Simple Food Swaps

One of my biggest struggles early on was feeling like I had to give up foods that I loved. I would get so frustrated just going without those things that I would cave and binge on all of them. Picture Augustus Gloop from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"...that was me after a week, alright let's be honest 4 days, of clean eating.

{Photo Cred: IMDB}

Once I realized that I could swap out some of the ingredients that I loved for foods that didn't change the taste substantially, I started seeing success with eating clean. Today I'm going to share some of my favorite simple food swaps with y'all. 

Simple Food Swap #1: Sour Cream

Try swapping 1/4c of sour cream (123 calories) for 1/4 c of low-fat Greek yogurt (43 calories). You'll save 80 calories and get a big protein boost!

Simple Food Swap #2: Butter

Instead of a whole stick of butter (810 calories), try using 1/2 stick of butter with 1/4c of mashed avocado (505 calories). You'll save 305 calories and get a boost of healthy fats and fiber!

Simple Food Swap #3: Pasta

I'm a carb lover so limiting pasta in my diet was HARD!!! I've found that I love swapping 1c of pasta (221 calories) for 1c of spaghetti squash (31 calories). I save 190 calories and honestly, it tastes BETTER than the pasta.

You can also try 1c of zucchini noodles (25 calories). You'll save even more calories and get a boost of fiber.

Simple Food Swap #4: Mayonaise

Try using 2 tbsp of fresh avocado (50 calories) to replace 2 tbsp of mayonaise (109 calories) and save 59 calories. Plus, you'll get a boost of healthy fats and the avocado tastes even better!

Simple Food Swap #5: Mashed Potatoes

{Photo Cred: Pinterest}

I've already told y'all that I'm a carb lover, so it should come as no surprise that staying away from my beloved mashed potatoes was hard. But, I'm in love with this food swap (heads up - my daughter and hubby totally disagree with me on this one!). Try swapping 1/2c of mashed potatoes (67 calories) for 1/2 of mashed cauliflower (14 calories) and you'll save 53 calories.

Give some of these food swaps a try and let me know what you think!