Do you have an example of a healthy food that's taken the place of junk in your diet?

Celery filled with organic almond butter.

Organic apple slices with organic almond butter smeared on top.

I’m not entirely sure the question asked in the question line is the same as the one asked in the details, but I’ll answer anyway.

“Kettle Brand Bakes potato chips are hard to beat.”

I agree. I like them better than regular potato chips. I’ll pick Doritos over kettle-cooked potato chips any day, though.

“Yogurt in a tube can be eaten anywhere, most anytime.”

Are we talking Gogurt or have they put yogurt that’s not filled with sugar in tubes as well? If it’s Gogurt, I wouldn’t be so quick to call that “healthy.” It’s not.

This reminds me of a joke from Ellen Degeneres on the topic:

“Gogurt – yogurt for people on the go. Was there a big mobility problem with yogurt before. pretends to pick up phone Hello? Oh, hi Tom! Oo, I’ve been dying to see that movie! Nooope, can’t go, I just opened up some yogurt. No, not even later, it’s the kind with the fruit on the bottom. Yeah, I’m in for the night.”

As for me…I prefer the taste of natural peanut butter over the regular stuff (though I’m not sure how much healthier it is than the original). I like lean meats over fatty ones. Regular sodas taste like syrup to me, so I have no desire to drink it (not that diet sodas are better for you, but I only drink one of those a day anyway).

I used to keep a yummy granola bar in my purse, so if I was out and about and needed to eat something on the run, but even though they’ve got oats and other good stuff in them, but they’re also full of fat, sugar and calories. Now I carry a small bag of peanuts or almonds or dried cranberries instead.

I buy whole grain burger buns. To eat with grilled portobello mushrooms.

When I go to the store for produce, I spend an afternoon washing and cutting it all up and putting it into ziplock bags. I find it’s easier to grab it and go, if it’s already ready, especially in the morning. I don’t want to have to do the prep as I’m running out the door, and I don’t want to prep it if I’m tired when I get home, either.

When I make homemade soup or homemade vegetarian chili, I always make enough to have leftovers to freeze, so down the line, I can just put a bag in the fridge to thaw over night.

About 4 years ago, we switched from using margarine to Smart Balance Buttery Spread. It tastes just like butter to me.

I got myself a mandoline, which makes slicing veggies super thin, really easy and fun. So I’ve tried a lot of new recipes that called for all kinds of sliced veggies. This recipe for Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad is one of our new favorites. I substitute a piece of fake bacon, though.

Whole wheat bread instead of yummy, warm, fluffy white bread.
Coffee no sugar,
Sodas only on weekends. I replaced it with water or tea.

I hate all of it.

The apples and almond butter sound great, @zenvelo.

I got Chobani Champion Tubes, @livelaughlove21. 70 calories and 1g of fat. For some reason, they were clearanced @ 18 for $1 to boot. The Ellen bit made me lol. I’ve been drinking fizzy water a lot, and I like it. If you want a healthy soda, you can reconstitute frozen fruit juice with fizzy water.

Baby steps, @Kardamom. The granola bar was still better than a candy bar. Love grilled portabellas! Cutting up the produce is a nice touch. You’ll hate me…I use nothing but real butter. Always have – non-invasive.

I learned to drink coffee black, and have never taken it any other way, @SwanSwanHummingbird.

I replaced all soda with water. It was bottled at first, but then I went to a cooler with the five gallon jugs of water and I refill the water bottles.

I tried juice for a bit, @Adirondackwannabe, but it’s got so many calories. Ditto soy milk. I have a limited tolerance for plain water…I get ‘icky’ feeling…like I’ve washed something out of myself that I needed.

A handful of nuts almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pistachios are very filling and very good for you.

Like, @marinelife I like nuts. 6 almonds are as filling as a whole cookie.

@ibstubro I noticed that same feeling at first. But guess what? You can load your other food up with all of those other flavors you’re replacing with the water. Even salt. I was borderline deficient in sodium for a bit, but boy do I love being able to use it as I want.

