Contents
- 1 1. Instead of a bagel, use an English muffin.
- 2 2. Instead of low-fat milk, use Greek yogurt.
- 3 3. Instead of OJ, eat an orange.
- 4 4. Instead of bread use a wrap.
- 5 5. Instead of crackers, sub in apple slices.
- 6 6. Instead of a flour tortilla, use a corn tortilla.
- 7 7. Instead of mixed nuts, eat trail mix.
- 8 8. Instead of milk chocolate, eat dark chocolate.
- 9 9. Instead of ultralight, drink local craft beer.
- 10 10. Instead of corn chips, use radishes as a crunchy chili topper.
- 11 11. Instead of a vanilla Frappuccino, order an iced vanilla latte.
1. Instead of a bagel, use an English muffin.
Swap the 3½-inch bagel with 1 tablespoon each cream cheese and fruity jam for a whole-wheat English muffin topped with a tablespoon of peanut butter and fresh strawberry slices.
2. Instead of low-fat milk, use Greek yogurt.
Flip-flop your breakfast bowl. Instead of pouring 1/2 cup low-fat milk over your bowl of granola (about 2/3 cup), sprinkle ¼ cup granola over 6 ounces of nonfat Greek yogurt. Low-fat granola has about 1.5g fat in 1⁄4 cup — that’s 75% less than regular granola.
3. Instead of OJ, eat an orange.
Skip the 12-ounce glass of orange juice. Eat a fresh orange instead—one cup of OJ has 24 grams of sugar, double the amount in an orange. Plus you’ll tack on an extra 3 grams of fiber, too, by eating whole fruit.
4. Instead of bread use a wrap.
Pile your sandwich fixings on one (8-inch) 100-calorie whole-wheat wrap, rather than 2 slices of hearty multigrain bread.
5. Instead of crackers, sub in apple slices.
Enjoy that savory sharp cheddar with crisp apple slices instead of wheat crackers – and up your daily fruit count too! You’ll also save on sodium. Five wheat crackers: 200mg sodium. One medium fresh apple: Zero.
6. Instead of a flour tortilla, use a corn tortilla.
Turn burrito night into fajita night: Stuff the tasty fixings into 2 (6-inch) corn tortillas, rather than one (10-inch) flour tortilla. You’ll also save 450mg of sodium.
7. Instead of mixed nuts, eat trail mix.
Two handfuls of nuts are heart-healthy but calorie-heavy. Downsize the 2 handfuls of nuts to 1 (about 3⁄4 oz.), and add a handful of air-popped popcorn and whole-grain cereal, such as Chex. There are 400 calories in a half cup of nuts — so portion carefully.
8. Instead of milk chocolate, eat dark chocolate.
Dark chocolate has half the sugar of milk chocolate. Plus, intense dark chocolate, savored slowly, can last as long and deliver the satisfaction you want. Try 2 squares versus a whole candy bar.
9. Instead of ultralight, drink local craft beer.
Savor and sip the superiority of one local, full-flavored high-gravity craft beer. It’ll quench and satisfy far greater than 2 ultralight pints. Be careful: Some specialty beers can have up to 10% alcohol — more than wine.
10. Instead of corn chips, use radishes as a crunchy chili topper.
Instead of an ounce each of corn chips and sour cream, try fresh radishes for crunch, jalapeños for heat, and a small dollop of cool, creamy nonfat Greek yogurt. There’s still room for cheese. Corn chips aren’t just carbs; skip them, and you’ll save 10g fat per ounce.
11. Instead of a vanilla Frappuccino, order an iced vanilla latte.
Even with 2% milk and no whipped cream, a 16-ounce Frappuccino contains 300 calories, mostly from the whopping 67g of sugar. Switch to an iced 2% vanilla latte, and save 40g. Skip the flavoring and order nonfat milk for a refreshing sip with only 11g sugar.
