Rice Syrup
• Honey
• Pure Maple Syrup
• Coconut Nectar
• Yacon Syrup
• Molasses
• Organic Stevia Extract
• Truvia
• 100% Fruit Juice or Fruit PureesFrostings/Icings: White Icing (see all my healthy frostings/icings/glazes here!)
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Savory Food Swaps:
1. Bread Products (sliced bread, tortillas)
Loaves of Bread:
• Whole Wheat Bread
• Whole Grain Gluten Free BreadTortillas:
• Whole Grain Corn Tortillas (without lard!)
• 100% Whole Wheat Tortillas
• Whole Grain Gluten Free TortillasBread Crumbs:
• Crumbled/Ground Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Pecans, Walnuts, etc.)
• Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs, Whole Wheat Panko
• Brown Rice Bread Crumbs
• Coarsely Ground Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
• Coarsely Ground Crispy Brown Rice Cereal
• Any of the above with Ground Flaxseeds
2. Cheese/Cottage Cheese
• Reduced Fat, Low Fat and Fat Free Varieties
• Daiya Vegan Cheese, Lisanatti Almond Cheese
3. Chips (fried)
• Baked Chips
• Beanitos, Lentil Chips, Soy Crisps
4. French Fries
• Baked Potato
• Baked: Potato Sticks, Sweet Potato Sticks, Parsnip Sticks, Zucchini Sticks (many veggies work here!)
5. Mashed Potatoes
• Mashed Organic Cauliflower
• Mashed Organic Sweet Potatoes
6. Mayonnaise, Sour Cream
• Mashed Avocado
• Organic Hummus
• Plain Nonfat Yogurt or Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt
7. Pasta
• Organic Bean Sprouts, Julienned Carrots or Zucchini
• Spaghetti Squash
• 100% Whole Grain Pasta (whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, etc.)
8. Popcorn
• Natural, Whole Grain Popcorn (avoid butter and hydrogenated oils at all costs!)
• Rice Cakes, Soy Crisps
• Roasted Chickpeas, Roasted Edamame
• Puffed Quinoa, Puffed Amaranth
9. Refried Beans
• Natural Refried Beans (avoid lard!)
• Mashed Black Beans
10. White Rice
• Brown Rice
• Cauliflower Rice
• Whole Wheat Couscous
• Quinoa
If you have any additions to the list, just leave me a comment!
Indulge − no strings attached!
How do I substitute coconut oil for the spectrum organics butter shortening that your dessert recipes call for? What are the equivalent measurements? Do I add butter extract with the coconut oil? And will it affect the desserts in any way if I subdtitute it?
I was also wondering if it was necessary to use the sunwarrior chocolste/vanilla powder for the icing or if I can leave it or sub it?
Coconut oil should replace the shortening just fine in the majority of recipes. You can replace it at a 1:1 ratio. You can replace 4 tbs of shortening with 4 tbs of coconut oil + 1/4 tsp butter extract.
The SunWarrior protein powder in frosting is an important ingredient. It absorbs a lot of liquid and reduces the amount of powdered sugar/erythritol needed to thicken the frosting. It also provides nutritional balance in the recipe. You can try using other protein powders (like soy, hemp, etc… if you were thinking about whey protein you would have to test that out)
Your recipes all look amazing! I’m new to the site and haven’t tried any of them out yet, but plan to soon.
I was just wondering about the erythritol and if I could substitute it for plain granulated sugar. Is that possible? Would I need to adjust the amount? Thanks!
Erythritol measures cup-for-cup like sugar so you won’t need to adjust the amount. However regular white sugar isn’t healthy so I would recommend using sucanat, coconut sugar, date sugar, xylitol, evaporated cane juice… Whatever is natural and processed less than white sugar 🙂
Thanks! I usually use Whole Foods brand organic cane sugar.. I’ll comment on whatever recipe I decide to use after my first venture! 😉