4 common pantry items you should swap for a healthier option now
Are you ready for a Healthy Pantry Makeover? Let’s dive into your pantry.
When you’ve grown up with certain products, or have used them for years, you don’t really think about the impact this product may be having on your health.
There are quite a few products that I consistently find in pantries when I’m doing a Healthy Pantry Makeover with my clients. You might have these items in your pantry too. I will share the 4 most common ones with you, so you can stop using them if you want to support your healthy lifestyle. No stress, you don’t have to cut these products out completely. I’ll help you find a good replacement product. They’ll be easy swaps.
1. Vegemite
This is such a much-loved product in Australia, everyone has grown up with this and it’s a basic staple in Australian pantries. It’s a thick, black food spread made from leftover brewers yeast. There are other varieties of this spread in other countries as well, like Promite and Marmite.
If you don’t have this product where you live… good! You can skip this product and go straight to the next.
I’m going to step on some Aussie toes here….. unfortunately, the ingredients in Vegemite are not ideal. Marketed as a product that’s healthy because of the (added synthetic) B vitamins it contains, it also contains yeast extract, mineral salts, artificial caramel colour, and artificial flavours, which are not so healthy at all.
Yeast extract is the first ingredient on the label. As ingredients are mentioned in order of predominance, this means that it’s the ingredient used in the greatest amount. Yeast extract is a pretty common name under which Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG) is hidden in processed foods. That’s why they have so much flavour. Read more about that in my blog about processed foods here.
MSG
MSG, the sodium salt of glutamic acid, has been associated with several toxic effects on the body. It’s a flavour enhancer that acts like a neurotransmitter. It suppresses Leptin, your satiety hormone, which enables you to eat more. Have you ever wondered why it’s so easy to eat that whole bag of potato chips?
Although Kraft has never confirmed that they add MSG to Vegemite, it’s better to be safe than sorry in my opinion. Especially since there are healthier options available.
A great alternative is to use Miso, a Japanese fermented soybean paste. It tastes quite similar, but is benefitting your body instead of harming it. If you can’t have soy products in your diet, EveryMite is a great option. It’s organic and only has good ingredients, no nasties added.
2. Spray Oils
Super convenient, especially when you’re having a bbq. And if you use the olive oil it should be healthy right?
Not at all, unfortunately. Did you know that about only 60 to 70% of the ingredients is actual oil? The other ingredients are butane and propane. Yes that’s right, lighter fluids. In your food. These propellants are added to make the product come out of the bottle. You wouldn’t want it in your body though. This is one of the items you want to ban from your pantry right now.
Just use regular oil instead of these spray bottles. If you really want a spray, just use a non-aerosol bottle and fill it with healthy oil yourself. Or if you don’t want to do this yourself, I recently added this great Cocolife product to the health food section I’m setting up in a supermarket (this fun project is like a Healthy Pantry Makeover on steroids).
3. Flavoured Chips
Have you ever wondered how your chips (or crisps, depending on the country you live in) can taste like bbq chicken, cheese and onion or salt and vinegar? Flavoured chips contain artificial flavours and most often a flavour enhancer. These products have been chemically engineered to switch on the pleasure centre in your brain and reduce your fullness feeling, so you can eat more and will buy more.
The chips in the health food section in supermarkets usually aren’t safe either. As food manufacturers are aware that consumers are trying to avoid MSG, they’ll call it yeast extract. Which you now know, can be a hidden MSG.
If you really need to eat chips, pick the natural or original version which doesn’t contain flavourings and colourings. They should really only contain 3 ingredients; potato (or any other vegetable the chip has been made of), oil, and salt. Of course, most processed chips contain an unhealthier type of oil and salt which is cheaper to produce. It’s therefore always best to make your own, as you’re in control of the ingredients that are being used and can use healthy oil and salt. Here’s a good recipe.
4. Cereals
An item that’s found in most pantries, is breakfast cereals. It can be cornflakes, fruit loops, coco pops, or a healthier-looking granola. When you walk through the cereal aisle, you’re bombarded with different health claims on the boxes. The main thing these products have in common though is the high sugar content.
The World Health Organisation recommends limiting your daily added sugar intake to 25g. High sugar consumption is harmful to your health. Besides weight gain, it may increase your risk of several diseases.
When you look at the cereal boxes in the photos, one serving of the cereal in the black box is 15g of sugar. That’s just the cereal, you haven’t even added anything to it yet. If you eat it with flavoured yogurt (something I do not recommend) you can add another 15g of sugars, which makes your breakfast 30g sugars. This is not breakfast, this is dessert! You’re already over your daily limit, and the day has just started.
An easy swap for your store-bought cereal and granola is to make a big batch yourself. You can find my recipe here.
Have fun with your DIY mini pantry makeover!
If this made you wonder about all the other items in your pantry and you want to do a full Healthy Pantry Makeover with me, you can find more information here. We can even do this via video chat.
