10 Healthy Food Swaps to Reduce Calories (Backed by Experts)

1 / 10

Banish bread

Put some crunch in your lunch using collard greens instead of bread to roll up sandwich fillings.

2 / 10

Ditch pre-flavoured yogurts

Flavour your own yogurt instead of buying pre-sweetened brands, advises Rory Hornstein, registered dietitian for the Calgary Weight Management Centre. “Stir in one teaspoon (5 mL) of maple syrup or honey, which contains only one-third of the sugar in sweetened yogurts.”

3 / 10

Take your coffee black

Frappuccinos add up, warns Jane Dummer, a registered dietitian in Kitchener, Ont. Save over 220 calories by ordering a black coffee instead.

4 / 10

Bake, don’t fry

“Bake your bacon!” recommends Jo Lusted, a TV chef and the author of Dish Do-Over. When baked, excess grease collects in the catch-pan-not on your plate.

5 / 10

Cut the whipping cream

For creamy sauces, Lusted suggests swapping 35 per cent whipping cream with low-fat evaporated milk.

6 / 10

Use less salad dressing

Consume less salad dressing by dipping your fork in a side serving of sauce, then spearing your greens.

7 / 10

Add cauliflower to pasta

Substitute cauliflower florets for one-third of the pasta in your favourite mac and cheese.

8 / 10

Say yes to yam flour

Fill your next bowl of soup with shirataki noodles-Asian-style soft noodles made from yam flour.

9 / 10

Pump up you cakes with puree

For those who want to eat their cake, too, replace the eggs, oil and water that you’d add to
a packaged cake mix with a 14-ounce (398 mL) can of pumpkin purée.

10 / 10

Crack down on cream cheese

Save 90 calories at the coffee shop by asking for margarine on your bagel instead of cream cheese.