Quick Swaps for More Nutrition and All the Flavor

When it comes to recipes, there are lots of small tweaks you can make to gain more nutrition without losing flavor. This week we’re focusing on saving money and eating healthier by cooking at home. What better time to try some easy changes to your favorite meals? Here are a few trades you can make to health-ify home cooked meals:

1. Sour Cream → Greek Yogurt

Let’s get one thing clear right off the bat. You definitely do not want strawberry yogurt on your taco/burrito/baked potato. Gross. But have you tried plain nonfat Greek yogurt before? If you have, you may have noticed how similar it tastes to sour cream. And it packs in more than twice as much protein with about 25% of the calories and no fat!

Sour Cream (2 tablespoons)	Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt (2 tablespoons)
60 calories	16 calories
1 g protein	2.4 g protein
5 g fat	0 g fat

Recipes where you can make this trade:

Southwest Baked Potatoes

Tortilla wrapped into a burrito stuffed with black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, and plain yogurt.

Black Bean Burritos

Bowl of chili made with black beans, bell pepper, onions, carrots, squash, corn, tomatoes, barley, zucchini, kale, and garlic, topped with chili powder

Southwestern Sweet & Spicy Chili

2. Ground Beef → Lentils/Black Beans

Even if you like meals with meat, you can replace at least half of it with beans or lentils to add variety, nutrition, and decrease your cost and calories! Hopefully you love tables, because here’s another

*Ground Beef (1 pound)	Lentils (1 pound)
1160 calories	530 calories
70 g fat	0 g fat
0 g fiber	36 g fiber
**$5.61	**$1.40

*85% lean ground beef
**Cost based on average Connecticut grocery prices national prices in December 2024.

Recipes where you can make this trade:

Flour tortilla lying flat covered with cooked lentils, black beans, taco seasoning, topped with sour cream and avocado slices.

Vegetarian (Lentil) Tacos

A bowl of kale, onion, garlic, carrot and lentil soup served with a side of bread

Crockpot Vegetable Lentil Stew

Bowl of ground beef, corn, black peppers, diced green peppers with a bowl of salsa next to it.

Tex Mex Skillet

3. White/Refined Grains → Whole Grains

Added fiber and protein are hard to pass up when they’re so easy to get. Simply switch out your white rice or pasta for brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Especially in recipes with sauces, you won’t notice any difference in flavor!

Recipes where you can make this trade:

A bowl of curried rice with chicken and vegetables, topped with parsley leaves

Curried Chicken & Rice Casserole

Cooked whole wheat pasta mixed with canned salmon, peas, green onions topped with Parmesan cheese.

Salmon Pasta Bake

Bowl of whole wheat spaghetti mixed with peas and turkey bacon covered in shredded parmesan cheese.

Simple Italian Pasta

4. Broth → Water

Broth gives soups and chilis a lot of flavor, so you may not want to get rid of it entirely. However, swapping out half the broth in a recipe for water will cut down your sodium and cost. Win! (If you need to decrease sodium in your diet for health reasons, check out this section of heart healthy recipes.)

Recipes where you can make this trade: