Healthier versions of your favourite comfort food

There’s no such thing as a perfect diet, but it’s great to make the healthier choice when we can. With a few simple tweaks you can transform your favourite ‘cheat’ meal into a healthy and balanced option.

One of the easiest ways to make pizza healthier is to ditch processed meats, such as ham, bacon and salami that are high in saturated fat and salt. Instead, throw on some lean protein like salmon, chicken breast, prawns, ricotta, nuts, or black beans, and then veggies (the more the better). Think sweet potato, baby spinach, capsicum, onions, mushrooms… the combinations are endless. It’s a great way to get the whole family involved in meal preparation.

And always opt for a thin, wholemeal base and low-fat cheese.

The only problem with a good ol’ pub parma is that the crumbed chicken is usually fried and covered in too much cheese. If you add a side of chips, it’s a lot of saturated fat and salt.

For a healthy homemade version, top some grilled chicken breast with homemade tomato pasta sauce, olives, and a little low-fat cheese, then bake it in the oven. Serve with a side salad.

Coconut cream and milk are high in saturated fat, but you don’t have to compromise on the taste or texture of your favourite curry with the right substitutes.

Use coconut-flavoured evaporated milk with a little corn starch to thicken. Make sure there are as many vegetables as there is meat and serve with brown rice for a delicious and healthy meal.

Try swapping out the coconut milk in our recipe for Thai green chicken curry.

Pasta gets a bad rap, but really it’s all about portion size. Pasta is a carbohydrate, which should typically take up no more than a quarter of your plate (depending on your activity levels and health goals).¹

A meal where pasta is the star generally means that 90% of the plate is carbohydrates. Give your pasta dish a healthy makeover by reducing the amount of pasta and adding veggies into the sauce. Carrot, celery, olives, eggplant, onion, zucchini or whatever you have left over in the fridge all work.

Swap out a full-fat beef mince for an extra lean or Heart Smart option, or better yet try turkey mince which has less saturated fat and calories.²

Increase the fibre count by using wholemeal pasta and replace the mince with a can of 4 bean mix. Just remember to rinse the beans well before adding them in.

You can ditch the pasta completely and try zucchini noodles instead with our recipe for healthier Bolognese.

Chocolate mousse is typically high in saturated fat because of the chocolate, cream and butter, and usually has quite a bit of added sugar. Luckily, a healthier version is easy to make.

Blend avocado (for the creamy texture and healthy fats) with banana (for the natural sweetness) together with some cocoa powder. Add a little vanilla essence or honey if you like extra sweetness.

Pop in the fridge for a few hours and enjoy topped with some fresh berries.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying an ice cream every now and then, but if you’re looking for a healthier version, simply chop up a few frozen bananas and blend with a skim milk. To add more flavour, top with some shredded coconut, chocolate chips or slivered almonds.