I replaced Pepsi with water. I did it by only taking one Pepsi a day to work. I was too cheap to buy a bottle from the machine, so I drank water when I got thirsty. Once I ran out of Pepsi, I didn’t buy any more. Now it’s a rarity for me to drink any kind of pop.

@ibstubro – try a tablespoon or so of juice in a glass of water. It adds a little flavor without killing you with calories.

I snack on dry Cheerios or Mini Shredded Wheat at work instead of the various cookies, cakes, and donuts that are available. Seem like someone is always bringing some sugary treat into the office. Also, I love to put low-sugar raspberry jelly on rice cakes. Yum!

I found some pita chips last weekend and god are they good. Hearty, low in fat, good fiber, and so good with salsa.

In tacos, I like to replace the sour cream with low-fat ranch dressing. It has more flavor than sour cream.

I love chocolate soy milk, whole wheat oragnic pasta’s and rice, whole grain bread, whole wheat muffins, whole wheat pita bread, chips, and the 100 calorie packs of oreo’s or cookies.

I have not had junk food in so long so due to the need to lose weight, my recent efforts has been to cut out seemingly healthy junk food namely carbs…sugar, white flour, pastas, breads, juices and white potatoes to name a few. For sandwiches I will use lettuce or low fat low salt spinach wraps. But one has to be careful as carb substitutes are often loaded with salt.

So my one offering is I now substitute mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes. You boil and mash the cauliflower (or use a food processor) add in minced garlic, crushed black pepper, a pinch of dill powder and a table spoon or two of plain low fat Greek Yogurt. Most recipes call for adding in cheese but I omit that. Really good tasting and really good for you.

Vanilla Greek yogurt (generic brands) with my added chopped up walnuts instead of fruity regular yogurt.

A small sized (child size) serving of apple sauce with any type of cracker dipped in (in lieu of a spoon) instead of apple pie. Try it – it’s a decent substitute.

I use salt sparingly @Adirondackwannabe, but I’m fond of prepared sauces and gravies, so that negates that.

Good plan on the Pepsi, @tedibear. Would work for me, as I’m cheap, too. BTW, yesterday I bought some powdered lime juice, and I’m going to try that in my water.

@Juels I love snacking on the mini shredded wheats with the fruit inside. Sweet Triscuits. Angel Food cake isn’t too bad for you, and delicious toasted. I, too, use Ranch in place of sour cream. Tip: if you buy non-fat cottage cheese, shake the container first. If it doesn’t ‘slosh’, it’ll be too dry to eat.

Pita chips are a little brisk for my aging teeth, @Adirondackwannabe, but I like them.

I’ve had poor luck with the whole wheat pasta, @KNOWITALL. The rest I’m good with, but I prefer vanilla soy milk.

@Cruiser I don’t know if it fits in your diet, but we always add a bit of powdered non-dairy creamer to mashed turnips…adds just a hint of sweet, takes up some of the water, and adds creamy.

I got Greek yogurt in a tube, @jca, and it’s handy! I’ll try the apple sauce/cracker.

Sure.

I replaced:
• regular milk with unsweetened coconut milk
• ice cream with low sugar soy ice cream
• diet soda with water
• nuts with oatmeal bars
• whole eggs with egg whites
• scali bread with whole grain bread
• sliced American cheese with soy cheese

I’m soy sorry for you, @cookieman. Has anyone ever mentioned that your avatar reminds them of a pug faced dog? Head tilted to the left?
What’s scali bread?

@ibstubro – Make sure you look at that powdered lime juice. It may have sugar or artificial sweetener in it. If you like gin and tonic, you will like straight lime juice in your water.

Kettle cooked potato chips are healthy food?

No, I got it at Big Lots yesterday. Strictly crystallized lime juice. @tedibear

You might want to read the thread, before commenting, @Darth_Algar. Everyone was careful to forestall your question.

