50 healthy food swaps

Small changes can make a big difference to your health, so I’ve put together 50 food swaps that will make eating healthy easier.

Giving up the foods we love simply isn’t sustainable. But finding similar, yet healthier foods to switch up how we eat can have long-term benefits. The food swaps I’ve recommended:

• pack in more nutritional value
• use less of your energy budget (kilojoules), which is helpful for weight management
• may be more beneficial to your long-term health.

Make these easy, healthy swaps in your diet and feel healthier.

1. Beef sausages: Swap for kangaroo or chicken sausages
2. Sour cream: Swap for low-fat Greek yoghurt
3. Fruit juice: Swap for whole fruit
4. Potato chips: Swap for unsalted popcorn
5. Full-fat cheddar: Swap for low-fat cottage cheese
6. Chicken wings or drumsticks: Swap for skinless chicken breast
7. Chocolate bar: Swap for dark chocolate-coated strawberries
8. Mayonnaise: Swap for avocado
9. Rice bran oil: Swap for canola oil
10. Apple pie: Swap for stewed apple with oat crumble
11. Potato: Swap for sweet potato
12. Chocolate biscuit: Swap for a homemade muesli slice
13. Two-minute noodles: Swap for rice noodles
14. Takeaway pizza: Swap for homemade pizza
15. Salted nuts: Swap for unsalted nuts
16. Soy sauce: Swap for reduced-salt soy sauce
17. Salami: Swap for turkey or chicken breast
18. Lollies: Swap for fresh dates
19. Chocolate thick shake: Swap for low-fat chocolate milkshake
20. Frozen crumbed fish: Swap for fresh or frozen fish
21. Sugar used in baking: Swap for apple sauce
22. Tempura: Swap for raw fish or veggie sushi bowls or rolls
23. Sugary cereal: Swap for porridge or wholegrain wheat cereal
24. Creamy pasta sauces: Swap for tomato-based sauces
25. Full-fat latte: Swap for a skinny latte. This could save you about 1kg of saturated fat a year!
26. Frozen yoghurt: Swap for blended frozen banana with ice and skim milk
27. Icy poles: Swap for frozen grapes
28. Butter: Swap for margarine
29. Crackers and dip: Swap for crudités (vegetable sticks) and homemade dip
30. Caesar salad: Swap for a garden salad
31. White rice: Swap for brown rice or barley
32. French fries: Swap for oven-baked sweet potato wedges
33. Sugar: Swap for stevia, a sugar substitute from the stevia plant which doesn’t contain calories
34. Creamy salad dressing: Swap for olive oil and balsamic vinegar
35. Bacon and egg focaccia: Swap for poached eggs on wholegrain toast
36. Coconut milk: Swap for light evaporated milk with coconut essence
37. Spring rolls: Swap for rice paper rolls
38. Sweet chilli sauce: Swap for homemade dipping sauce
39. Soft drinks: Swap for diet soft drinks or sparkling water
40. Bacon: Swap for smoked salmon
41. Blueberry muffin: Swap for raisin toast
42. Gyoza (Japanese dumplings) entrée: Swap for edamame, which are a type of soybean
43. Salt and vinegar chips: Swap for roasted chickpeas
44. Salt: Swap for herbs and spices
45. Tinned tuna in oil: Swap for tinned tuna in spring water
46. Hot chocolate: Swap for warm, low-fat milk with cinnamon
47. Waffles and maple syrup: Swap for crêpes with fresh fruit
48. Quiche: Swap for frittata
49. Hamburger: Swap for grilled chicken salad sandwich
50. Pappardelle pasta: Swap for zucchini ribbons.