Swapping out favorites for Healthier options



"There’s no way I can live without tacos." 

"You can’t convince me that I would be healthier if I gave up desserts."

"Grandmas chicken noodle soup is my blood."

OK OK I hear you! Let’s not focus on giving up the things that you love! Let’s figure out how we can incorporate them into your life but maybe make them a little bit more nutritious and full of healthier ingredient list! Sound good? 

I hear tacos a lot. People love tacos. Me too! I grew up eating tacos from a corn shell with high fat meat, sour cream, cheese and maybe a sprinkling of lettuce. That was the tacos I had at my family‘s gatherings. I also grew up with Taco Bell tacos! When I became an adult and started to cook food for my own family I started experimenting with other toppings. I found out that there were lots of other exciting toppings to be had and some of them even unhealthier. 

So when I started to shift to being healthier and didn’t know a lot about nutrition at this point, I was heading towards the low-fat cheese, low-fat sour cream, spinach instead of lettuce, and whole wheat tortillas. I’ll let me tell you what is wrong with this. I was swapping for higher chemicals and processed versions of the problem and didn’t even taste good! It felt like a punishment trying to work these down when all I wanted was the original. 

Have you ever felt this way yourself? Sometimes feeling like you’re eating healthy feels like a punishment. I’m here to tell you that is not our goal here. The goal is to enjoy it. Find healthier versions that makes sense for you that are so much more than taking away what makes you happy. 


So what I would tell somebody who is at that original taco state, is to start by adding to the taco. That’s right we’re going to add some more to it before we start swapping or taking away. Let’s add a few more veggies and that you can happily tolerate! Maybe it’s some grilled onions or some green peppers, maybe it’s some more taco friendly green that isn’t iceberg lettuce and isn't spinach. 

Avocado, arugula, coleslaw, red cabbage, roasted red pepper, sun dried tomatoes, corn, cilantro, zucchini, mushrooms, sprouts, sweet potato, olives, different kinds of beans, experiment with some sweet fruit like pineapple or mango! The list goes on and on with some fun stuff you can play with!

So once you’ve gotten used to adding a few new things to your taco, then you can start swapping or eliminating as you see fit! If it pains you to eat a lettuce wrap instead of tortilla, don't do it. It's not worth the pain and torture! 

But maybe you will consider trying a turkey instead of beef or a shredded chicken. Or maybe a meat alternative like impossible meat. Some of those alternative meats are super convincing these days! Just make sure you’re doing your research and happy with the products inside of it. Some people do not do well with soy so keep that in mind. The "fake meats" do not have the animal cholesterol like regular meats do so these are a great option for those looking to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. 

So get out there and apply this concept to not only tacos but whatever your favorites are! Have fun with it! Follow some recipe creators on social media. Make up your own concoction and share it with your friends and family! It should be fun and enjoyable instead of a dungeon of sadness. Share your favorites in the comments and see you in the kitchen! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stress and the ugly mark it leaves

How many times do you ask someone how they are doing and they tell you about everything and just hearing it sounds stressful. Have you been that person? It can feel like you are drowning and everything hurts. We live in a society where everywhere we turn there is some bad news or something scary that could happen to the economy. There is death and devastation all over and it can be enough to send anyone into a spiral of cortisol inducing panic. Well since we cannot get rid of a lot of this, let's talk about how we can manage it and find some good release techniques that will help along the way.  When we are stressed, we basically put ourselves into fight or flight. It can now be extended into fight, flight, flee or fawn. So whichever one you are you will have the same automatic response in the body which is really meant to save your life in imminent threat. Think of being chased by a wild animal. This is the most common analogy because its true survival needed. Your body will do th
Read more

10 Healthy Habits that take little effort to do

10 Healthy Habits that take little effort to do by Sadie Tollberg 1.) Make it a habit to only eat while sitting at a table. This is a mental trigger that can help you to know when its appropriate to eat and when it's not. Sometimes we have mindless snacking when we are places like our desk or car. This will help to retrain that habit.  2.) Drink a glass of water when you first wake up. If you struggle with water this will help greatly. It wakes up the digestive tract and will make all of your first food and drinks of the day go much smoother.  3.) Park your car towards the back of the parking lot. Give yourself a few extra steps in each day this way!  4.) Use smaller plate and bowls when you eat. It tricks your brain into thinking there is much more food than there is!  5.) Place your goals and dreams on sticky notes and place them around your home. In the bathroom or in the kitchen are great places to start. They can be inside cabinets or somewhere guests wont see them. But expert
Read more

Gut: Your Second Brain

Your Second Brain 🧠 You have a second brain and it lives where the sun don't shine! Let me paint a prettier picture for you. Imagine your digestive system (from your entrance to your exit) is a beautiful garden! There are gorgeous flowers, trees, bushes, chirping birds and lots of wildlife! You absolutely want to live here and enjoy all the lovely sights and sounds!!  Then one day a fire breaks out! It terrorizes part of your garden! Some of the birds left and others are scarred! How in the world do you rebuild this part! Just like one rotten apple can spread to others, slowly the garden begins to wilt and smell and there are all sorts of issues you cannot fix at once! This will take years to rebuild.  That is what happens to our guts and it sends direct signals to your brain -making it depressed, anxious, sad and other unease. It lowers the bodies immune system and cannot rid the toxins that come as we are exposed to viruses and bacteria. It can cause so many other long lasting i
Read more