Weekly Health Minute: Food Swaps

WGTS 91.9 with Jerry, Summer, and Claude. We are glad that you're listening. Claude was sharing earlier this morning about how he's on a pretty much mostly fruits and veggies, although we're questioning him because he's buying plant alternative products too.

I'm like, I don't think that means what you think it means.

But we know it is important to get healthier, that's why we got a special guest here this morning.

We have Patricia Hertz, registered dietitian with the Center for Fitness and Health at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center. And she's gonna share with us some food swaps that are gonna help us eat more mindfully.

So, Patricia, let's start with soda.

A lot of us like soda.

What can we do instead of soda?

Oh, I love a good cold Coke sometimes, but, every now and then, we just need that taste of carbonation. And a lot of times our goal is to go to soda, which can usually have a lot of added sugar. There are so many options out there for sparkling water, plain or flavored. My personal favorite is the berry. But if you don't like the taste of water or sparkling water, you could also flavor water with different types of fruit or vegetables. Just be mindful of the sugar and choose an option that has low to no sugar added. Sometimes these sugars can be hidden within the drink.

Okay. But what about all those, like, yummy comfort carbs, pastas, breads, stuff like that?

Yeah. I have to add. It was almost mutiny in my house when I switched over to whole wheat pasta. I tell you, it was it was a little tricky, but I finally did it.

Making that simple switch from white breads and pasta to whole grain versions can really impact your health immediately. By switching to whole grains, it helps you to increase the number of grains and fiber in your diet, getting you close to that daily goal of twenty five to thirty five grams per day. If you don't like the taste or your family doesn't like the taste of those whole grain pastas or grains, try to make that switch gradual by doing half and half. You can use half white rice, half brown rice, or maybe even half wild rice and half brown rice, that would be an easy way to make that transition.

So you soon won't know the difference.

I saw a study recently that says when we take a road trip, things like chips, Pringles specifically, are some of our favorites. So give us some substitutions for that.

Yeah. It is hard and, almost like no comparison when you're thinking about potato chips to veggies or fruit. Sometimes you really want some of that, actual crunch that the veggies or pretzels provide. But, you know, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

What I also recommend folks trying to do is dehydrating their, produce so that it does give that sort of illusion of that like chip feel or that cracker feel. Dehydrating your, fruit or veggies gives that nice crunch. You can still dip it. But, yeah, I I like to mix it up.

But once your palate gets acclimated to not eating the chips or pretzels, then it's it's really just an easy transition after that.

Okay. Let us down easily on this one. Sweets, sugary stuff, we all love it. What are some other options?

Yeah. That's a hard one for people to do. We all know the feeling of sitting down after dinner and getting that craving for something sweet. Instead of opting for ice cream, cookies, or cake, have sweeter fruits on hand to satisfy that sweet tooth.

However, you can also have ice cream, cookies, and cake just in moderation and not habitually. Make it a once in a while treat. Some fruit are perfect for this like oranges, peaches, frozen grapes, and strawberries. Frozen fruit's another really great option for a sweet treat.

I really like that. They're so delicious. Frozen blueberries are really yummy. Anyway, occasionally, you can add a little whipped cream or chocolate, on your fruit.

I don't really care for whipped cream unless you make it yourself and just using a little bit. But if you do like a frozen fruit slush, blend it up and make it like a sorbet.

Now a lot of people like milk and I like milk that has been processed into ice cream.

Well, give us some alternatives. I don't if I want alternatives, but give us what we should be eating.

Yeah. If you really have some sort of dairy allergy or you're trying to cut the sugar or fat from your diet, nut milks can be a really beneficial, addition to your diet. However, I do have to say that skim milk is a really great source of protein, has very, very little cholesterol and no saturated fat in it. Some of the milk substitutes that I recommend, the top of my list would be soy milk since it's also another great source of protein and great for folks who have lactose intolerant.

I also just recently read that soy milk can be, beneficial to that gut microbiome. Almond milk is a great source of vitamin E, which is a wonderful antioxidant, can help strengthen bones and it's high in magnesium. Coconut milk is another great option for people who need to control their blood sugars, but be careful with coconut milk because it is high in saturated fat. And oat milk is another great substitute which offers fiber.

And if you use any milk alternative, remember to think about getting the unsweetened no added sugar variety.

Thanks, Patricia. That's great advice. As always, if you wanna hear this again and hear other health minutes, check out our website, WGTS91.9.com.

And as always, thank you so much to Adventist HealthCare for sponsoring today's Health Minute.