Healthy food substitutes
 

I'm hoping this thread can help those who are trying to better themselves. Please share some healthy food substitutions if you have any. Thank you.

1. Replace mayo and sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. Use Greek yogurt with your tuna, egg salads and chicken salads.

2. Use cauliflower instead of potatoes when wanting mashed potatoes. Steam the cauliflower and blend with a pinch of salt and pepper. Be careful with the butter. Also cauliflower makes a great pizza crust.

3. Try to use jelly instead of syrup and butter when eating pancakes.

4. Use oatmeal as binder instead of breadcrumbs when making meatloaf, hamburgers, meat balls etc etc.

5. Use unsweetened applesauce for a GREAT substitute for butter. Don't knock it until you've tried it. It has the exact same consistency and texture as butter.

I can't do these things.

Salsa as opposed to dressing on salads.

Interesting. Thank you sir.

I like to dissect girls.

Yes I use this myself.

I definitely need to try spaghetti squash, not sure why I keep putting it off.

But why are bamboo pillows so hawt

Spaghetti squash to replace pasta

It's Damn good if you roast it

I honestly think it's almost as good and makes me feel good too

We've done this before and it's ****ing awful. I'd rather just do without potatoes.

If you want wheat substitutes or gluten free:

I use millet flour for crispy crusts if I need to fry something like fish. It's very mild. Could also use cornmeal even coarse grained.

In fact my bread is a millet bread with flax and no yeast. It's really good. It looks like a light rye.

Arrowroot instead of corn starch. Or even Xanthan gum which works in hot or cold recipes. Great for thickening up a smoothie.

Spelt flour is another good substitute for wheat but is not gluten free. Rudy's spelt tortilla's come in whole grain and white. Taste like the real thing but is even better for baked goods and pastries because it's lighter due to lower gluten. It is used in pastries in Europe for this reason and gives better rise. Vita Spelt sells spaghetti, angel hair pasta, elbows, spirals and lasagne noodles in white and whole grain. I use it extensively. But there is also rice flour whole and white for those who want no gluten at all. I haven't used that much though.

http://www.molecularrecipes.com/hydr...e/xanthan-gum/

Stevia for calorie free sweetner.

I'll think of more later. I've experimented with lots of substitutes.

I agree. Tried it. It only looks white and fluffy.

Man I hate cauliflower until I tried it roasted and then smashed for a creamy soup. Only the browning from the roasting saved it for me.

Beats me. I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip.

Best pillow is the My Pillow. It never flattens. I even have a travel one.

I tried avacado puree in place of butter and it was actually very pleasant. Also tried turnip mash for mashed potatoes.

I thought both would be awful but I'm actually going to try to eat it more often I enjoyed it so much

Black beans for refried

I actually prefer black beans now

Good idea with the turnips.

This thread is making me hungry after a day of fasting due to excess Valentine's evening out to dinner.

There are so many gluten free products at Costco and Ralphs now, which is awesome. I bought Barilla gluten free pasta for antipasto salad last week and was blown away by it. I seriously cannot tell the difference and bought three more boxes this week.

But my digestive track and throat can sure tell. :D

Great! I make an awesome almond, cherry muffins with no wheat flour but a rice flour blend.

Costco, has stopped carrying the crackers I liked that were gluten free. Then they got another brand but stopped carrying them too. :(

Did you know Smash Burger now has Udi's gluten free buns? They have a goat cheese, spinach, purple onion and cucumber burger with ranch that's great for a change up.

Lentil beans with Greek yogurt and cumin...or a little hummus

Much healthier than almost any side dish.......and packed with protien

I did that with parsnips once. Mainly, because I never had a parsnip and felt that mashing it was the safest introduction over full strength.

Still an odd flavor but not bad actually.

Anyone here, boil their mashed potatoes in the milk you whip them in?

I do that. You're throwing out all the nutrients using water that you then throw away.

Eat less calories.

Problem solved!

I'm a starch eating fool and potatoes are my weakness. I'll try any ideas for a replacement (as long as it sounds edible). If there's a big pot on the stove I honestly could eat 3-4 helpings. It's insane. I haven't had them in about 2 months. I'm scared to make them lol. I have no self control sometimes.

I don't use all butter in mine as well. If you need to save fat calories, use 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" with some real butter. It tastes the same but it has zero calories.

The more carbs, or even sugar you eat, the more you want them imo. I fill up quickly so my control is automatic most of the time.

I don't think there are any Smash Burger's in the Hollywood area but that's good to know for travel. I've pretty much substituted Tacos for burgers, whether it's Tex-Mex ground beef for Baja style chicken, tri-tip or fish on corn tortilla's.

Finding out that gluten was the root of my digestive and inflammation issues was devastating at first, as I'd gone 40+ plus years without issues. A few years ago, it was more difficult but now, there are a plethora of options that I no longer feel restricted anymore.

