There’s nothing better than an upgrade.
Not every day is a salad day.
Sometimes a girl just wants the taste of something a bit more…luxurious. Without crossing the line between a plain baked potato and cheese fries. Something I can indulge in without ruining my entire healthy week. Healthy food swaps that taste good.
Do you know what I mean? It’s not just me, right?
There is a middle ground here. Sometimes we just have to know where to look. This is how this list of foods that taste indulgent but are still quite healthy, was born.
So I’ve done some (very hard) research and now present you with…!
Your dietitian-approved list of indulgent-tasting healthy food swaps that will still keep you healthy.
So let’s level up. It’s time to make healthy taste amazing.
Veggie avocado sandwich on a croissant
Which has more calories – 2 slices of whole wheat bread or a medium sized croissant? The croissant, obviously. There’s about 80 extra calories in a croissant then in 2 pieces of sliced bread or about the same number as a bagel.
But here’s where the trick comes in. When you add cheese + mayo + meat to your sliced bread sandwich, you’re going to tack on extra saturated fat and calories FAST.
Instead put lettuce, tomatoes and avocado (and any other kind of veg you dig) on a croissant and you come in well below the fat AND calories of a traditional sandwich. And bonus, you also give yourself a full serving of veggies and in a fiber heavy sandwich.
2% yogurt instead of fat free (or full fat!)
I used to never like yogurt. That tangy tart flavor of the fat free everyone said to try, just wasn’t my thing. Until I discovered the yogurt that had fat in it. And then what really got my goat was when I realized the difference between fat free, 2% and full fat was not that much.
Instead of a bag of chips or scrounging around for a leftover cookie, a 2% yogurt comes in strong as a snack that can easily be built into a quality mini meal, complete with complex carbs and fiber. I get none of that from my bag of chips that cost me an extra 100 calories and gave nothing in return.
Take your yogurt to a whole new level when you add honey or maple syrup and unsalted raw almonds. There’s antioxidants galore in the honey and maple syrup and a whole lot of fiber with extra protein in the nuts. You’ll be full for hours with this complete snack.
Egg cream instead of milkshake
If you’ve never heard of an egg cream, let me put your mind to rest. There’s NO egg in an egg cream. They’re basically the lighter version of a milkshake, made with seltzer instead of ice cream. It sounds bizarre but it’s SO good.
There’s a lot that goes into a milkshake. As in a lot of saturated fat, sugar and calories. It doesn’t matter where you get it from, when you add ice cream, milk + some kind of sugar syrup you’re walking away with a HUGE nutritional investment. Even made with whole milk (or coconut cream) this is a better choice than a full on milkshake. Mix with your favorite flavored syrup and a few spritzes of bubbly seltzer and you turn a chocolate milk into something rich, foamy and amazing.
Egg whites scrambled with butter
Egg whites don’t have a lot of flavor. That’s mostly held in the yolk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against egg yolks. All the nutrients in an egg (apart from the protein) are found in the yolk and I almost never take them out. But if you want to make a swap that will elevate your eggs with the smallest nutritional footprint, this is it.
Scramble your egg whites in real sweet butter and see what happens. They suddenly become rich and full of life. Make major moves and first sauté some chopped onion and peppers in the butter before you scramble the eggs. Life. Changing.
Full-fat coconut milk in smoothies
You don’t need a lot. Just a 1/4 cup and the fat in the coconut milk will take your smoothie to the next level. A smoothie made with greens is healthy and full of the fiber, vitamins and minerals we know are packed into that blended up salad. But if you want that same smoothie to speak just a little louder to you, add that coconut cream and you’ll be glad you did.
You’ll also get the added benefit of having a fatty vehicle to transport the fat soluble vitamins in your greens. Without adding a touch of fat, those vitamins are very hard for our body to absorb. Think oil in our watery body. So not only will this be just…better, it’ll also be healthier.
Aerated whipped cream on berries
15. That’s the number of calories on 2 tbsp of whipped cream when it’s aerated and squirted from the can. Less than 1. That’s the amount of saturated fat from that same couple of tbsp. It’s like eating delicious air. Go crazy and add 4 tbsp to a big bowl of fresh berries or on top of your fresh fruit smoothie. It makes everything feel like dessert, but won’t add to your bottom line.
Don’t sleep on this list. It’s the little things we can do for ourselves every day that can have the biggest impact in the long term. It’s just a matter of finding those shortcuts that let you eat what you know you should be eating in a way that feels like you’re treating yourself. So go ahead. Do these all. You won’t regret any of it tomorrow.