Blog Challenge Day 9: Health/Fitness/Wellness: Healthy Alternatives

This is the first post of the Health/Fitness/Wellness series.

Healthy Alternatives

Living a healthy lifestyle can sometimes seem extremely difficult to us normal people.  What we see in the media often tells us that to truly be healthy, we need to take extreme measures.  I personally find that the best way to begin and stick with healthy lifestyle changes is to start by making small adjustments.  Not only will they make a big difference but actually making the positive change is so helpful to your esteem.  In this particular post, I'll be discussing small changes that I have made in my diet recently that have been beneficial to my overall health. 

I have been on a lot of "diets" in my life.  Although I have been successful using some "diet" techniques, I'm finding that since I don't have many actual pounds to lose and am mostly just trying to be healthier in general, that these diets don't really work for me.  I'll lose a few pounds and be satisfied but not necessarily any more healthy.  And once I go off the diet, the weight tends to come right back.  This is why recently I've decided to stop counting calories or trying different fad diets and instead make simple, positive adjustments to my eating habits.  Here are a few changes I've made this summer that I'd like to pass on to you.

1) Sandwich Condiment

          Old Choice: Mayonnaise                 New Choice: Hummus

 

I have always loved hummus and will often pair it with pita chips as a snack or meal.  I am an avid viewer of NBC's The Biggest Loser and one of the tips they gave during an episode was to replace mayonnaise with hummus.  Perfect! I thought...I've been looking for something to use instead of mayo and this was a great choice.  It took a few days to get used to the flavor difference but now that I'm used to it, I probably wouldn't go back to mayo given the opportunity.  Hummus is made primarily from chickpeas which are a good source of protein and good fats.  Also, although recently I have been finding great deals on store bought hummus, it is not difficult to make.  It only takes a few simple ingredients and a food processor.  Other popular mayonnaise replacements are guacamole and avocado.

2) Dessert

Old Choice: Ice Cream                         New Choice: Low fat fruit smoothies.

 

Anyone who knows me well knows I love ice cream!  It is definitely my favorite treat and something that I can (and did) eat every day.  Even though I always tried to buy light ice cream, I knew it was still something that I shouldn't be eating every single day.  Another wall that I constantly have difficulty breaking down in my quest for health is the fact that I do not like fruit.  For me it is a texture issue.  I love the flavor of almost any fruit but for some reason my palate cannot handle the textures.  It has always been frustrating for me because so many fruits have great health benefits but I can't seem to make myself like to eat them.  One day while grocery shopping my husband and I came across the frozen fruits (probably while we were looking for ice cream...ha!).  He made the great suggestion to try fruit smoothies instead of ice cream for dessert.  What a great way to (try to) get me off my ice cream addiction and get more fruit into my diet.  Yay!  And it has been working out well.  I'm still getting my sweet, cold after dinner treat while consuming good calories and fruits with natural sugars and antioxidants.

3) Sweet lunch treat

Old Choice: It depended on what was on sale and/or in the pantry)

New Choice: Greek Yogurt!

 

Some people might argue that I am obsessed with Greek yogurt and that is because I kind of am.  I loveeeeee me some Greek yogurt.  Most single portion Greek yogurts contain around 14 grams of protein in only around 140 calories! Great, right?!  Its a great way to get more protein in your diet and more of those natural sugars since Greek yogurt is not overly sweetened (real or artificial) like regular yogurts.  And luckily, I'm not the only person who has jumped on the Greek yogurt train.  Many currently popular yogurt brands have added Greek yogurt to their repertoire.  As well as a few new (to me) brands becoming easily found in regular grocery stores.  I have tried almost every brand of Greek yogurt (thanks to coupons from my mom) and decided that my first choice is still Chobani.  Yum Yum Yum!  They have many different flavors that my husband and I both enjoy.

Most of these changes I've made were based on recommendations.   Although I am so very far from having a perfectly healthy diet, I hope that my recommendations are able to help you fuel your body in the healthiest ways possible.  I would love to hear some of the "healthy alternatives" that you've incorporated into your diet to help foster a healthier lifestyle.

Thanks for reading.

BC9-8/7