Cookies can be made with whole grain flours and additional boosters like flaxseed and oat bran.
We know we should eat the most healthy foods and reduce empty calories and junk food. Yet, rigid diets can be difficult to follow with a busy lifestyle. A few simple substitutions can give your favourite “go-to” meals a nutritional makeover. Here’s five ways to put this in motion right away. If tastebuds are a concern (your’s or family members), try experimenting with substitutions slowly, working up to full amounts – no one will know the difference…not even you!
1. Salads – Adding in a small amount of shredded greens (swiss chard, spinach, kale) gives your regular lettuce more texture, depth and a great nutritional boost. Pumpkin, hemp or sunflower seeds add in essential fatty acids, protein, fibre and vitamin E. Toss olive oil and balsamic (or red wine) vinegar with a touch of garlic and honey for a healthy salad dressing that you don’t have to scale back on. And for a meal, add sliced chicken, chick peas or canned light tuna and voila!
2. Muffins or cookies – Forgo the white flour and use whole wheat or Spelt flour to add nutrition and fibre while reducing stress on blood sugar levels. Whole grain flours can make your baking a bit more dense and richer in texture, but your taste buds will adapt, and your body will thank you for it. Replace lard, shortening, margarine or low-quality commercial oils with real butter or coconut oil. Add in more fibre, essential fatty acids and nutrients by throwing in a a teaspoon of milled flaxseed/flax meal and oat bran. Opt for pure vanilla instead of the artificial variety. And lastly, use natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup or at minimum raw, organic cane sugar. Syrupy sweeteners will add more liquid to your recipe so you might need to experiment with the quantity. Side note: For a healthier version of french toast, swap out the white bread with whole wheat or spelt/kamut bread and add a teaspoon of milled flaxseed/flax meal to the egg mixture. Toss in a dash of cinnamon to the egg mixture for its numerous health-protective properties. Swap out cow milk with plain soy, hemp or almond milk if you are lactose intolerant or to mix it up (variety is a good thing!)
3. Carbs/starches – Replace white pasta and breads with more nutrient-dense grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet or spelt/kamut foods. Not only will you get more fibre, vitamins and nutrients, they will supply you with a slower released, steady flow of energy rather than the “sugar shock” of white flour products.
4. Smoothies – Nutritious super foods like kale or spinach or broccoli, carrots, berries and flax seed, oil will increase the nutrition in a big way. Add a little kefir or yoghurt to your regular juice/fruit combination for a protein boost.
5. Soups/stews – Choose low sodium chicken/beef stocks over the high salt/preservative-rich bouillon cubes and add in plenty of vegetables. Legumes (beans, lentils) and/or whole grain cereals like quinoa, barley, millet or brown rice (or brown rice) pasta can be used instead of potatoes or white pastas to give variety and rotation to your diet. Greens can be sliced up small and added in without anyone noticing and use herbs and spices as your primary source of flavour over high amounts of salt.
You may have your own “sneaky” substitutions! Send them in to kerry@ottawavalleynutrition.ca and they might be featured in future articles.