10 Simple Food Swaps for Healthier Family Meals

We’re all interested in “eating healthier,” but with so much “health” information swirling around the internet these days, it’s often difficult to know where to start.

My advice = start small! 😂

Everything is easier when you start small… especially when it comes to changing your diet (and especially if you’re trying to change your family’s diet!)

I started making really small changes to the foods I was buying, preparing, and serving back in 2011… and I’ve just kept pluggin’ away at it over the years.

There are still many ways we could improve our health and our diet, but we’re making progress… which is always my goal!

If you’re looking for a few relatively simple ways to swap more nutritious foods into your family meals, I hope the ideas below will give you the motivation to start!

1. Applesauce in place of Oil for baked goods

This is one of my most favorite calorie-saving, fat-saving, nutritional-boosting baking tips of all time. I’ve been doing this since I was in high school and it works pretty much every time!

Simply sub the exact same amount of unsweetened applesauce for whatever amount of oil is called for in your favorite baked goods, breads, muffins, etc. and you’ll save yourself several hundred calories with almost ZERO taste difference.

NOTE: This substitution does not work for “softened butter” in cookies, just the melted butter or oil called for in most quick bread, muffin, and cake recipes.

Here’s my recipe for homemade applesauce — but of course, store-bought works fine as well. Just make sure it’s unsweetened or your final product will probably turn out much too sweet.

2. Quinoa in place of White Rice

Quinoa is one of my personal favorite “grains” (it’s actually a pseudo grain, but that’s beside the point) that’s high in protein, fiber, and many vitamins and nutrients. It’s also gluten-free, just like rice.

Plus, Quinoa has so much more flavor than white rice.

I substitute quinoa in place of white rice for almost all our casseroles and soups. However, I still cook up rice for Mexican or Chinese meals.

I buy my quinoa in bulk from Costco and cook it in my rice cooker the same way I cook rice (2 cups of liquid for every 1 cup of rice/quinoa).

Related Reading: Easy Cheesy Quinoa Sausage Bites

3. Spaghetti Squash in place of Pasta

We’ve grown spaghetti squash in our garden the past several summers, and our kids tolerate it quite well. Sometimes I do half and half, sometimes I give them a choice, and sometimes we just eat squash!

For the record, I LOVE spaghetti squash 🙂

It’s so easy to cook in a slow cooker, and it’s a super nutritious substitution for traditional noodles in any of your favorite pasta dishes (here’s our favorite pizza pasta made with spaghetti squash).

4. Produce + Protein in place of Sweet Snacks

I always wanted to be the mom who had freshly baked cookies waiting for her kids when they hopped off the school bus every afternoon… and honestly, I do have cookies for them most days!

However, I also almost always put out a tray with raw fruits and veggies on it too — they get one cookie and then can fill up on fruits and veggies if they are legitimately hungry before dinner (and remember, we eat dinner fairly early).

The kids also know that if they do get hungry between meals, they can ask for fruit, veggies, yogurt, nuts, or cheese, not just another cookie or sweet treat.

We love our sweets over here, but I try to balance them out a bit with as much raw produce as my kids will eat, and also a protein option.

And, for the record, my kids’ taste buds have honestly changed over the years. They now take raw veggies on their own, even without being forced. They even request them in their lunches!

5. Beans in place of Some Meat

I’ve shared this tip before — but substituting cooked beans for SOME meat saves money on our grocery bill as well as a bunch of calories.

Plus, black beans have lots of protein and fiber!

I regularly halve the amount of meat I’m using for a casserole, soup, or Mexican dish and add in a variety of beans to make up the difference. My kids totally know it, but they’ve stopped caring! It helps that they all LOVE my homemade refried beans.

6. Sweet Potatoes in place of White Potatoes

Our family loves potatoes and we still eat them regularly throughout the week.

However, we also enjoy sweet potatoes (especially Clara and me) so I often keep a big container of roasted veggies (including sweet potatoes) ready to go in the fridge.

