upgrade your comfort food

Indulging is certainly warranted and amazing on occasion (see last month’s blog post to learn how to do this the right way!).

But what if you are looking for comfort foods without all the extra crap? Healthier upgrades to your favorite foods?

I know that when I sit down to think about our dinners for the week, I think about those comforting foods that I had as a kid or whatever food I can make in a crock pot so there isn’t a ton of clean up. 

But I also…

1. don’t want to feel heavy and bloated every night of the week and

2. enjoy the challenge of making foods healthier

Literally, the thought of buying butter, cream, or cheese and putting it into my dinner just really doesn’t appeal to me anymore.

(If I’m out at a restaurant, that’s a different story!)

 So if I want macaroni and cheese – I’m looking to make some swaps. Cashews and nutritional yeast are my typical foundation to an amazing cheesy sauce and brown rice pasta is a delicious gluten-free variety.

I think about the foods I want, or the flavors, and how I can make it better for me.

I challenge you to do the same thing! It’s rewarding having tasty food that is also better for your health and digestion.

Here are some ideas to get you started!

Pasta? – brown rice pasta topped with veggies & marinara

French fries? – baked sweet potato fries coated in spices

Tacos? – corn tortillas or lettuce leaves stuffed with rotisserie chicken (or mushrooms), guacamole & salsa

Pizza? – brown rice tortillas topped with veggies & marinara OR try making cauliflower pizza crust

Burgers? – serve the burger patty between two lettuce leaves or make a veggie burger from millet or quinoa

Sandwiches? – top Ezekiel bread or a brown rice tortilla with mashed avocado and vegetables OR roll up hummus, rotisserie chicken and veggies in a lettuce leaf

Cookies, cakes, cupcakes? (oh my!) – find gluten-free recipes that don’t use refined white or brown sugar. You can find lots of great recipes like these chocolate chip cookies, this chocolate cake & these German chocolate cupcakes that use maple syrup or coconut sugar or dates in lieu of white sugar!

Candy? – opt for dark chocolate that has at least 70% cacao content

Ice Cream? – OMG when your bananas turn spotty on the countertop — peel, cut and freeze them to use for banana soft serve.  All you do is put the frozen bananas in your blender and blend until you get a soft serve consistency. Add whatever toppings you’d like – fresh fruit, coconut, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, peanut butter….for example! Craving something chocolatey? Make a chocolate smoothie with banana, almond milk, and cocoa.

Did i miss anything?

Leave a comment below with your favorite food and I’ll health-ify it!