Are the holidays still lingering in your diet? Spring has officially arrived with warmer weather and longer days, but winter eating habits can keep us from shedding those few pounds and having energy for upcoming summer activities.
Make Healthy “Swaps”
It can be hard to let go of those heavy meals, rich desserts and alcoholic beverages that were comforting during winter’s colder, shorter days. Instead of focusing on letting go, change your mindset by deciding to “swap” out the old things and replace them with new ones. By swapping, you’re choosing ways to meet your health goals instead of feeling deprived.
Swap Heavy Foods for Lighter Fare
Spring is the best time to leave behind the stews, roasts, casseroles and lasagnas in favor of stir-fries, salads and lighter soups.
Instead of beef, choose:
- Pasture-raised chicken and turkey
- Wild-caught, cold-water fish and seafood
- Hard-boiled eggs for on-the-go
Instead of a side dish of potatoes
Prepare grains like quinoa or barley. Recreate leftovers into a main dish “bowl” by adding diced vegetables and leftover protein, like:
- Shredded chicken
- Shrimp
- Scrambled eggs
- Canned salmon, sardines or tuna
Instead of roasted root vegetables
Sauté or stir fry fresh spring vegetables, such as:
- Snap or snow peas
- Bok choy
- Radishes or green onions
- Summer squash
- Fennel
- Cabbage, chard, greens and even lettuce!
Swap Cheese for Healthy Fats
Cheese can be inflammatory in some people, but I believe it’s one of the hardest things to give up. If cow’s milk is giving you digestive trouble, try organic goat or sheep milk cheese, like feta. However, if you’re having trouble digesting most dairy, choose other healthy fats, like raw nuts and seeds, dark chocolate or avocado.
Another cheese swap option is nutritional yeast, made by fermenting yeast on cane and beet molasses. It has a “cheesy” flavor and, since it’s gluten-free and lactose-free, it may be ideal for those with gluten and dairy sensitivities. Nutritional yeast is full of B vitamins, a good source of fiber and can be found in most major grocery stores. Use nutritional yeast by:
- Sprinkling on vegetables, eggs and popcorn
- Thickening soups, sauces and dressings
- Making your own gluten-free crackers
Swap Desserts and Alcoholic Beverages with No/Low-Sugar Versions
Probably the hardest winter comforts to say goodbye to are pies, cakes and alcohol, but this is the key to shedding those extra holiday pounds. Take advantage of spring fruits and choose desserts like:
- Low-sugar Greek yogurt with blueberries and a touch of honey
- Chia seed pudding with sliced banana and raw nuts
- Apple slices with almond butter
For non-alcoholic beverages that won’t weigh you down, choose:
- Plain sparkling water with fresh lemon or lime juice
- Herbal teas
- Mixers, from companies like The Free Spirit Company, to make a mocktail
You’ll want to be aware of the sugar content when consuming things like honey and mixes as too much sweetener may entice you to overeat.
Swap Conventional Food for Clean
Now that farmers markets are in full swing, it’s a great time to seek out clean food sources. Which foods should you be most concerned about? Visit the Environmental Working Group at www.ewg.org to find their annual Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 fruit and vegetable lists. Here, EWG ranks produce with the most and the least pesticide exposure.
Talk to the vendors and ask them where they get their produce and meat as well as how it’s grown and raised. Most vendors are eager to explain their practices and how their hard work benefits both the individual and the environment.
Swap Plastics for Clean Hydration
When discussing food and drink, we can’t forget the most important liquid for our bodies: water. It’s so important to stay hydrated, especially during the warmer months. Avoid drinking out of plastic bottles, especially if they’ve been sitting in a warm area. Microplastics from bottles can leach into the water and, when ingested, may increase obesogens, or endocrine disruptors, into our bodies.1,2 Choose glass or stainless-steel containers as much as possible.
Practical Swaps to Spring Clean Your Diet
To begin spring cleaning your diet, preparation is the best tool. Here are some practical tips:
- Organize recipes by category (main dish, side dish, salads, etc.), then separate them within the category by main ingredient (beef, chicken, fish, vegetable). This will help you quickly find recipes with your intended ingredients. Typing recipes in a computer program with a searchable option, like OneNote, can be extremely fruitful.
- If you’re struggling to swap out your favorite indulgence, like cookies or beer, put it in a box and store it in a hard-to-reach place, like the top closet shelf or in the attic. If you decide that you really want it, you can always dig it out. Having it in a hard-to-reach place will force you to think about it, rather than mindlessly grabbing it right from the kitchen.
- Make weekly meal and grocery shopping lists and don’t deviate. If you only buy ingredients to make specific meals, digressing will be much harder.
Be Careful Swapping Food with Liquid Diets
To jumpstart a spring clean diet, some people may consider swapping whole foods for a juice cleanse or liquid diet. These tools have their place in detoxing the body, but care should be taken when choosing this route.
Liquid diets that focus on one main ingredient (I’m looking at you, celery!) forgo all the great nutrients our bodies get from other healthy foods. Not getting a wide variety of nutrients can lead to deficiencies, which may increase fatigue, digestive issues and irritability.
Juicing fruits and vegetables may also increase blood glucose levels. The natural sugar found, for example, in 6 juiced apples is much more than 1 whole apple. This may potentially cause a blood sugar spike.
Eliminating whole fruits and vegetables removes insoluble fiber from our diet. Insoluble fiber is important for cleaning out our gastrointestinal tract and removing toxins, which may end up defeating the purpose of a cleansing diet.3
Juicing can be beneficial as your body will quickly absorb the nutrients. So, if you’d like to add juicing, include both fruits and vegetables for a variety of nutrients and consider adding it to your meal instead of replacing it.
It’s Never Too Late to Start Spring Cleaning Your Diet
Even if summer is getting close, it’s never too late to make these healthy swaps. Choose one swap that interests you the most. Build it into your routine and then move on to another swap. Take heart that any small change towards spring cleaning your diet will build to much larger changes over time.
Resources
1Kannan K, Vimalkumar K. A Review of Human Exposure to Microplastics and Insights Into Microplastics as Obesogens. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021;12:724989. Published 2021 Aug 18. doi:10.3389/fendo.2021.724989
2Gambino I, Bagordo F, Grassi T, Panico A, De Donno A. Occurrence of Microplastics in Tap and Bottled Water: Current Knowledge. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(9):5283. Published 2022 Apr 26. doi:10.3390/ijerph19095283
3Barber TM, Kabisch S, Pfeiffer AFH, Weickert MO. The Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre. Nutrients. 2020;12(10):3209. Published 2020 Oct 21. doi:10.3390/nu12103209
