Eat This Not That: Part I

One of the ways that you can remove unhealthy chemicals and calories from your diet is substituting foods. Here are a few examples:

Use while wheat pasta instead of white flour pasta.
If there is a difference in taste, I have yet to find it. The whole wheat will help you feel fuller, longer.

Add oatmeal to your cereal.

We are not talking about the instant kind. Using less surgery cereal and more oatmeal will reduce the processed suger you take in. The fiber will also help lower your cholesterol levels.

Use chocolate drizzled strawberries instead of Candy.

They taste better. You get your chocolate fix, and no trans fats. Remember moderation on the chocolate. It's drizzled, not dipped.

Use frozen shrimp instead of fish sticks.

This is a very easy to prepare food. Since it is already cooked, just a few minutes in running water thaws them out. Great in salads and high in Vitamin D.

Use fresh herb or Ms. Dash instead of salt.

News flash. American food is already very high in salt. To us, salt in food makes the food taste better. It also increases our blood pressure, retains water (makes you look fat), and causes heart disease.

Use canned tomatoes instead of tomato sauce.

Read the labels. I'm looking at them right now.

One can of canned tomatoes

• 10.5 grams of suger
• 0 grams of fat
• 90 calories
• 220 mg of sodium

One can of tomato sauce

• 66 grams of suger
• 15 grams of fat
• 480 calories
• 3900 mg of sodium

A compromise would be one part tomato sauce to one can on canned tomatoes.