As we approach the Autumn season very very soon, finding healthy alternatives to popular seasonal foods is something that is very important especially with all the food cooked and sweets baked. So here’s a list of five alternatives to staple autumn meals, the benefits, and the reasons you should switch:
The first sweet on the list is apple pie. Apple pie, especially for Thanksgiving, is a staple sweet dish that is baked. A very simple alternative you could make for yourself is cinnamon-sautéed apples with Greek yogurt. The reason is that apple pie itself is super high in sugars and calories, that leads to high blood pressure and possible health problems. Compared to the alternative. Greek yogurt is one of the healthy options you can have for a savory treat, providing protein, calcium, and fiber while also being a sweet craving replacement.
Next is mac and cheese, being replaced by squash pasta. Mac and cheese is another Thanksgiving staple dish, filled with calories and sodium, that can massively contribute to high blood pressure and mass weight gain. Versus squash pasta is high in fiber and vitamins and is a much lighter and richer alternative in pasta type compared to traditional mac and cheese noodles.
Another sweet treat, cinnamon rolls, are baked a ton in the autumn season. An alternative for these is protein Greek yogurt cinnamon rolls. Normal cinnamon rolls are higher in fat, calories, and carbohydrates, while protein Greek yogurt cinnamon rolls are higher in protein and lower in fat and calories since they have no butter.
Next up are potato chips, which are super high in salt, fats, and mass amounts of calories per bag. If you instead ate pumpkin seeds (which are much more in season as well), they provide protein, nutrients, vitamins, zinc, and help your immune system and health overall, especially compared to potato chips.
Finally, another Thanksgiving classic dish is mashed potatoes being swapped out for cauliflower mashed potatoes. Regular mashed potatoes have more carbs and more calories than their cauliflower alternative. Cauliflower has less starchy taste and is much more earthy in flavor; it can easily be altered to have a similar taste to its original counterpart.
