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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
Your daily lunch order is something that can make or break a healthy eating plan... Especially if your usual lunch consists of a hot chicken roll, a packet of crisps and a can of coke. Thankfully so many cafés, delis and corner shops are stocking healthier options, so a few sneaky swaps will transform your lunch from a food coma inducing feed into something that gives you tonnes of energy, beats the bloat and makes your skin glow. I was in Avoca last week and decided to see what easy swaps I could make, but you could do this in almost any lunch spot in the city.
If you're in the habit of the drinking a soft drink every day then that's probably the first habit you should kick ASAP. Not only are these loaded with sugar, for example a can of Club Orange contains 43g of sugar (which is almost half of a woman's recommended daily allowance of sugar), but they're also full of empty calories. The best thing to do is to swap your soft drink for water. If you prefer drinking something with a bit of flavour, then try a green juice or a beetroot juice. Not only do they taste great, but they're much lower in sugar (just make sure they're mainly vegetable based rather than fruit based) and are packed with vitamins and minerals that will give you an energy boost and leave your skin glowing.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with bread, or cheese for that matter, but if you're trying to get healthy it's best to try and reduce your starchy carb intake and increase your consumption of vegetables. If you usually go for a big bread roll with lots of cheese, mayonnaise and other sauces, then maybe try and swap it for a wrap filled with lean turkey and salad instead. If wraps aren't your thing, don't worry. You can still make little swaps to your sandwich to make it healthier. Pass on mayonnaise and opt for hummus instead, not only is it lower in calories (almost 70 calories less per tablespoon), but its also packed with fibre and minerals. If you love cheese in your sambo then why not ditch the cheddar and go for feta cheese instead, it contains up to 150 calories less per 100g.
There's nothing better than a bag of salty crisps, but they really should be kept as a treat rather than something you eat every day as they have a high fat and salt content. Try swap your crisps for a side salad instead, all the fiber will fill you up and you'll be getting closer to reaching your 5 a day (or 10 a day depending which side of the debate you sit on). If you really need a salty hit, then try popcorn which is lower in both calories and fat.
Cake and chocolate are my biggest vices, I'm not going to lie. They're two of life's pleasures and I'll never stop eating them, but again they should be enjoyed as a treat that you have once or twice a week rather than something to be eaten every day. Just hold strong when you pass the beautiful, sweet displays at the till and just say no. If you're hanging for something sweet and a piece of fruit just won't do, then why not try a Nakd bar? They still contain sugar but at least they're all natural as they're made from raw fruit and nuts and only contain around 100 calories each. Raw food cakes are delicious too (the raw caramel slice from Avoca is my ultimate weakness), but while they are healthy, they're usually very high in calories and sugar content due to all the nuts and dates used to make them, so try and avoid getting into the habit of eating them as a daily snack.
They're some of the healthy swaps that I try and make, but if you have any tips that you'd like to share please let us know in the comments section below.
