Simple Food Swaps for a Healthier New Year

If you want to make a change in the new year, remember: being healthy and feeling positive is more important than losing weight just to achieve a particular body type. However, eating badly can result in serious health problems such as heart disease and high blood pressure.

Simple food swaps can make a huge change to your life without leaving you feeling as though you’re missing out. They can help you to prevent weight gain in order to live longer and keep your heart healthy.

Here are our top tips for an easy, healthy new year.

Going low-fat

There are a wide range of products that can be used in place of their full-fat counterparts to help you reduce the cholesterol and saturated fats you consume.

For example, something as simple as the whole milk you put in your coffee or cereal can be switched out for 1% or even fully skimmed milk. You’ll still benefit from the vitamins and minerals they contain without falling foul of the excess fat.

Eating food with no added sugars

Even food that contains fruit or claims to have other health benefits can actually be full of sugar.

Cereal is a major culprit of this kind. Take time to read the label - you shouldn’t be consuming more than 30g of sugar daily, so try to select a cereal with a low sugar content, such as Mo Health Granola Super Berry Crunch which is sweetened with natural honey.

Trying new foods instead of guilty pleasures

Many people stick to what they know and love, which prevents them from discovering the healthy treats they might enjoy even more.

For example, many people use butter to fry with, but this contains saturated fats and salts that can raise blood pressure. Great alternatives are olive oil and coconut oil, while avocado can be spread on bread or toast.

B&M Top Tip: Replace your daily chocolate bar or crisps with tasty and filling fruit bars.

Using different appliances

It’s not just the food you eat that can make a difference, but also the way you cook it. Try to fry, roast or microwave less and aim to steam or grill more. This will reduce the amount of fat in your meals.

In recent years, air fryers or low-fat fryers have become extremely popular. These are great, as they only require a tiny amount of oil to work.

Choosing wholegrains and whole-wheats

Replacing white bread with wholegrain or wheat bread will top up your body with more vitamins and minerals as well as increasing your fibre intake. This will improve your digestive system, helping you metabolise food quicker and keeping you in shape.

B&M Top Tip: Why not choose sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes occasionally? They’re lower in carbohydrates and contain plenty more vitamin A and C.

Drinking flavoured water and smoothies

It’s great to replace at least some of the pop and alcohol you drink throughout the week with something that will do you good. 

Drinking more water in general is great for your health and your figure - and you can even buy a bottle that will help to remind you of your timings - but infusing that water with fruit can boost your intake of vitamins.

Smoothies and soups are super easy and delicious ways to eat more fruit and veg as part of a meal. Shakers, blenders and soup makers are always available and very straightforward to use.

Why not add a little whey protein powder to smoothies for a flavourful and nutritious boost? Dried fruit can provide extra fibre too - just soak it before you blend.

B&M Top Tip: You can freeze your soups and smoothie mixes so they’re always available to form part of your meal plans.

So, to start your health kick right, simply use low-fat and low-sugar alternatives, try new, healthy options in place of old favourites, invest in new appliances, seek out whole grains and whole-wheats and aim to drink more infused water and smoothies.

Whether you’re planning to slim down or simply to feel better, these changes may change your health for the better.

B&M Top Tip: Take a look at our fabulous selection of recipes for inspiration as you enjoy making healthy changes.

Got some great food swaps that you’d like to share? Spread the word among the B&M Community via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!