Healthy Eating Tip: Try Delicious Kitchen Swaps

In honor of National Nutrition Month®, my colleague Liz Weiss shares her tip to help you savor the flavor of eating right. Plus, download the Meal Makeover Moms‘ free coloring cookbook.

Since I spend most of my time at Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen cooking up healthful recipes for families, and since my goal is to get everyone at the table (even picky eaters!) to enjoy a variety of foods happily, flavor is always my number-one priority.

Good nutrition and great flavor can easily go hand in hand. When eliminating heaping spoonfuls of sugar from desserts and snacks or butter and cream from creamy soups and sauces, I turn to wholesome ingredients instead … and I use a few tricks along the way. Here are three of my go-to kitchen swaps that allow families to savor the flavor of eating right.

3 Kitchen Hacks for Great Taste and a Nutrition Boost

Go Bananas: Use naturally sweet frozen bananas when whipping up smoothie bowls for breakfast or snack time and creating decadent yet good-for-you frozen desserts. Try the Meal Makeover Moms’ Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie Bowl made with 2 frozen bananas for sweetness or our Avocado & Banana Frosty made with 1½ frozen bananas.

Beans, Beans, They’re Good for Your … Soup: Use beans to add a creamy texture to cream soups without a single drop of cream. Try my recipe for pureed Creamy Broccoli Soup Makeover made with a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.

A Greek Yogurt Hack: Use Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese for luscious frostings. Wondering how that’s possible? Check out my recipe for Wild Blueberry Oat Cake with Greek Yogurt Frosting. To make the frosting, place a coffee filter inside a sieve. Spread plain or vanilla Greek yogurt evenly over the filter, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight. When you’re ready to make your frosting, pour off the drained whey and reserve it for later use in soups or smoothies, scrape the yogurt from the filter, place the yogurt in a clean bowl and then stir in desired “mix ins” such as chopped nuts or flaked, unsweetened coconut. Taste, and add a teaspoon or two of powdered sugar as desired.

Liz Weiss, MS, RDN is one of the nation’s top experts on family nutrition. With fellow Meal Makeover Mom, Janice Bissex, she blogs about recipe makeovers, tips for tackling picky eating, and practical mealtime advice at Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen. The dietitian duo has written three cookbooks including The Smoothie Bowl Coloring Cookbook.