3 Simple Clean Eating Swaps
You can start so simple when you are switching to cleaner foods. You don’t have to ditch everything at first, instead, you can just make a few simple swaps to get started. These are some of the first swaps I made in my kitchen that helped me to have a baby, have more energy, and feel the best I’ve felt in years! Clean, nutrient-dense foods are essential for me as a mom because I want to make sure I am fueled well so that I can take care of my family. Eating unnecessary chemicals, in the form of preservatives, fillers, stabilizers, artificial dyes, and synthetic ingredients, just places more stress on your body, robbing it and you of energy. If you’re in a season where you need extra energy to chase your kids around, want to have a baby, or are trying to heal, unnecessary chemicals found in processed foods can hinder your progress.
These clean eating swaps are super simple and will remove unnecessary chemicals from your diet helping to give you more nutrients…and nutrients = health. The best part, these swaps are 1:1, taste better, and are healthy. They’re also the reason I no longer have migraines or feel sick after every meal.
3 Simple Clean Eating Swaps to Start With
Swap grated cheese for a block
Instead of buying shredded bagged cheese buy a block and shred it yourself. I know this sounds like a little more work but it is worth it to cut out some unnecessary chemicals. Shredded cheese contains an additive called cellulose. Cellulose is used as a way to prevent the cheese from sticking together, it is an anti-caking additive. In natural form, cellulose can be found in vegetables and also wood. The cellulose added to cheese most often comes from wood. It is chemically treated until it becomes a powder then it is added to shredded cheese. As far as I can tell. There is no regulation on how much can be added to cheese, so you are never really sure how much of this chemically treated wood pulp you are consuming. This is just an example of a strange and unnecessary ingredient that can be avoided by reading ingredient labels and understanding what is in food.
Swap white sugar for organic coconut sugar.
White sugar is a highly processed product that is chemically treated and refined leaving it void of any nutrients. It is either cane or beet sugar and most often is produced from a GMO plant. Since it is stripped of all nutrients what’s left is just a carbohydrate that is quickly broken down by the body, causing blood sugar spikes. In general, constant blood sugar spikes are not good for your health and are linked to lots of health issues. Instead of white sugar, I choose to use organic coconut sugar. Choosing organic ensures the sugar is non-GMO. Coconut sugar is full of nutrients too, like amino acids, antioxidants, B vitamins, calcium, iron, potassium, and zinc and because of these nutrients, it is lower on the glycemic index. It also tastes amazing, it is sweet and a little earthy and I love that it actually has flavor compared to white sugar. This is a super simple swap that you can make when cooking or baking that will help to keep your blood sugar balanced and add more nutrients to your diet.
Swap vegetable oil for more stable saturated fats.
Vegetable oils aka seed oils like grapeseed, cottonseed, canola, soybean, rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, corn, and palm kernel oil are highly processed oils. They go through extraction processes that heat the oils to very high temperatures, turning them rancid, and then are deodorized and bleached to make them appear edible. These oils are inflammatory and linked to cancer, obesity, and even sunburn. Seed oils were only introduced about 100 years ago and were not even introduced first as food. The main fats that were used prior to the introduction of seed oils were butter, lard, and tallow. These fats are still great to use when cooking but you can also use avocado and coconut oil for cooking, or olive oil as a dressing. Healthy saturated fats like avocado oil, coconut oil, and butter are more stable, meaning you can cook with them at high heat without them going rancid. High-quality saturated fats are high in nutrients making them a healthier option.
Brands I Love
Organic Valley raw cheese
Nutiva organic coconut sugar
Chosen Foods avocado oil
Azure Standard
Want to Learn More?
I’d love to help you learn more about clean eating and how to make swaps in your kitchen. One option to get started is my clean eating ebook, it’s a download that you can go through on your own to learn how to switch to cleaner meats, dairy, eggs, grains, packaged goods, and more. It also gives you a list of clean brands and a grocery shopping list. Another great option is personalized 1:1 coaching. If you want to learn more, I would love to talk with you about swaps you can make in your kitchen to increase your health and energy.
As always, if you have any questions feel free to reach out on social @nourishedmommaandco or email at nourishedmommaandco.com and if you love this content I would love for you to share and tag me on instagram @nourishedmommaandco