{"id":940,"date":"2018-01-11T16:34:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T16:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mindfulchef.com\/?p=940"},"modified":"2020-05-15T16:04:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T16:04:27","slug":"4-healthy-food-swaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/4-healthy-food-swaps\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Healthy food swaps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Our ULTIMATE  healthy, food swaps | Mindful Chef\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O4MGMQWRtsM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>One of the most exciting things we do at Mindful Chef is get imaginative during recipe development, by replacing traditional foods, we don&#8217;t believe are very healthy for you, with their more nutritious, better halves. Whether that be pasta\u00a0for courgetti\u00a0or white rice\u00a0for cauliflower, here&#8217;s 4 of our favourites below. These are all used regularly in <a href=\"https:\/\/mindfulchef.com\/recipes\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\">Mindful Chef recipes<\/a> and if you read on you will understand why.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blog-button\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/\">Tell me more about Mindful Chef<\/a><\/div>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 id=\"1courgettivswhitepasta\"><strong>1. Courgetti vs Spaghetti<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-952\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.mindfulchef.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-2.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-2-300x203.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>White pasta is made up of\u00a0simple carbohydrates and therefore quickly digested and excreted by the body. As a result you have to eat a lot to fill you up, often causing you to overeat; this is less than ideal\u00a0if you are\u00a0looking to maintain or lose weight.\u00a0Simple carbohydrates also spike blood sugar levels, especially worse if you are a sedentary person or eating late at night. Most of the pasta we consume comes from supermarket shelves and is usually accompanied by sauces which themselves tend to be high in calories, salt and hidden sugars.<\/p>\n<p>At Mindful Chef we replace pasta or spaghetti with courgettes which are relatively low in calories but have a high water content. Courgettes provide a good amount of immune boosting Vitamin C \u2013 great for this time of year as more people get the flu. They\u00a0have a high level of potassium which is key to controlling our blood pressure. Courgette\u2019s high levels of fibre contribute to good digestion and help to stabilise blood sugar levels (unlike white pasta).<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"2coconutflourvsprocessedflour\"><strong>2. White potato mash for butterbean mash<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-953\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.mindfulchef.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-3.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-3-300x203.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>White potatoes have received a lot of bad press\u00a0in recent years, despite having an array of health benefits and being used in some of our recipes. However, we also love using creamy mashed butterbeans, as they contain five times the amount of protein per 100g than white potatoes. This is especially great for vegans who naturally tend to have less protein in their diet. Butterbeans are also high in iron, potassium, copper and magnesium, whilst also being high in soluble fibre &#8211; all essential for a healthy cardiovascular system and digestive tract.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"3sweetpotatovsprocessedwhitepotatoes\"><strong>3. Sweet potato noodles vs white noodles<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-954\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.mindfulchef.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-4.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-swap-4-300x203.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As with white pasta, white noodles similarly spike your blood sugar. Get creative with your spiralizer and try sweet potato noodles instead, especially delicious in healthy Asian cuisine.\u00a0 Sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients, vitamins C and A and they also have a high level of slow-release carbohydrates, helping to maintain steady blood sugar levels. They can also help you recover from training, as a\u00a0single sweet potato contains more than a day&#8217;s-worth of antioxidant beta-carotene, which helps with post workout stiffness.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"4cauliflowerricevswhiterice\"><strong>4. Cauliflower vs white rice<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-951\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.mindfulchef.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-Swap-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-Swap-1.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Food-Swap-1-300x203.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>White rice raises your blood sugar levels quickly. It also has a relatively low nutrient content (brown rice has a much higher content of Vitamin B and fibre than white rice). Having less nutrients than brown rice, research suggests that over consumption of white rice and eating\u00a0too much could increase the rate at which one develops type 2 diabetes. In comparison, cauliflowers are amazing; they have an impressive array of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals,\u00a0being an excellent source of Vitamins A, K &amp; B6. They are also a powerhouse of dietary fibre and rich in omega 3 (something as a Western society we do not consume enough of). It is no surprise that we try to include cauliflower as much as possible in recipes and prefer to replace white rice with cauliflower wherever possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most exciting things we do at Mindful Chef is get imaginative during recipe development, by replacing traditional foods, we don&#8217;t believe are very healthy for you, with their more nutritious, better halves. Whether that be pasta\u00a0for courgetti\u00a0or white rice\u00a0for cauliflower, here&#8217;s 4 of our favourites below. These are all used regularly in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/4-healthy-food-swaps\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-nutrition","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"horizontal-thumbnail":false,"horizontal-thumbnail-small":false,"vertical-thumbnail":false,"vertical-thumbnail-small":false,"square-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Olivia Parker","author_link":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/author\/olivia\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"One of the most exciting things we do at Mindful Chef is get imaginative during recipe development, by replacing traditional foods, we don&#8217;t believe are very healthy for you, with their more nutritious, better halves. Whether that be pasta\u00a0for courgetti\u00a0or white rice\u00a0for cauliflower, here&#8217;s 4 of our favourites below. These are all used regularly in...Read&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2407,"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940\/revisions\/2407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mindfulchef.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}