I forgot, we’ve replaced regular pasta with brown rice pasta. Tastes just the same.

I hate soda and mostly drink iced or hot tea, either decaf or regular depending upon the time of day.

I’ve never tried rice pasta, @Kardamom. I have some corn pasta, but have yet to taste of it. Once upon a time, I drank nothing but decaf iced tea. Darn it.

I’ve been using Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Pasta and it tastes just like regular.

Decaf Earl Grey is divine in the evening.

I always used Lousianne decaf family sized. Always liked Sleepytime for hot.

I replaced almost all canned or bottled drinks with water – from the tap. Zero calories and zero cost.
I have a container of almonds around and grab a few if I need to munch.

You’re probably on well water, too, @LuckyGuy?
I have town water, now, but all my regular water consumption is from the tap, too.

At work here the tap .water tastes like horse piss. I thought I’d refill my bottle from the fountain and I almost spit it out

We can’t use the water at my auction because it’s not tested. Just as well, it’s basically a sand point in a trailer park where everyone is on septic tanks. Bordered by a farm field. Yum! Everything but the water for toilets has to be brought in.

@ibstubro: I gave never heard that about my avatar. Hmmm.

Also, Scali Bread is a type of traditional Italian bread. Vienna is similar without the sesame seeds.

It’s super yummy.

@cookieman Too much soy is actually bad for men. Hopefully you aren’t as obsessed with ice cream (or your soy cream) as I am!
http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/soys-negative-effects#mobify-bubble

I replaced super fatty French Onion dip with the Greek yogurt based Oikos French Onion dip. Better for you than ranch with veggies and tastes great with baked Lays, too.

Have you tried the Kettle Brand Bakes, @GloPro? They beat the socks off Lays (but they’re pricey).

I snack on unsalted nuts and dried fruit.

Sorry, @marinelife & @RocketGuy. I wasn’t chopped livering you, I just skipped over. I love pecans!

I mostly need a bit of salt, @downtide. But I can’t eat regular dry roasted because they’re too salty.

I drink Arizona green tea w/ginseng instead of pop. I’m really not a health nut, I just started drinking it and preferred it. Now if I try to drink a soda, it tastes like syrup to me. I bought a Greek yogurt and dill chip dip, just because it sounded good, and it is – it should be a little healthier than regular – right? I snack on celery sticks dipped in ranch dressing. The ranch dressing probably counteracts any health benefit. Ha-ha!

@ibstubro I’ll keep an eye out. Honestly, I try to just lustfully stare at chips, even if they’re baked. Doesn’t matter if you eat the whole bag in two days how much ‘better’ they are for you. I have no willpower, except to not bring it home in the first place.

Oh, I use low sodium chicken broth when boiling sweet potatoes to mash. I also use it when baking butternut or acorn squash. That little bit of flavor while cooking takes the place of butter. No more white potatoes for me, which is fine because sweet potatoes and squash are so tasty and good for you!

@ibstubro you can always get fresh nuts, toast them yourself and add a little salt to them, just as much as you need instead of the excessive amounts added to packs of salted nuts.

Baby steps, @Skaggfacemutt. At least the celery is countering rather than adding to the unhealthful as chips would do.

They’re all that and a bag of great @GloPro. The high cost is a plus for me, because they are an occasional treat. I don’t usually make two days. Lemon juice is a nice substitute for salt, too.

True, @downtide. And I can eat pecans without anything. There was a sweet but half crazed woman on Askville that literally lived on raw walnuts.

I have an idea! I will eat the celery sticks dipped in the Greek yogurt dill dip.

Stop! You’re giving me heartburn, @Skaggfacemutt. I can’t eat dill and I’m not handling raw veggies well. lol

Those carrot chips you can buy ready-made are great, too, @Skaggfacemutt.

