Tips To Replace Junk Food With Healthier Food

This is the first of what I hope to be many blog posts that have absolutely nothing to do with my Insanity workouts, but are actually kind of informative.  Today I'm going to talk about how to exchange that yummy, sometimes sugar-loaded junk food that we all love and our thighs and butts hate into something that's actually good for you.  This topic came up in the group that I'm part of on Facebook that is comprised of our Beachbody Team, and one of the women posted that she was really trying to get off the junk food - like cookies and milk - and have something healthy instead because getting into the "eating right" phase is difficult to do.

It's difficult for everyone!  If you can't get hooked on some form of "bad thing" then I really don't think you're human.  Seriously.

Anyways, Helga (that isn't her name, but you gotta love obscure names) said she's been bringing deviled eggs to work to snack on instead of cookies.  Go Helga!  She also asked what kind of others things she and her family could do to gradually phase out the junk and phase in the healthy.  Here are some tips from our wonderful team:

• Get Rid of The White.  

This means buy whole wheat bread instead of white bread.  Buy brown rice instead of white rice.  Use whole pasta instead of regular pasta.  You can even use Turbinado Sugar instead of white sugar.  Clicking this link will take you to Live Strong's website where they have a really good write up on how to use Turbinado sugar in place of white sugar.  The options are out there, you just need to find them and not be afraid to try something new. 

• Make A Meat Rub.  

One of the women suggested going through all your spices and make a meat rub that you can use for chicken, pork, beef, etc.  With a rub you can do all sorts of things with you meat - marinate it, use a bit extra to form a crust when you cook the meat, or even smoking the meat.  By using the rub as a "crust" you eliminate the need to use bread crumbs, which is always a bonus. 

• Replace Crunchy With Crunchy.  

Everyone has their favorite type of chips.  Mine happen to be Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Sun Chips.   I replaced my chips with baby carrots.  Every time I wanted something crunchy to munch on, I grabbed a handful of baby carrots instead of a handful (or a whole bag) of chips.  Same goes with eating celery or an apple. 

• Replace Soft With Soft.  

Same thing as above, but with soft foods.  I replaced cookies (and I do love cookies) with fruit - bananas, strawberries, pineapple. 

• Buy Sandwich Thins.  

I recently discovered these wonderful Sandwich Thins at Sam's Club (where they are much cheaper), but they also have them at grocery stores.  I buy the Whole Wheat and the Honey Wheat.  They are great for so many reasons.  First off, they are thin, so when you make a sandwich, you can actually TASTE the things you put between the slices instead of a mouthful of just bread.  Second, they make GREAT brat, hot dog, and Italian sausage buns.  Same principal as with the sandwich - you can taste the meat instead of just the bread.  And, they are lower on calories than regular wheat bread.  :) 

• 90 Calorie Granola Bars.  

I buy these because they are great snacks, treats/desserts, and breakfast foods.  I get the ones from Wal-Mart in chocolate chip.  It gives me a chocolatey treat without all the bad stuff.  I don't eat them every day, but they are nice to have on hand. 

• Drink Water.  

I know, it sounds silly.  But, when you get a craving for something, drink a glass (8 ounces) of water then ask yourself if you are really hungry for that food or just think you are. 

• Replace Your Milk.  

I know I've said this before, but Almond Milk is the way to go!  I love the Almond Milk / Coconut Milk blends (60 calories), and I have stopped buying regular milk completely.  TH even loves it.  I get him the Vanilla flavored Almond Milk (which is 90 calories).  I use it to cook with, to make my Shakeology, eat it with my cereal, and use it as my coffee creamer - on the off days when I actually want to drink coffee. 

• Change Your Cereal.  

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I don't like to cook breakfast for myself.  So, I'm a big eater of cereal, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch is hand's down the best cereal on earth.  But, it's not healthy.  So I replaced the best cereal on earth with granola types.  Sam's Club/Wal-Mart has a Pumpkin Flax Seed Granola which is actually really freaking good - as cereal and mixed in yogurt.  Another good one is from Jewel's Wild Harvest brand.  It's a Cherry Vanilla Granola and a Blueberry Flax Seed Granola.  And they are all excellent with Almond / Coconut Milk.  :) 

• Experiment With Your Greens.  

Stop using just iceberg lettuce! Experiment a little and get yourself some baby spinach, romaine, arugula, kale, or just a spring mix from the store.  And before you go "Ewwww, spinach!", stop.  Spinach in a can isn't what REAL spinach tastes like.  It's much much better, because I thought the same thing.  I use different lettuce types for salads and sandwiches.  I also make the spinach into a dinner side dish by wilting it with some garlic and extra virgin olive oil.  It's delicious.  :) 

• Drink More Water Instead of Soda.  

I can't say it enough, drink water like it's going out of style.  I used to think this wasn't very important, and I was wrong.  Now, drinking 64 ounces of water a day is nothing.  The best way to do this (for me anyways) was to use a 32 ounce cup.  We have several Iron Man and Farmville cups from 7-11 Slurpees, and I know that I have to drink minimum two a day.  Because I was drinking so much water, I didn't even WANT a soda.  Though I will admit, kicking the soda habit was hard.  I started small by saying gradually reducing how much I drank it - like 1 can every other day.  Then I reduced it to Wednesdays only.  By the third week, I didn't even want it anymore and it tasted terrible.  

• Avoid Fast Food.  

I love french fries.  I especially love french fries from Wendy's.  And sometimes you really don't have a choice about eating at a fast food restaurant.  So if you have no choice, check out this very informative posting from the Dr. Gourmet website as it lists some "healthier" options as well as nutritional value for each.  He also has a handy printable version for most of the restaurant options as well.

So these are some of my tips and some of our Facebook groups tips.  I hope they help you make better food choices whenever possible.  If anyone has any others, post'em up!  I'd love to hear them!