Simple Food Swaps for Your Heart

In the prior post, I listed five foods for a healthy heart.

I also suggested adding these foods to your daily or weekly diet.

Now, sometimes it is not just how to add these foods but making a trade.

Not all foods warrant a trade or swap. For example, adding oats is something to add but doesn’t always have a swap – unless you trade it for sugar-sweetened ready-to-eat cereal.

Today I list five simple food swaps for your heart and your health.

Plain Green Yogurt in Place of Sour Cream

Once I discovered plain Greek yogurt and started using it more in recipes, I realized that it is simple to swap this for sour cream permanently.

Only some people agree, but no one complains when I have done this without saying anything. I used this on tacos and as a substitute for dips that call for sour creams, like French onion dip or ranch dip.

Comparing ¼ cup, here are the facts:

Plain Greek yogurt (2%): 40 calories, 1.1 grams fat, 5.7 grams protein, 57 mg calcium

Sour cream: 123 calories, 12 grams fat, 1.8 grams protein, 67 mg calcium

Avocado in Place of Cheese

Not the same, I know, but hear me out. Adding avocado as a topping is a substitute I learned from my friend with a dairy allergy. She used sliced avocado instead of cheese. So I know that grilled cheese and avocado toast are different.

A few slices of avocado over some shredded cheese have a healthier fat profile, fiber, and antioxidants.

The comparison could be extensive here, so that I will use shredded sharp cheddar.

Comparing 1 ounce, here are the facts:

Shredded cheese, sharp cheddar (1 oz = 1/4 cup): 110 calories, 9 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, 6-gram protein, 200 mg calcium, 0 potassium

Avocado (1 oz): 45 calories, 4.2 grams fat, < 1 gram saturated fat, <1 gram protein, 3 mg calcium, 137 mg potassium

Many people would use more than 1 ounce of avocado, noting that one whole avocado is about 7 ounces. One ounce is about 1/8 of a fruit, so even using ¼ is almost double the nutrition information above.

Nuts in Place of Snack Chips

Nuts and chips are both snack foods – and one has a profile loaded with nutrients and the other not so much.

Because of the variety of nuts, their nutrient profile, the type of snack chips, and their nutrient profile, I won’t try to compare them here.

Mindless eating of both is easy, so I discourage eating directly from the container. Instead, serve out what you want to have and put the container away before starting in.

Now, I know there is no equivalent to chips and salsa or chips and queso when swapping out nuts. Don’t be silly.

But choosing a mixed nut variety, peanuts, or trail mix is a simple and healthier swap of a snack bag of chips for lunch.

Coffee, Tea, Sparkling Water, or anything else in Place of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Sugar-sweetened beverages are just unnecessary in our life. Whether it is a soda/pop/coke, sweet tea, or a juice drink, these are not helpful in our overall diet.

Coffee is fine – when not made into a shake or dessert. And it is not “bad” for your heart. Welcome to the 21st century.

Tea is also fine – when not loaded with sugar.

Sparkling or carbonated waters and flavor enhancers are better than sugar-sweetened beverages.

And plain water is always a good choice.

Leaner Meat in Place of High-Fat Meats

Even though I listed fatty fish as one of the foods to add for a healthy heart, this does not mean one has to skip or give up meat entirely.

Look for cuts of beef and pork called “loin” or “round.”

Beef and pork are fine with the following recommendations:

Not ‘highly’ processed meats like sausages, pepperoni, salamis, bologna, and similar types.

Choose leaner cuts over higher fat cuts. In some amounts, you can see the difference between fat and marbling. Some have a lot more, and some have a lot less – less is better.

Look for cuts of beef and pork called “loin” or “round.”

When choosing ground beef, opt for leaner. I prefer the 97% lean as much as possible, and never lower than 93%.

I choose ground turkey breast in place of ground beef sometimes.

Also, if you eat meats, rotate through seafood, poultry, and red meats to have variety.

What do you think? Are these straightforward swaps, or do they seem silly?

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