We mix them into casseroles, we eat them for breakfast, I put them on salads, etc. etc.

Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins and are a great side dish for so many different meals (even Mexican — like these yummy sweet potato black bean tacos!)

7. Water in place of Sugary Drinks

There is a HUGE health swap that you might be totally overlooking — just drink more water!

There is so much sugar and junk in most beverages these days — even “100% fruit juice” is packed with natural sugars that aren’t always helpful first thing in the morning.

Then there’s all the pop/soda, sports drinks, fancy lattes, alcohol, and other flavored drinks.

The sugar and calories will add up over time… and they can become addicting.

Of course, there’s no need to fully eliminate your favorite beverage from your diet, but if you create a habit of drinking water MOST of the time, you’ll save yourself a whole bunch of sugar, calories, and money!

8. Maple Syrup in place of other Sweeteners

This was a bit of an adjustment for us, but we finally made the switch to Maple Syrup almost 8 years ago and we haven’t looked back.

Since I make a hot breakfast most mornings, we go through a fair amount of syrup — so this was a good switch for us health-wise. Cost-wise, it’s more expensive, but it’s one of my regular Costco purchases at a reasonable price.

I also regularly use maple syrup (or honey) in place of sugar in many of my baking recipes (pancakes, waffles, some muffins) without negative results.

9. Oatmeal in place of Cold Cereal

Cold cereal can be a fun treat or dessert, but it really doesn’t do much to fill you up — it’s mostly sugar, cabs, and empty calories (even the “healthier” stuff).

On the other hand, homemade oatmeal is extremely nutrient-dense, fairly quick and easy to whip up, and much less expensive than cold cereals.

Add in fresh or frozen fruits, nuts, whipped cream, granola, or a variety of other toppings to change up the flavors… whatever you choose, oatmeal will keep you fuller longer than any bowl of cold cereal!

Related Recipe: Easy Overnight Baked Oatmeal

10. Whole Grain in place of White Flour

And last but not least, my beloved whole grains…

After 6 years of lots of trial and error, I can now make almost anything with freshly milled flour!

My grain mill (currently out of stock) has been one of my best kitchen investments as I use it daily, often multiple times per day, to make pancakes, waffles, cookies, bars, quick breads, and (of course) yeast/sourdough breads and rolls.

The health benefits of freshly milled flour are mind-boggling — I continue to learn more and more each year as I dive deeper into this fun cooking and baking adventure! (Here’s a great article / podcast with Sue Becker — one of my favorite whole grain flour ladies).

One word of caution, I wouldn’t spend extra buying “whole grain flour” from the store as almost all the nutrients are lost within 48 hours after milling. So the “whole grain flour” you buy in the store will have little, if any, added nutrition, and it will just create dense and heavy baked goods.

Related Reading: 15 Ways to eat whole grains every day.

Bonus Tip: Keep it simple!

Sometimes I think we get too carried away thinking that “healthy” needs to be “fancy” — but that is not the case at all.

There are times when our plans change and I’m tempted to head to a local pizza place or fast food restaurant to pick up dinner. But instead, I’ll make a few omelettes (we always have eggs), and serve them with sourdough toast and whatever fruit we have in the house.

Or I’ll whip up my 30-minute tomato soup and serve it with grilled cheese and raw veggies.

These are not gourmet, time-intensive, expensive meals. They are quick and easy and everyone in our family loves them. Plus, they are much more nutritious than anything I would have picked up at a local restaurant.

Keep it simple… start with 3-5 meals your family already enjoys and looks for ways to swap in a few healthier options. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

In our home, we enjoy “all things in moderation,” including our favorite pastas, rice, potatoes, beverages, sweet treats, and even fast food!

However, by using many of these substitutions on a regular basis, I can make family-friendly recipes that are higher in nutrients, packed with more veggies, and have more flavor as well!

Do you have any easy food swaps to share?

Leave them in the comments below!