And in terms of alcohol, Tito's Vodka and Omission beer more than make up for Sky Vodka and Mexican beers (and without the inflammation and digestive issues!).

All that said, the gluten allergy sucks.

That was a Smash Burger in Tuscan btw. Only other one I been at was at Newark airport.

I haven't been able to eat wheat since the 90's when there was little to nothing available, but I can have gluten if it's not wheat. So the gluten free product availability has made life easier. Now I don't have to whip up a hamburger bun when I want one anymore.

Inflammation is a problem...including for heart. So it's good you found out.
Any food allergy causes inflammation.

You're not missing much w/ Smash Burger - although it is nice they consider the gluten free bun on their menu, good on them. IIRC it's the same guy that created Chipotle, created the Smash concept. They're not terrible - but I definitely like five guys much better, JMO. A lot of these folks prefer Smash and Red Robin to Five Guys, not me though ;)

I don't like Five Guys. I don't think Smashburger is the best burger when it comes to the meat, but it seems comparable to Five Guys. If I were to rate the best burger it would not be something from a chain but a good 6 oz burger in a decent restaurant.

speaking of airport eats, Gate A - Atlanta's Hartsfield/Jackson has an Arthur Treachers!

http://i57.tinypic.com/2z5qf5j.jpg

Somehow I don't get to choose my gate in Atlanta but that is mostly wheat too. Looks good though.

I don't really have a choice if I want to be normal and have regular days.

Until I was diagnosed with the gluten allergy though blood testing, my throat would swell, which would induce my gag reflux as many as three times a day. I had a stomach endoscopy, colonoscopy and other tests which showed no damage, cancer, polyps, etc. yet my digestive system was a disaster and I was still experiencing dizziness (which is a gluten thing).

Even with adding probiotics and Greek yogurt while cutting out citrus, tomatoes, alcohol and caffeine, I still had massive swelling and stomach issues. Once it was determined to be gluten and I began cutting it from my diet, the symptoms disappeared.

It takes like 60 days for gluten to entirely leave your system, so I try not to eat any bread or flour based products. But every once in a while, I just need a slice of pizza or a burger and while the symptoms are greatly reduced because I'm no longer ingesting it daily, I still feel the effects.

FTR, I'd rather not eat gluten free pizza than eat it. I've had it at several restaurants and it's just not the same. Blech.

I'd like to grow some food grade millet. What company makes your flour?

Is sorghum based flour still the cat's meow for gluten free? There is an outfit locally that does a lot of shit with sorghum, but they don't have enough storage for me to grow much for food grade sorghum. Although I wouldn't mind trying if I could get an outlet. I need a premium...

I make my own pizza crust when I make pizza at home. But now pizza places are offering gluten free crust options. I have one near me. Don't know if you have a Mellow Mushroom your way but they have one too. Expensive though. But it's a decent substitute, whatever they're using. I just prefer mine which spelt flour with cornmeal in it.

Honestly, I don't know. Instead of trying to find bread alternatives, I turned to corn. Crunchy tacos, steamed corn tortillas, enchiladas over burritos, gluten free protein bars, etc.

It sounds harder than it is to go gluten-free although in all honesty, I wish it wasn't something I had to deal with because it makes eating out really tricky. Something as little as frying French fries with fried chicken can set off my stomach, which blows.

http://scene7.samsclub.com/is/image/..._size_380x380$

http://scene7.samsclub.com/is/image/..._size_380x380$

http://www.ncscooper.com/wp-content/...54-700x400.jpg

Honestly, I have no idea as I buy it in bulk at the organic market.



I don't know. I've only used sorghum as a sweetner. I found this for you though:http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-fr...hum-grain.html

Says it's gluten free.That's a good brand too, imo.

Thanks! Nope, no Mellow Mushroom although I had a California Pizza Kitchen Gluten free pizza last week. The toppings were excellent but the crust was just really bad. I've become somewhat of a NY Pizza-style pizza snob, so it was just inedible.

But I'd imagine that with the huge marketplace for gluten free products, the options will only increase and probably rather quickly.

Oh, I did read reviews of the sorghum based beers but was too afraid to try it. Instead, I tried Omission, which is wheat based but has 1 part per 20 million (or something ridiculous like that) which qualifies for gluten-free.

They have a Pale Ale, IPA and Lager, all of which are excellent. I actually believe that when I choose to drink beer, I'm drinking a better tasting, higher quality beer than in the past, which is actually pretty cool.

I was told when in another form some can be tolerated too. I drink beer with no reaction and I don't check what it's made from either.

Unfortunately, that doesn't work for me. If I drink regular beer, my throat swells but with Omission and Estrella Damm Daura, I don't have a reaction.

Same goes for Tito's corn vodka versus Sky or Grey Goose. I have a reaction with the wheat based vodka's but none with Tito's (which is just as good, if not better, IMO).

Hmm, haven't tried Tito's though I have and keep Grey Goose. Well, everyone's system is different.

That sucks nutsack. Shit, half my calories during harvest would go away if I couldn't eat wheat.





