Sticking to diet plans can be difficult and result in you getting rid of a few of your favourite foods. Because of this, you often end up straying away from it. To stop myself doing this, I began making simple swaps to my diet rather than constricting myself to a particular plan. These swaps allow me to enjoy myself in the healthiest way possible. Here are my top 8 swaps:

Oil – water

I understand that oil (especially vegetable oil) does have some benefits, however, having it too often can be bad for you. Because of this when I fry veg I no longer use oil but pour some water into the pan every time the veg starts sticking. This means that I avoid the use of oil and the food tastes a lot lighter and doesn’t leave you with greasy hands.

Dairy milk – Almond milk

Dairy milk is high in carbohydrate and saturated fat which can be bad for you. Some people may say that its high protein content make up for this, however, most people already have enough protein in their diet so this extra addition is not a necessity. Because of this, swapping dairy milk for almond milk will take out some saturated fat from the diet, which will improve your health with little effort.

Crisps – Popcorn

We all know crisps are bad for and their high fat, sugar and salt content back this up. Despite this well known fact, many of us still enjoy snacking on them, but what if there was a healthier alternative which you could enjoy guilt free. No I am not talking about veg chips but the underestimated POPCORN. This cinema snack is high in fibre and antioxidants and low in calories and fat, it can also be sugar and salt free as long as you don’t add any in the popping process. Because of this, I often enjoy a bowl of warm home popped popcorn (you can buy popcorn colonel to make at home from most supermarkets) with no added sugar or salt. This makes it a much healthier alternative to crisps.

Juice – Fruity Water

People often think of juice as a healthier alternative to fizzy drinks. Although this is true in that the sugar content is a tad lower it is still very high. Think of fruit juice as having 3-4 oranges for every cup you have. Yes, one orange is good for you but 3-4 oranges has a sugar content of around 21g so that’s 21g of sugar for every glass. This means that some water infused with a few slices of lemon is a much healthier option.

Biscuits – Banana and Oat Cookies

Biscuits are low in fibre and very high in sugar, however, this doesn’t mean that you have to rule them out completely. Homemade banana and oat cookies taste great with a glass of almond milk and provide the perfect healthy alternative. Here is my recipe

Cereal – Muesli

Most breakfast cereals are loaded with sugar and reined carbs however muesli is much lower. Muesli is also a good source of fibre, protein and wholegrains. This means that muesli in the morning is a much better alternative to breakfast cereal.

White Rice – Brown Rice

The processing that white rice goes through removes a lot of its nutrients. Brown rice, however, is a wholegrain with far more fibre, vitamins and minerals. This means that swapping from white rice to brown rice provides you with an easy way to get essential nutrients, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Milk Chocolate – Dark Chocolate

Just because you are trying to be healthy doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy chocolate. Now I know what you’re saying “Dark chocolate isn’t the same”, however, if you start with 40% dark chocolate then ease yourself in, you will never look back. This means that this easy swap can help you enjoy your favourite snack GUILT FREE!

Even though these swaps helped me become healthier, remember that there is no guarantee and this is only my experience. I hope these suggested swaps help you.