Healthy Pantry Swaps
Your first step into a healthier lifestyle starts in your pantry!
I always say, changing your lifestyle to be more healthy is a step by step process.The easiest way to get started is in your pantry as you can find lots of ingredients in there. When you come home hungry after a long day and find only unhealthy options at home then that’s what you are going to eat. Instead, if you fill your pantry with lots of healthy options then you will be able to prepare healthy dishes and therefore eat automatically healthier. Sounds easy and it actually is quite easy. Once you set your mind on to a healthy lifestyle nothing should stand in the way of that.
Today, I share with you the yummiest and healthiest pantry swaps in the world of fats, dairy, flours and sweeteners.
Dairy
There are so many incredible dairy free option by now. You just need to take a little closer look in the supermarket:). For me, dairy alternatives are really important due to my lactose intolerance. Of course, I could also buy lactosefree products but since those are not available in every country as much as in Germany, it’s important to know good alternatives. The first product that can never miss in my kitchen is coconut milk. It’s super useful for breakfast recipes as well as for mains such as currys and thai soups. For savory dishes, rice milk is also really a fantastic option. A great plant based protein booster is hemp protein. Hemp seeds have one of the highest protein content, is dairy free and will give you the energy boost you need. Stock up on coconut products such as coconut milk and yogurt as well as other plant based milks and hemp protein powder. If you don’t have a histamine intolerance you can also go for cashew yogurt or almond cheese. So delicious and all vegan.
Fats
Many people think that fat is the enemy when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. I’m happy to tell you that this is a great misconception. The important factor is, which fats we eat. There are saturated- and trans fats which are processed and have no nutritional benefit. Examples of those are fried foods, butter, sour cream, palm oil… and there are healthy fats, called monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. You can find those in nuts, olive oil, flax seed oil, nut butters, seeds.. Hence, stock up on nuts, seeds healthy oils and almond butter lower the intake of animal fats
Sweeteners
Cutting out refined sugar is very difficult for many people but it has a huge effect on your health, skin and taste bods. I have good news for you though, you won’t be missing sugar for long since there are so many more amazing option out there that are tasty and much more healthy. Get ready for a whole new world of flavors and stock up on dates, date syrup maple syrup and coconut sugar instead! Of course, also these sweeteners are to be enjoyed within moderation since they are still sugar. But the body digests natural sugars totally different than refined and processed sugars. Also, natural sweeteners such as dates also come with so much nutritional value and health benefits. So it’s a win win situation!
Flour
Since I live glutenfree and histaminefree baking was one of the most important challenges I wanted to master. This would mean cutting out white flour and find a replacement, which I can use for amazing cakes, cookies and bread. With only rice flour, coconut flour and some corn starch you can just make your own glutenfree flour mixture that is so useful for making delicious cakes or gnocchi. Other alternatives are oat flour, almond flour, coconut flour. Trust me, you won’t be missing regular flour anymore once you try my amazing cakes. Have a look around my website and find something you love!
xx
Nathalie