I eat the fruit-based baby food that comes in a jar quite regularly. I love a mix of apple and strawberry. For a snack, I eat carrots and frozen peppers…and instead of sugar, I sometimes add raisins to my oatmeal. Pretty sure that makes no difference, but I feel better, so…

I’ve made homemade potato chips in the Microwave multiple times and they turned out fabulously. I’ve tried it with Yukon Gold, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes. You can add as much or little (or no) salt as you like.

This works best if you have a mandoline slicer. The key to this method working is having the slices the same thickness. If they’re not, the thinner ones will burn before the thicker ones are done.

I make my own tortilla chips from actual tortilla bread. Cut into triangles, brush with a little olive oil, bake, and season with smoked paprika.

I make my own popcorn too.

@downtide That sounds awesome. I’ll have to try that. Other seasonings would also be fun.

I use raw local honey instead of sugar in my coffee and eat rice crackers instead of regular crackers or chips a lot. I always have a giant bag of large frozen shrimp on hand. A mainstay, a bowl of shrimp with cocktail sauce or a shrimp salad or an avocado stuffed with shrimp with rice crackers, wasabi crackers/peas and fruit.

I couldn’t do the baby food, @longgone, but the raisins sound good, and I’m sure they help. Maybe a touch of honey?

How do you do that, @Kardamom? Seems like it would be tedious? Single layer?

Yes, that does sound good, @downtide. Corn or flour tortillas? I had to laugh at ‘make my own popcorn, though.’ I’ve never eaten popcorn from a bag. :)

I want to try ‘raw local honey’ @Coloma, but they seem to all pack it in quarts here, and that makes it cost prohibitive to ‘try’. Your shrimps are making hungry.

@ibstubro If you have a Mandoline Slicer it makes the job pretty easy. I got mine at Target for about $14.

So I just sliced all of the potatoes that I wanted, either one big one or 2 or 3 smaller taters. That took less than 5 minutes.

Then I put them into a big ziplock bag with the olive oil and an itty bitty pinch of sea salt, and shake it around until their all coated. That took about 1 minute.

Then I got our biggest microwave safe ceramic serving platter, so I could zap more slices. You have to put them on the plate so they are not touching or overlapping, or else they don’t cook evenly.

As I recall, I think I cooked them one and a half minutes on each side, flipped them over with a pair of tongs. So that’s basically 3 minutes per plate full. I did about 5 plates full.

So less than a half an hour. It wasn’t tedious, but then again, I enjoy the whole process of cooking. The result was most excellent.

My mom requested more. I obliged.

I don’t buy chips at the grocery store, so I only really eat them if I’m at a party or something, but it was really fun to make them, and totally delicious to eat them.

Nuts specifically walnuts, pecans and almonds either in the shell or from the bakery section of the store.

Sounds very good, @Kardamom. Good enough to try.

Nuts in the shell – work off a few of the calories, @WestRiverrat.

@ibstubro That’s what I thought. You’d be surprised. But I get it :]

@ibstubro Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I have well water and after 55 years of waiting we also have town water! Last year the town put water down our road and almost everyone kept their wells as backup. It sure is nice to have a choice.

@LuckyGuy I’d take well over city, regardless the taste.

I often mash raw avocado and sprinkle a little sea salt in there, mix it up, and spread it over unflavored rice cakes. Yum! Fills me up, and it’s a great healthy meal.

That sounds good!

For me, there’s something about ripe avocado and Triscuit crackers that is magic, @snowberry. Low sodium Triscuits and plain avocado are probably about the same as your recipe.

If I am eating out and french fries are served with the meal, I will always ask to replace them or upgrade to sweet potato fries. White potatoes are empty calories . Sweet potatoes have Vitamin A and others in it.

@ibstubro My well water tastes great. No chlorine. I use well water to water the plants and the garden. The town water is used for dishwashing, laundry, toilet, and showers.

Sweet potatoes have lower glycemic index than regular potatoes. So is a slight advantage to some.

Plants don’t like chlorinated water.