Pick me, pick me!

I am giving some upcoming lectures to a local school's high school health class this Friday. As I was preparing a section on healthy food substitutions, I thought, "Oooh! A great blog topic!" But instead of boring you with a bunch of reasons why the substitutions are healthy, I am just going to list them. I'm really pooped after teaching a kickboxing class tonight but for some reason really wanted to make a quick entry...so here goes....

~Instead of ground beef, use ground turkey, or even better, use ground turkey breast. Okay, I can't resist, I have to tell you why. 3 ounces of 85% lean beef has 218 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 5 grams of saturated fat. The same amount of ground turkey breast contains just 91 calories, 1.1 grams of fat, and 0 grams of saturated fat. You can replace ground turkey breast for so many things...think tacos, soups and stews, burgers, etc.
~Instead of Mission's Flour tortillas, use La Tortilla Factory's High Fiber Tortillas. Each 10" Mission tortilla has 220 calories, 5 fat, 1.5 sat fat, 5 protein, 36 carbs, 2 fiber. La Tortilla's Large Tortilla's have 80 calories, 3 fat, 0 saturated fat, 8 grams of protein, 18 carbs, 12 fiber! Remember how fiber is indigestible by the human tum-tum? So, really you only have 6 effective carbs...and 8 grams of protein in a wrap....wha? wha? I'm amazed. And they taste pretty darn good too.
~Instead of potato chips, just skip these. No good comes from them anyway. I carry a bag of fresh spinach with me in the car to nibble on. Now, I know most of you won't do that, but if you did, you would inevitably reach your quota for vitamin A and K for the day.
~Instead of Jif or Skippy's peanut butter...which have added sugar, by the way. Try natural nut butters...and almond is just delish...
~Instead of applesauce, go for the real deal. You know what they say about apples...
~Instead of traditional pancakes, make your own healthy version! Mix egg whites, oatmeal and some blueberries together. Be creative and try some spices like cinnamon or nutmeg with it. Use this as your new replacement batter. Cook as normal. Top with a natural nut butter and you have a really good breakfast.
~Speaking of pancakes...just forget the "syrup." Regular table syrups have over 400 calories for just 1/2 cup...and let's face it, by the time we are done pouring it on...well who knows actually goes on those pancakes. Instead, my favorite replacement is Cary's sugar free syrup. It has 30 calories for a 1/4 cup...which is the amount I actually use. So, 1/2 cup would be 60 calories...much better than 400, I say.
~Instead of white rice, go brown.
~Instead of regular pasta, go for whole wheat.
~Instead of regular pasta, go for my new favorite, House Shirataki Noodles...only 20 calories per serving. (I eat the whole package, which is 40...)
~Instead of a regular muffin, try Vitatops. They are about 100 calories a piece, high in fiber and contain a tons of vitamins. Deep chocolate is my new fav. I serve it with 1 cup of sliced strawberries and a drizzle of Cary's sugar-free syrup for a delicious 150 calorie dessert. It makes a lot and I would rather eat that then a left-over Cadbury Creme Egg which also contains 150 calories and takes me 2 seconds to eat.
I really could go on and on all night long, but I really need to get a shower in.
Sub away!