Life is made of choices — and so is your eating. While aiming for a healthy, energetic look, you can unknowingly fall for some very wrong choices. What if I told you that you could swap many of the foods you're tempted by for ones with half the calories, and get the same taste? It probably sounds impossible right now. But listen to these suggestions and you'll enjoy a high-calorie food at half the calories, with the same flavour.
Avocado instead of ready-made sauces: Love saucy sandwiches or salads? Those innocent-looking sauces can hide as many calories, fat and sugar as a whole kids' meal. When eating out, ask for them without sauce, and at home, use avocado instead — its healthy fatty acids even support fat burning. Where 20 g of Caesar dressing gives about 130 calories, 20 g of avocado gives only about 44, while helping speed up your metabolism.
Potato instead of cream in soups: If you like a thicker soup, you don't need heavy cream. To thicken your soup, use potato instead. A medium boiled potato added to vegetable soup gives you the texture you want plus energy from its B vitamins. Where 100 g of ready cream is about 300 calories, 100 g of boiled potato is only 70.
Courgette “spaghetti” instead of wheat spaghetti: We dietitians are certainly not against carbohydrates! There's nothing wrong with pasta or spaghetti as long as it's whole grain and in the right amount. But when you crave far more carbohydrate than your body needs, there's no harm in a little trick. Grate courgettes like spaghetti and boil them the same way. Topped with a yogurt sauce, this is kind to your digestion and saves you the extra calories.
Mineral water instead of sugary, fizzy drinks: You know how much sugar and how many calories fizzy drinks contain. And don't assume sweetened, zero-calorie drinks can be had without limit — their high acid harms the stomach and other organs, and their caffeine causes calcium loss from the body, meaning you risk your teeth and bones and lose the fat-burning mineral calcium. Dress up a bottle of natural mineral water with lemon, cucumber slices and mint leaves for a drink with no calories that helps meet part of your mineral needs. Where a glass of fizzy drink averages 150 calories, plain mineral water adds none.
Banana instead of shop ice cream: A great idea for ice-cream lovers! If you can't give up ice cream, make your own at home with a single ingredient: one medium banana. Mash it to a purée with a fork, freeze it, and enjoy. You can flavour it with raw almonds, hazelnuts, walnut pieces, flaxseed, peanut butter or cacao. Where 100 g of plain ice cream is 160 calories, ice cream made from a medium banana is only 95.
Dates instead of sugar: Instead of adding sugar to desserts and smoothies, use dates. Alongside cutting the empty calories of sugar, you benefit from a fruit rich in minerals like magnesium, potassium and calcium, and help ease digestive troubles. Where 100 g of processed sugar is about 400 calories, 100 g of dates gives you high minerals and only 280.
Cauliflower mash instead of potato mash: Boiled potato has a high glycaemic index, meaning it raises your blood sugar quickly, which can cause swings and leave you hungrier an hour or two later. The cream and butter added to potato mash also raise its fat and calories. Boil and mash cauliflower instead for a much healthier choice — it's high in fibre, potassium and antioxidants. Where 100 g of potato mash is about 190 calories, 100 g of cauliflower is only 18.
Apple purée instead of oil: Sometimes you crave something sweet and can't say no to cake. When baking cakes or muffins at home, swap the oil for apple purée — and thanks to the natural sugar in the purée, you won't need to add sugar to the batter either.