Tricky Tricky!

Today is Father's Day. I absolutely adore and appreciate both my father and the father of my son. My father has always been there for me. He taught me how to throw a softball, how to assemble a tent, how to drive a car, how to shoot a gun, and so many other valuable lessons. But most importantly, he taught me a father has to be present to have a relationship with his children. As I've become an adult, I've come to find that not everyone had fathers who were present in their lives. Some were even abandoned by their father. I have always appreciated what I had growing up and the example my dad was allowed me to understand the qualities I wanted in a husband. So I'm happy to say I married a great guy too, who as of last year is a daddy!

Even though both of these wonderful men have outstanding qualities, there is something they do lack (let's face it, no one is perfect). They are horrible eaters! Lucky they have me to teach them this. I've come to find out over the last 6 years that to get them to eat my food I can't tell them what's in it. LOL! I make sneaky substitutions that allow me to remove some "un-clean" ingredients and replace them with foods that are chock full of vitamins, minerals, and flavor. Here's a couple examples. In Mike's lasagna I replace; 1) the ricotta cheese with a mix of tofu and cottage cheese, 2) I top the lasagna with part-skim mozzarella, 3)the meat is lean ground turkey with lots of Italian spices, 3) the noodle is quinoa pasta and 4) I use organic low-sugar, low sodium tomato sauce.

At least with my husband he has grown to understand I cook this way and he knows his food is bound to contain ingredients from my healthy style of living. My Dad on the other hand is a different story. If its an ingredient he has never heard of or doesn't understand them he won't even give it a try! So I have to be extra sneaky with him. Example: I made him a tuna sandwich. I only switched out 1/2 of the mayo for some Greek yogurt. And I used the albacore tuna in water instead of oil. These simple substitutions keep the flavor but change the end product to a more "clean eating" choice.

Here is a small list of simple swaps that can help boost nutrition and/or cut the total calories and fat in your end recipe.

Fats:

Greek Yogurt instead of mayonnaise (I like Fage)
1% cottage cheese instead of Ricotta
Vegetable oil in baking replaced with applesauce
Peanut Butter replaced with PB2 (found at most health food store or on Amazon)

Carbohydrates:

Ezekiel Bread\Torillas over white bread/tortillas
Almond Flour instead of White Flour
Bananas in place of sugar and oil in baking recopes
Oats instead of bread crumbs

Protein:

Chia Seeds for Eggs in baking recipes
Switching out meats for leaner cuts on the animal (sirloin instead of chuck, or chicken breast instead of thigh).