Healthy Substitutions to Upgrade Your Meals: Nutritious Food Hacks | The Cooking Doc

What do avocado and butter, Greek yogurt and mayo, and nutritional yeast and cheese all have in common? Well, each of these duos can be swapped for each other as a healthy substitute for your favorite recipes. Say what? Stay tuned to find out more. I'm Dr. Blake Schusterman. I'm a board-certified kidney doctor, and I'm also the cooking doc. That's why I'm in the kitchen. Make sure you like, subscribe, and share so you never miss a new recipe or a new health tip. And remember, everything we talk about here today is just for information purposes. So let's start with some basics. Some of the best substitutions are when we choose an unprocessed food instead of a processed food. That allows the foods to keep their nutrients and their nutritional value when you eat them. And sometimes these replacements are pretty obvious, and sometimes, eh, they're not. If you have kidney disease, making the right substitutions in your diet can make a huge difference in your overall health. So we're going to go through some non-obvious substitutions today, but first, let me give you three easy substitutions you should be making in your diet right now. Number one, choose whole oats instead of individually packaged oats. More fiber, less sugar. Number two, pick apples instead of applesauce, obviously. Less processed versus fully processed. And finally, make baked sweet potato fries instead of bagged potato chips. Ta-da! You're healthy. Just kidding. Now let's get a little more in-depth. These are substitutions that may not be so obvious, but they're going to be really good for your health. And let's give a shout-out to Haley Hurth, a third-year medical student who came up with this script, and she is a champion for healthy eating and education. Thank you, Haley. Give her a shout-out in the comments. The first thing we're going to start with today is butter. Now we're not going to get into a whole argument about whether or not butter is a healthy part of your diet, but we'll just say this. Butter has a lot of saturated fat. And most of us are better off substituting some healthy, unsaturated fats for some of the saturated fats in our diet. And we know that increased saturated fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease for many people, and that the number one thing that leads to death in people with kidney disease is heart problems. You can make the connection there, I think, right? How do you feel about butter? Comment below. Am I way off base with this? The key to substituting for butter, in my opinion, and in Haley's opinion, is thinking about the type of dish you are adding it into. So here are three of my favorite ways to substitute for butter in your recipes. First, need butter to grease a pan or a baking dish? Try olive oil or avocado oil instead. Those substitutions can swap 63% saturated fat for less than 14% saturated fat. And they also add healthy, unsaturated fats, vitamins, and antioxidants that you wouldn't be getting just from butter alone. And that's the key with a substitution. Not only are we taking things away, but we're adding healthier things in instead. And if you're baking a lot or cooking with butter all the time, this change may make a big difference. Just be aware that all of these things, they cook differently. So experiment today and let me know what you think. Number two, are you using butter for your baking this fall or winter? Try applesauce or mashed bananas instead of that butter. Butter can be swapped almost in a one-to-one ratio with applesauce, and it will create extra moisture for those baking goods. When I make this substitution, I also reduce the sugar I add to the recipe because these fruits, the applesauce, even if you choose the unsweetened or the banana, they contain their own natural sugar. So you don't want to overwhelm the sugar or the moisture content of these recipes. And if the swap sounds like too much, I'm not ready to give up my butter and my cooking. I understand that. Try half butter and half fruit. Number three, are you a butter spreader on your toast? Well, try mashed avocado instead. The healthier fats in the avocado can help you feel fuller for longer. And that's really what we want when we're trying to eat healthy. Ready to hear what our med student Haley eats for a hunger-crushing, savory breakfast to help keep her fueled for a day of learning? She spreads hummus and avocado on toasted bread. Then she sprinkles some garlic powder and red pepper flakes and finishes it with an egg for added protein. Delicious. Sign me up. If you have kidney disease, watch out for that avocado because it can be high in potassium and some people with kidney disease need to watch the potassium in their diet. Next let's talk about mayonnaise. Mayo is a staple in American households with 70% of families consuming it regularly. Duke's is the best, by the way. Don't come at me. Now let's look at some good ways to substitute for that mayo. First let's think about sandwiches. Instead of using mayo to