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I'm confused. Is it a corn-syrup type product? Sorghum isn't sweet. Unprocessed anyway.

If you need to cut back on salt, use more acids (vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, etc.). It stimulates your taste buds the way salt does, and it really works pretty well.

Take overripe bananas, slice them up and freeze them. Then toss some into a food processor along with a cup of milk and hit spin. The result is an awesome milk shake.

Add in any frozen fruit, peanut butter or other mix ins.

Chunking up bananas and freezing is also a really good way to add creaminess to a smoothie.

And speaking of smoothies, baby spinach can be added to smoothies; the flavor is easily masked by citrus if you don't want your smoothie to taste like spinach.

Another one to replace batter in fried food that uses wheat based flour—tempura.

That's how I felt when I was first diagnosed with a wheat allergy. It's hidden in so many foods too, like soy sauce. I was starvin' and dropped 12 pounds fast in a few weeks just from avoiding it. I wound up turning to potatoes when I rarely ate them before—I never ate chips, fries or mashed them. Just an occasional baked one and I mostly ate the skin. I even had french fried every day for lunch and still lost weight. I couldn't turn to corn as often as Dane, as I have to rotate any corn as I am sensitive to that even. But it is something I do rely on as a substitute starch or grain. I just limit it.


I really don't know much about sorghum, but I had a large jar of it as a sweetener at one time, that last nearly forever. It's a light brown syrup that's made from it. So I know it's made as a grain sweetener. How they do it is beyond me, but google is your friend here. It's like brown rice sweetener which is another grain based sweetener. Heck, if they can make sweetener from corn for corny syrup don't know why they can't from other grains or plants. None of those are exactly sweet unprocessed either, at least not like a sugar.

They make whole grain Goldfish now.

http://www.thegrocerygirls.com/media.../XCO3Z.jpg.jpg

Pineapple masks it well too. Also, can do with kale or other strong greens.

They have a tool that's under 15 Bucks at Walmart that allows you to shed spaghetti squash just like spaghetti noodles. Try it as a substitute to pasta the next time you cook. I'll bet you love it.

It does. But pineapple is basically a citrus (I know it's not technically, but it's very similar).

Dude. Me too. Mashed potatoes are literally one of my top 3 favorite foods. I'm ridiculous around them so I just don't make them anymore.

For Buehler445
 

Because he asked.

Sweet sorghum syrup
Talks about it's cultivation in the U.S.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...orghum_jar.jpg

Interesting.

Thank you, that was very nice of you to say! Have you tried it? I have yet to meet a squash I didn't like to eat. There are a couple I haven't tried, acorn squash being one of them.

Really? I'll have to check that out. I have no trouble roasting it by halving it and it easily shreds with a fork. But I do love kitchen gadgets.

Some do make a lousy crust. The place near me did at first but perfected it. It's really good. But my SO thinks my crust is better. Mine is thin.

When Mrs. FMB! and I went to Hawaii last year, we went to the Dole plantation on the next to last day...

This year, we'll be going very early in the week and stocking up on fresh fruit for the week.

Oh yeah! It's great. Very convenient, and very cheap to purchase.

....

My saving grace in pizza is that I love thin crust. It makes it much less calorically dense. I still don't eat it often though because I pretty much have to wear whatever I ingest.

Maybe it's just because I'm on my high horse after being off of grain, sugar and booze for a full week and am down 7 pounds, but..

Make your own mayo from scratch. It's not hard, and you're switching to healthy fats from olive oil and eggs instead of shit from a factory. Subbing yogurt with sour cream sounds fine, but you're just replacing one dairy with another.

If you're trying to drop pounds, don't find substitutes for unhealthy stuff like mashed potatoes or pizza crust...just stop eating them. I like this suggestion though, and have come around to cauliflower.

I don't think substitution gets you anywhere. Plus you're already putting a ton of processed flour in your body from the pancakes.

Kind of like the one before...how far is this substitution getting you? Still using grains.

Good butter has good fats. Lower calorie I suppose, but you can't sear a steak with clarified applesauce.

Best post in this thread!

Yeah, people have been duped into thinking that fat is worse than sugar and carbs. You know better, and you're very fit. Your words should hold some weight. Pun intended. :D

I found a coconut shredder in an Asian market. Stores didn't carry any coconut with long strands only shaved bits. Wonder if that would work for coconut too.
I needed to make long strands for these:

Those look fabulous! I'll bet it would.

Hmm. I'll have to try that. I've just made spaghetti with it, and the other flavors really trick you in regards to the pasta actually being squash. Totally going to make some that way. I like Parm cheese. I like butter. I like pepper. That seems nice.

Thanks. Tasted good too. I love coconut cake. Made them for last Easter's dinner.

Yum! I really like coconut.

Four things in the world I can not eat. Coconut, onions, peppers and iceberg lettuce. Not the taste but the texture.. The texture gives me the creeps.