15 Tiny Food Swaps You Won’t Even Notice That Will Save You 3500 Calories A Week
by The Candidly Team
We don’t typically talk much about calories. It’s just too easy to spill over into the grotesque, exploitive industry that is diet culture.
It also makes people furious at us. And that’s never that much fun.
Point is we’d much rather have a frank conversation about all the absolutely excellent stuff we should be putting into our bodies like THIS and THIS and also THIS, and not the things we shouldn’t.
But (and this is a real but)…
We’re also on a journey to be healthy. Especially since we crept past 40 and the way we eat seems to affect us in all new not-so-fun ways. Some of us are indeed watching our sugar or our saturated fats. We consciously think about the kinds of foods we eat and how much we eat of them.
And let’s face it, none of us are all that eager to consume 700 hidden calories of extra sugars and oils and processed junk we didn’t even realize were in some of the foods we’re eating.
And so, rather than restrict in some unsustainable way to lose weight, we also like to look for simple, easy, unpainful swaps in our everyday life that help us avoid dumb calorie traps.
We’ve all heard the thing of how it takes burning 3500 more calories than what we eat to lose a pound of fat. So just for fun, we found 15 food swaps that would accidentally lead us to this deficit. And okay, admittedly it’s not exactly 3500. But if we did each of them at least twice this week, it would actually be more.
1. Light lemonade with water Instead Of soda
We discovered this “hack” when trying to kick a lifelong addiction to Diet Coke (aspartame just has too many confusing and cancer-linked studies for us to feel good about drinking it daily). All it is is mixing Simply Light Lemonade with icy cold water, serving it over chewy ice with a glass straw (of course!), and oof, if it doesn’t satisfy in that fresh, crisp, sweet way soda does (despite being terrible for you). And yes, it does have Stevia, so ok, it isn’t perfect, but when we’re craving soda, nothing has come this close to hitting the spot.
Calorie Comparison:
1 Soda - 192
1 Cup Simply Lemonade - 25
2. Good & Gather Light sour cream Instead Of Regular
This is hands down the best light version of anything ever made. However, to many people’s surprise, sour cream is already fairly low in calories, considering how much we eat of it. It’s only 60 calories for 2 tbsp, while the light is 40. But since you truly can’t tell the difference, it’s an amazing little swap.
Calorie Comparison:
Good & Gather Sour Cream - 60 for 2 tbsp
Good & Gather Light Sour Cream - 40 for 2 tbsp
3. Sunday Sauce Instead Of Rao’s
Listen, 35 cals vs 100 calories per serving is massive!!!! Right? We all think tomato sauce is healthy because tomatoes are healthy. But no. It’s like drinking olive oil. It’s such a sneaky ingredient that can make you go over your cals for the day so easily.
Calorie Comparison:
Rao’s Marinara - 100 for 1/2 cup
Cucina Antica Sunday Sauce - 35 for 1/2 cup
4. Palmini Hearts Of Palm Pasta Instead Of Regular Pasta
We actually wrote an entire article about this pasta because despite being 60 calories for an entire bag and already being cooked, so you literally have zero work other than making (or pouring a sauce), it’s also satisfying in ways other pasta substitutes just aren’t. Is it a 1-to-1 comparison to pasta in every single way? Of course not. But covered in sauce it’s the absolute finest substitute. And you’re genuinely eating light.
Calorie Comparison:
Traditional Angel Hair Pasta - 200 calories per serving
Palmini Angel Hair Pasta - 20 calories per serving
5. G Hughes Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Instead Of Traditional
Part of what makes eating healthy enjoyable is playing with spices and sauces so we ensure we get a mouthful of flavor and don’t feel sad with every bit. We’re talking about this sauce for two reasons - it has an amazing taste that makes your proteins that much more delish. Oh, and it only has 10 calories for 2 tbsp. But we’ll be up front with you, it also has Splenda. So if that’s not your thing, there is a “clean” version by Primal Kitchen that has 20 calories. It’s much less sweet but still delicious.
Calorie Comparison:
Most Traditional BBQ Sauce - 70 for 2 tbsp
G Hughes Sugar Free BBQ Sauce - 10 for 2 tbsp
6. Primal kitchen a tad sweet ketchup Instead Of regular
So this ketchup has just 10 calories per tablespoon as opposed to the 20 in traditional, which seems minor but it adds up when consider all the many things made more tasty by dipping it in copious amounts of ketchup.
Calorie Comparison:
Heinz Ketchup - 20 for 1 tbsp
Primal Kitchen A Tad Sweet Ketchup - 10 for 1 tbsp
7. Fat free shredded cheese Instead Of regular
This is perhaps the most shocking of anything on this list. First of all, a serving of all prepackaged shredded cheeses is a quarter cup. Have you looked at the size of a quarter cup recently? It’s like a tiny mound that fits neatly in your palm. It’s shockingly little. And here we are flinging shredded cheese on tacos and lasagna with abandon, when little did we know every quarter cup of cheese is 110 calories. It’s MORE than easy to sprinkle a whole cup of cheese onto things. And so with fat free cheese you get that cheesy gooey quality (though weirdly, you need to rinse it first for it to melt properly) and it comes in at only 45 calories AND has 9 grams of protein per serving. Literally just making this swap sort of changed our lives.
