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Writer's pictureMelody Joseph

Healthy Life Style Swaps & Tips

In this post, I am going to share with you places to shop for healthy foods, healthy swaps, what to look out for when buying healthy food, substitutes for foods. Let's dig right in!


Best Places To Shop: Costco –They have lots of organic foods!

Local Health Food Coops

Target-has organic options Whole Foods Market Trader Joes Thrive Market- Online member site with great organic options!www.thrivemarket.com US Wellness Meats- https://grasslandbeef.com/

Fresh Thyme

Natural Grocers Azure Standard- where you can get great organic and non-gmo foods https://www.azurestandard.com/

Local Farmers Markets

The No, No List

  • Artificial Flavoring & Coloring

  • Farm-raised fish

  • Casein & Pasteurized Dairy

  • Gluten containing products- Breads, condiments, seasonings, and sauces

  • Preservatives like: MSG, nitrates, sulfites, etc.

  • Alternative sugars: aspartame, splenda, truvia, etc.

  • Refined & Processed sugars: corn syrup, evaporated cane sugar, maltodextrin, etc.

  • Refined & Hydrogenated oils: Margarine, vegetable oil, peanut oil, etc.

  • White table salt & artificial seasonings.


The Clean Fifteen- (Least sprayed food, organic is not needed if you can’t afford it). Avocadoes Pineapples Cabbages Onions Sweet peas-frozenPapayas Asparagus Mangoes Egg plants Honeydew melonsKiwi Cantalopes Cauliflower Broccoli GMO free corn


The Dirty Dozen- (Most sprayed foods, buy organic only) StrawberriesSpinach NectarinesApples Grapes Peaches Cherries Pears Tomatoes Celery Potatoes

Bell peppers

Hot peppers

Kitchen Tips & Substitutes 1. 1 TBSP fresh herbs=1 Tsp dried herbs 2. Double or triple your recipes and freeze excess for quick easy meals that are ready to go on busy days. 3. 1 Tsp. liquid stevia= 1 cup sugar 4. Use a natural veggie and fruit spray to wash foods when buying from the store.

5. Buy locally at farmers markets or eat what is in season when you can.


Healthy Swaps Conventional coffee< Try bullet proof, kion, cafeX, pero, carob, roma, matcha tea, etc.

Chicken Eggs (if allergic)< Try duck eggs, turkey eggs, or quail eggs

Chocolate chips<try lily’s chocolate stevia baking chips, dark chocolate, or cacao nibs

Cocoa Powder< Try raw organic cacao powder or carob powder

Cornstarch<tapioca starch, arrowroot starch, potato starch or organic cornstarch

Gravy Thickener< Try rice starch, xantham gum, guar gum, arrowroot starch

Ketchup<sugar free organic ketchup

Confectioner’s sugar< 1 cup honey granuels, 1 cup coconut crystals blended with 1-2 tsp arrowroot starch. Also try and blend up sweet luv (stevia), birch xylitol, or swerve confectioners.


Nut and Seed Butters< Choose ones that are raw or processed without added sugar! We love sun butter, pumpkin seed butter, cashew butter, and tahini!


Taco Shells< use butter head lettuce for wraps and tacos, coconut wraps, cassava wraps, organic non-gmo corn shells, or make your own


Bread Crumbs< chickpea crumbs, Hol grain brown rice bread crumbs, gluten free bread crumbs, nut crackers chopped, or toasted quinoa

Bread<gluten free bread like rudis or homemade gluten-free bread

Flour< Bobs red mill gluten free all purpose flour, rice flour, cassava, quinoa, potato, tapioca, millet, oat, coconut, almond, etc.

Pasta< brown rice pasta, lentil noodles, quinoa & lentil pasta (our favorite), black bean noodles, spaghetti squash, etc.

Salt< Toss out the table salt and use Celtic sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt

Sugar< Liquid stevia, sweet luv, birch xylitol, swerve, monk fruit, raw honey, organic maple syrup

Brown sugar<coconut sugar, coconut crystals, swerve brown sugar, maple sugar, honey crystals

Vinegar< Organic apple cider vinegar or organic white distilled vinegar

Candy/icecream<smart sweets, birch xylitol candies, sweet luv chocolate, honey wafers, stevia chocolate, avocado ice cream, so delicious coconut ice cream, etc. Stay away from the processed sugar!

Worcestershire sauce< liquid aminos or coconut aminos, or Annie’s Worcestershire

Butter<grass fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, organic palm oil shortening

Cheese< raw grass fed goat cheese, sheep cheese,nt cheese, daiya, etc.

Deli Meat< Applegate farms organic meats & bacon

Bacon< nitrate free organic turkey bacon, wellness meats pasture raised bacon or locally pastured raised and antibiotic and hormone free pork uncured.

Ground Meat< Grass fed, organic beef, bison, wild venison, elk, moose, etc.

Milk< Raw if you can, goat milk, sheep milk, unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, oat milk, rice milk, other nut milks

Mayo< Grapeseed oil vegenaise, homemade mayo, vegan mayo, primal kitchen mayo (if not allergic),etc.

Sour Cream<make your own with cashews, goat milk sour cream, or use grapseed oil vegenaise


Salmon, fish, or tuna< Wild-Caught


Whipped Cream<full fat coconut milk or cream

Yogurt< So delicious(coconut yogurt, plain), goat milk yogurt

Cooking Oils< Organic & unrefined Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, pumpkinseed oil, walnut oil, macadamia nut oil, grapseed oil, etc.

Beans<Black beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, etc.

Chips<(no canola oil)! Sweet potato chips, cassava chips, siete chips, coconut chips, avocado oil potato chips, organic and non gmo corn chips(not the best)

Hope these swaps can help you in your journey to better health and delicious food. When starting to switch what you eat, make sure to take it one step at a time. You may need to just pick one food group or one item to start with. As you run out of ingredients or certain foods, try and make better swaps. Each change is a step towards a better you. Here's to your health journey and giving your body the nutrient dense food it needs!

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