tie your whole sandwich together, here are my three favorite substitutes. Number one, mustard. Gets some extra tang with less fat. Number two, mashed avocado like we talked before. That swaps out a healthier fat but maintains that moisture even though it will be a little more work up front. And then hummus for added fiber in a sandwich or wrap that can give you that Mediterranean flavor and pairs well with the veggies and cheese. What's your favorite mayo substitute? Have you ever tried hummus on a sandwich? It's amazing. Next, mayo is also a vital ingredient in things like pasta and potato salad. But to maintain that same creamy texture, I want you to try Greek yogurt. Not only do you get rid of the things that mayonnaise comes with, those saturated fats, but you get to add protein, you get to add some probiotics, and you get to add healthier fats. That's a triple winner. And don't fret about flavor. You can always use vinegar, mustard, or other seasonings to add the flavor back in that you might lose from not using that mayo. And in fact, Greek yogurt is a great ingredient to have because really, it can replace just about any creamy dairy product in any recipe, heavy cream, sour cream, or even cream cheese. You just have to experiment with it because obviously it's not going to taste the same. Number three on our substitution list is cheese. So cheese production has tripled in the United States since the 1970s and it's something that many Americans can't live without. And oftentimes that cheese is really the fully processed cheese. We're not talking about those fresh blocks of cheese that cost $10 to $20 from the store because those processed cheeses are much cheaper. I'm going to give you three seconds to guess what my favorite cheese substitute is. Ready? One, two, three. Nutritional yeast. Surprised? Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast and it's sold in flakes or powders at most major grocery stores. Nutritional yeast contains all of the essential amino acids and is interestingly, fun fact, one of the only plant-based sources of vitamin B12, which is really important to have if you're a vegan or vegetarian. Now I love adding this nutritional yeast to any dish that would benefit from a little savory cheesy flavor and you need to try this to believe it. Here are my favorite ways to use nutritional yeast. Number one, mix nutritional yeast with olive oil and almond milk over heat and you get a creamy sauce that can replace your cheese and mac and cheese. Number two, for any food that you find tastes better with a little sprinkling of cheese and let's face it, there are a lot of them, swap that shredded cheese for nutritional yeast. This works great for baked vegetables, tortilla chips, and even popcorn. It's an awesome one for popcorn. Number three, stir nutritional yeast into eggs while scrambling for that classic cheesy egg flavor that we all love. Finally, number four, add nutritional yeast into the dough for biscuits or pizza to mimic cheddar biscuits or stuffed crust. Brilliant. Haley, thank you. Lastly, this is probably the most controversial substitution. Let's talk about ice cream and frankly, many people may say, well, there's nothing we can do. We just need our ice cream. But when my patients tell me that they like to end the day with ice cream, I want to give them some options. Things that maybe they can use instead of ice cream that are a little bit healthier, a little bit lower in sugar, a little bit lower in fat, and help them satisfy that sweet craving in a healthier way. It's not easy, but let me give you two ways. First, frozen mashed bananas. Frozen mashed bananas is one of the closest substitutes to the sweet flavor and creamy texture of ice cream. You just have to use your imagination a little bit, right? So don't be afraid to let your bananas turn brown before using. Overripe bananas will be easier to mash and their sugar content actually increases some, so they'll be a little bit sweeter. Now, if you have advanced kidney disease, bananas are like the avocado, higher in potassium, so you may have to be careful. And lastly, have you ever tried avocado pudding? Blend avocado, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and almond milk for a delicious, creamy pudding substitute. Wow, thanks Haley. That looks awesome. Not only do you get less sugar, remember, substitution. Take things out, replace it with something that adds additional health benefits, so this will give you antioxidants and healthier fats. Perfect substitution. Well, what'd you think? Of course, there is a place for all foods in a well-balanced diet, but we can always keep an open mind about how to boost the quality of what we eat through healthy substitutions. Thanks so much for watching today. I'm Dr. Blake Schusterman. I'm a board-certified kidney doctor, and I'm also the cooking doc. Make sure you check out my website, www.cookingdoc.com. Check out my book, The Cooking Docs, Kidney Healthy Cooking, a Modern 10-Step Guide to Preventing and Managing Kidney Disease, and I will see you next time.