Calorie Comparison:
Kraft Shredded Cheddar - 110 for 1/4 cup
Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheddar - 45 for 1/4 cup
8. Applesauce Instead Of Half The Sugar/ Butter In Recipes
We’re realists. We’re not saying subbing in applesauce instead of ALL the butter in sugar in a recipe will make it taste exactly the same. But will it taste good? Absolutely! And rich and moist and sweet, especially in recipes for things like pumpkin muffins and carrot cake. However if you half the butter and sugar in a recipe and add an equal amount of applesauce, you’ll be surprised how similar it still tastes. It saves hundreds of calories, and you’ll literally have no idea.
Calorie Comparison:
Butter - 542 for 1/3 cup
Sugar - 255 for 1/4 cup
Applesauce - 90 in 2/3 cup
9. Classico Light Creamy Alfredo vs Raos Alfredo
We’ve been known to make our own very quick and healthy alfredo with cottage cheese but sometimes you just want to reach for a jar and when you do Classico’s light version is wildly lower in calories and still creamy and savory and all the things we want in the comfort food that is alredo. Pour it over some Palmini pasta for some extra “how is this not 17,000 calories?” magic.
Calorie Comparison:
Raos’ Alfredo - 200 for 1/2 cup
Classico Light Creamy Alfredo - 50 for 1/2 cup
10. Light mayo vs regular
Put simply, it’s half the calories. Also, don’t get it twisted. When you see mayo made with olive oil or avocado oil we all think “ooh that’s healthy!” and sure, those are “healthy” oils to consume. But they don’t make them lower in calories, and eating fewer calories each day than you’re burning is the single, only, thing in this world that will facilitate weight loss. That’s it. So if you can use an avocado oil based mayo and factor those calories into your day and still be on a deficit that’s of course ideal. But if you’re like us, and you need 4 tbsps of mayo to make tuna salad otherwise you can’t choke it down, ya know, try the light version.
Calorie Comparison:
365 Mayo - 110 for 1 tbsp
365 Organic Light Mayo - 50 for 1 tbsp
11. Tuna in water instead of Oil
Oh, and when you’re making that tuna, choose one in water instead of oil. It can make as much as a 160 calorie difference, and it’s no problem because we’re making it delicious with the above mayo anyway. Get it with no salt added to make it even healthier and control how much sodium you get with your own seasoning.
Calorie Comparison:
Tuna in Oil - 280 for 5oz
Tuna In Water - 120 for 5oz
12. The new primal buffalo chicken stick instead of a protein bar
Even if you eat two sticks to one bar, you’ll likely be saving more than 100 calories, and with some protein bars, it’s more than 200. Also protein bars are just candy bars in disguise. Often packed with sugar.
Calorie Comparison:
Perfect Protein Bar - 340 for 1 bar
The New Primal Buffalo Chicken Stick - 120 for 2 sticks
13. Whipped Cream Cheese Versus Regular
Another wildly easy one to change up without an ounce of disappointment. Whipped cream cheese is 50 calories per serving vs 80 for regular. And again, when you add up this list all by itself, just with all these swaps, you’d probably be IN a calorie deficit while eating the same meals you normally eat.
Calorie Comparison:
Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese - 80 for 2 tbsp
Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese - 50 for 2 tbsp
14. Bolthouse farms blue cheese Over Other Brands
Guys, this dressing is 50 calories per serving (and good!!). The same style of dressing from a brand like Ken’s is 130. It’s such simple math without sacrificing an ounce on taste. Truly!
Calorie Comparison:
Ken’s Steak House Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing - 130 for 2 tbsp
Bolthouse Farms Chunky Blue Cheese - 50 for 2 tbsp
15. Quest chips vs Doritos
Here’s the rub. Both Quest Chips and Doritos have the same calories for an individual bag. But Quest has 18 grams of protein!!! As opposed to … 2 in Doritos. Why does this matter? First of all, since we’re comparing something to Doritos, it means you’re in a chippish mood. The trouble with “wasting” calories on chips is that you’re starving in 15 minutes, and you’re back in that cycle which means you overeat. Eating chips that keep you full (because protein keeps you full) means you eat them and you’re satiated. Yes, the same cals but the rest of your eating day looks very, very different.
Calorie Comparison:
Doritos Nacho Cheese - 150 per bag
Quest Nacho Cheese Protein Chips - 150 per bag
Protein Comparison:
Doritos Nacho Cheese - 2g
Quest Nacho Cheese Protein Chips - 18g
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