Healthy Substitutions to Boost Your Recipes and Health

What do 1) avocado and butter, 2) greek yogurt and mayo, and 3) nutritional yeast and cheese all have in common?

Each of these duos can be swapped for each other as a healthy substitution for YOUR favorite recipes! 

Before we get into these healthy substitutions to boost your recipes and your health, let’s start with some basics. Some of the best substitutions are when we choose an unprocessed food instead of a processed food. Sometimes these are pretty obvious, and sometimes (shrug) they’re not. If you have kidney disease, making the right substitutions in your diet can make a huge difference in your overall health. Let me start by giving you 3 easy substitutions you should make right away: Choose whole oats instead of individually packaged oats (more fiber and less sugar), pick apples instead of applesauce, and make baked sweet potato fries instead of bagged potato chips. Tada. You’re healthy. Kidding.

Next, let’s talk about some substitutions that might not be so obvious, and let’s give a shoutout to Haley Hirth, a 3rd-year medical student who came up with this blog and is a champion for healthy eating and education. 

Let’s start with butter. 

Now we won’t get into the whole argument about whether or not butter is a healthy part of your diet. Still, we’ll say that butter has a lot of saturated fat and most of us are better off substituting healthy unsaturated fats for some of the saturated fats in our diet. We know that increased saturated fat increases the risk of cardiac disease for many people and that the number one thing that leads to death in people with kidney disease, is heart problems. 

The key to substituting for butter is thinking about the type of dish you are adding it to. Here are my three favorite ways to substitute healthy fats for butter and boost your health:

1. Need butter to grease a pan or baking dish? Try olive oil or avocado oil instead. These substitutions swap 63% saturated fat for less than 14% saturated fat and add healthy unsaturated fats, vitamins, and antioxidants you would not get from butter alone. If you’re baking a lot of cooking with butter all the time, this change may make a big difference. Just be aware that each oil cooks differently.
2. Using butter for Fall baking? Try applesauce or mashed bananas instead! Butter can be swapped in a 1:1 ratio with apple sauce – helping to add moisture to baked goods while reducing overall fat content. When making substitutions, I also reduce the sugar I add to the recipe because fruits contain natural sugars. If this swap sounds too much for you, consider doing half butter, half fruit!
3. Spreading butter on toast or sandwich bread? Try mashed avocado instead. The healthy fats in avocados can help you feel fuller for longer. Listen to what our 3rd-year med student Haley eats for a hunger-crushing savory breakfast to keep her fueled for a day of learning: She spreads hummus and avocado on toasted bread, sprinkles on some garlic powder and red pepper flakes, and finishes with an egg for added protein! Sign me up. 

Next, mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise is a staple in American households with 70% of families consuming it regularly (Duke’s is the best BTW). Let’s look at substitutions based on how you are using it. 

Instead of mayo to tie your whole sandwich together here are my 3 favorite substitutes:  

1. Mustard: it adds some extra tang with less fat
2. Mashed avocado: swaps in a healthier fat while keeping the moisture you’d get from the mayo. It just takes a little extra work up front and a strong forearm to mash.
3. Hummus: adds fiber to a sandwich or wrap that leans toward Mediterranean flavors like a wrap with veggies and feta cheese! Comment below with your favorite mayo sandwich substitute.

Mayo is also an important ingredient in pasta and potato salads. To maintain the same creamy texture, try Greek yogurt and you get added protein, probiotics, and healthy fats. That’s a triple-winner. Don’t fret about flavor; you can use vinegar, oil, mustard, or other seasonings to help add back the flavor you lose when substituting the mayo. Greek yogurt is a great ingredient to have on hand because it can replace just about any creamy dairy product: heavy cream, sour cream, or even cream cheese!

The next category is cheese. 

Cheese production has tripled in the United States since the 1970s, and it’s something that many Americans can’t live without. 

I’ll give you 3 seconds to guess what my favorite healthy cheese substitute is to boost your health. One, Two Three. Nutritional yeast. Did you guess correctly?

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast sold in flakes or powders at most major grocery stores. Nutritional yeast contains all essential amino acids and is interestingly one of the only plant-based sources of vitamin B12. I love adding this to any dish that would benefit from a little extra savory, cheesy flavor, and you need to try it to believe it! Here are my favorite ways to use it:

1. Mix nutritional yeast with olive oil and almond milk over heat to produce a thick, creamy sauce for mac and cheese.  
2. For any foods you find taste better with a little sprinkling of cheese, swap that shredded cheese for nutritional yeast! This tip works great for baked vegetables, tortilla chips, or popcorn. Check out my recipe for buffalo chicken dip where I use the nutritional yeast to elevate the flavor.
3. Stir nutritional yeast into eggs while scrambling for that classic cheesy egg flavor.
4. Finally, add nutritional yeast to the dough for biscuits or pizza to mimic cheddar biscuits or stuffed crust. That’s brilliant, Haley. Thank you. 

#4 Ice Cream

Many of my patients say they like to end the day with ice cream, so let’s go ahead and end this blog with dessert! The question is, how do we satisfy that sweet craving without the high sugar and fat? It’s not easy, but here are two ways to try it. 

Frozen mashed bananas: Frozen mashed bananas are one of the closest substitutes for the sweet flavor and creamy texture of ice cream. Don’t be afraid of letting your bananas turn brown before using them. Overripe bananas will be easier to mash, and their sugar content increases the more ripe they are! 

Next – have you ever tried avocado pudding: Blend avocado, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and almond milk for a delicious, creamy pudding substitute. Not only do you get less sugar but you add antioxidants and healthy fats.

Well, what do you think? Of course, there is a place for all foods in a well-balanced diet, but we can always keep an open mind to boosting the quality of what we eat through healthy substitutions!

Comment below with your favorite substitutions.