Think about what your favorite food is. For most of us, it's not the healthiest things that come to mind first.
Healthy or unhealthy, foods do turn you nostalgic which is a strong emotional trigger. Most of us give in to that hankering for french fries or ice cream and regret it later.
But, I have some good hacks to share today so that you can make your unhealthy favorite into a healthy one with simple tricks and tweaks.
So, how is that?
Here are the golden rules, if you play by these you can change any recipe into a healthy one.
You may need to tweak slightly based on your own needs and once you start thinking this way, you'll come up with your own tricks.
5 Cooking Hacks to Make Unhealthy Foods Healthier
1. Use Sprouted Flour
Substitute refined flour with gluten free sprouted flour for your baking needs. You can find plenty of sprouted varieties that keep their nutrients, unlike the refined flours.
Coconut flour is a great replacement for wheat flour and refined flour. It's excellent for baking cookies and for making pancakes or pizza crust.
Almond flour is great for making bread, cake and muffins.
Other gluten-free flours you can try for baking are amaranth flour and oat flour.
You can even whip up your own oat flour by dropping your dry oats in a blender for a minute or two.
Tweet2. Make Your Mac & Cheese Creamy Without the Cheese
Cashew Cream Mac & Cheese
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk (canned makes it really creamy)
- Sea salt & black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound quinoa pasta
DIRECTIONS:
1. Soak 1 cup cashews in 2 cups of water for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions and set aside.
3. Drain cashew water.
4. In a blender, add all ingredients except pasta and blend well.
5. Pour ‘cheese’ over warm pasta.
Enjoy!
May be stored up to 6 day in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
3. Make Your French Fries Guilt Free
Who can resist French fries! But the grease and the fact that they're not the most weight loss friendly food makes you want to resist.
Good news: a simple swap with sweet potato and baking instead of frying does the trick.
3 large sweet potatoes, sliced into thin strips
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
Spices of choice (sea salt, pepper, basil, oregano, or thyme)
Mix all ingredients and bake at 400 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until crispy.
4. Skip the Dairy in Your Ice Cream
Swap milk with vegan options for a healthier version of ice cream.
A cup of raw cashews soaked overnight does the magic for you.
Combine a cup of soaked cashews with a cup of water in a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Add vanilla essence, one-third cup of maple syrup for sweetness and continue to blend. Cool in refrigerator for 2 hours or until it is thick and serve.
If you don't want to wait while the cashews soak overnight, my Banana Nice Cream Recipe is guaranteed to satisfy!
5. Make Your Own Dips and Dressing
Store bought dips and dressing are mostly pure junk but you and your waistline will feel a lot better about making your own.
Combine a teaspoon of minced garlic with 3/4th cup of garbanzo flour.
Add 2 tablespoons of Tahini (sesame seed butter) and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Finish it with 1 tablespoon of vinegar and Himalayan salt for a great tasting dip or dressing.
Use it in your wraps and salads. This has protein and fiber, unlike conventional salad dressings that are just empty calories.
Most importantly these hacks are full of flavor and soon you'll learn to prefer them! Enjoy and let me know how you liked them.
Oh, and if you like these cooking hacks, you will LOVE the recipes in my Bikini Body Recipes book!
Yours in health and happiness,
Danette
P.S. Share these cooking hacks with a friend or co worker and help them make a healthier choice and remember to leave me a comment below too! Do you have a go-to healthy cooking hack?
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