How to replace those unhealthy products with real, healthy foods

The healthy alimentation

The Spanish population is increasingly removed from what is a healthy diet, because there are:

• Low consumption of fruits and vegetables
• Low consumption of whole grains
• Low consumption of legumes
• High consumption of ultra-processed products
• High consumption of foods rich in sugar, low-quality fats, and salt

To try to improve this, I usually recommend the daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and vegetables, I give strategies to make it easier to do so and also innovative recipes. I also encourage people to gradually switch to whole grains, eventually introducing new whole grain cereals. In the same way, I look for ways and strategies to increase the consumption of legumes.
But today I am going to deal with the opposite side. I want to give you alternatives to those ultra-processed products, so you can see that we have more options.

Why do we eat so much junk food?

Although we are the ones who make the final decision, we are not the only ones to blame for the high consumption of these products .
Our brain mechanisms are not very different from those present in humans throughout history, so we continue to present an innate tendency to select foods rich in fat, sugar and salt , which is explained thanks to adaptation mechanisms that we allowed to survive in conditions of food shortage. In addition, this class of products usually contain flavorings, emulsifiers and other additives in order to imitate real food. They imitate them so well that we end up believing that they are food when in reality I, as you know, would not call them that.
It is also known for sure thatSociocultural factors, governmental community and especially those related to the practices of the food industry influence our food decisions .
And finally we have the time factor . That time that we all lack and that no one would refuse to buy if possible. That time, which is, many times, the cause of this high consumption of highly processed products, because since I don’t have time to cook, I go to the supermarket and buy something made. Since I have not prepared the children’s snack, I go to the supermarket and buy them some cookies. As I have not had my snack from home (because I was in a hurry) I go to the supermarket and buy myself something.
Let’s see what healthy alternatives we can find in a supermarket for those days when you didn’t have time to …

10 healthy food substitutions for ultra-processed products

1. Milk chocolate bars → 70% dark chocolate or higher.
   Do not be fooled by that they contain a large glass of milk that will provide the necessary calcium and vitamin D. Nor because they are made with hazelnuts, which are very healthy, because if you look at the percentage of hazelnuts (or any other dried fruit) you will be unpleasantly surprised.
    →
2. Single serving of “whole grain” cereals or breakfast cereals → Real whole grains: oatmeal, muesli, teff…
   Not even those that are sold to us as the healthiest are recommended. In fact, “integrals” do not even have the “i”.
   →
3. Cookies, any cookie, even eco, bio, without, etc. → whole wheat bread sticks
   All cookies are the same pastries as buns, sweets, cupcakes and cakes.
     → 
4. Commercial shakes → individual milk tetrabrick
   Whether they are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or any other flavor.
   → 
5. Scrambled eggs with “nuts” → real nuts
   Kikos, beans, garnanzitos… are not nuts.
    → 
6. Oat / rice / corn pancakes with yogurt, chocolate … → Whole grain oat / rice / corn pancakes
   → 
7. Chip potatoes → vegetable or legume potatoes
    → 
8. Sugary, energy and / or alcoholic drinks → Water or milk
   There is nothing better than water
    → 
9. Candy → dried or dehydrated fruit
    → 
10. Juices → water + fruit
    If you go to a greengrocer, you can even buy already chopped fruit.

 → You 
see, small changes, big health benefits.
If you want an alternative to a product that you usually consume, leave me a comment and I will answer you!