Swap Right: Jo Sebastian Revolutionizes Diet with Healthier Food Swaps
Continuing from our previous article, our trusted Filipino dietitian, Jo Sebastian, actively strives to enhance meal satisfaction. As per her, having satisfying meals shouldn’t compromise the health benefits of consuming foods.
Swap Right: Jo Sebastian Revolutionizes Diet with Healthier Food Swaps
This encompasses the flavor of your food, as Jo has shared food and condiment recommendations for healthier meals. This article compiles all her ‘healthier food swaps,’ also known as ‘Swap Right,’ tailored for those striving for a healthier meal time.
Additionally, excessive consumption isn’t conducive to good health, is it? Too much daily consumption of items like salt, fat, protein, and other elements may lead to long-term health issues. That’s why Jo has shared her preferred healthier food choices you can use for your everyday meals!
Healthier Sodium Swaps
You can savor the taste of your meals, and use salt as one method to enhance the flavor. However, you can still enjoy the same taste with a lower sodium content.
Fish Sauce (Patis) Swap
Photo from Jo Sebastian
“Fish sauce is a very common ingredient in Filipino dishes or sauces and dips!
But if you have hypertension, or health concerns that would need a lower sodium intake we can mimic the umami flavor for lower sodium!” she wrote in her post.
Furthermore, switching from one tablespoon of fish sauce, which can contain up to 1,413mg of sodium, to a combination of soy sauce and vinegar solo can reduce the sodium content to approximately 437mg. Doing this alternative preserves both the flavor and tanginess.
Soy Sauce (Toyo) Swap
Photo from Jo Sebastian
And for the soy sauce swap, you can consider swapping your regular soy sauce with oyster sauce! A teaspoon of soy sauce typically contains about 290mg of sodium, while oyster sauce has approximately 160-170mg of sodium per teaspoon.
Canned Tuna Swap
Photo from Jo Sebastian
Of course, one of our favorite go-to ulam also has a healthier option for us to choose from. Therefore, swapping to ‘tuna in water’ is a great way to reduce the sodium content in canned goods. You can also add seasonings of your choice to enhance the flavor!
Salt (Asin) Swap
Photo from Jo Sebastian
The conventional method for seasoning our food involves the classic duo of salt and pepper. As per Jo, you can consider swapping to MSG, as it contains only 12% sodium compared to regular salt, which has 40% sodium.
Protein and Meat Swap
Protein is a vital component of our daily diet, playing a key role in the growth, repair, and maintenance of our body tissues. Additionally, having different protein sources can contribute to better management of factors like blood sugar and cholesterol.
Furthermore, incorporating fish, firm tofu, silken tofu, lentils, mung beans, or chickpeas (garbanzos) into your diet provides not only a rich protein source but also various essential minerals that your body requires.
Fish offers omega-three fatty acids, tofu provides plant-based protein, while mung beans, lentils, and chickpeas are excellent sources of dietary fiber!
You can watch this video of her explaining the different benefits of the proteins she mentioned:
Fat Swap
Photo from Jo Sebastian
Lastly, here’s the last #SwapRight tip from our reliable dietitian. According to her, there are healthier alternatives for enjoying fried foods like french fries, fried fish, and other fried dishes that you like.
Furthermore, you might want to contemplate investing in a high-quality air fryer, which uses minimal oil for frying your favorite dishes. Doing this can reduce the fat content by up to 50-75% compared to deep frying.
Now, the use of various sodium, fat, and protein sources isn’t completely and generally unhealthy.
However, it depends on individual circumstances. If someone is monitoring their food intake for health reasons, Jo’s #SwapRight alternatives can help them enjoy flavorful meals without excessive oil, and salt, and with a healthier protein source.
As we all say, food should be satisfying and enjoyable! Eating healthy isn’t about restricting yourself from enjoying your food, but by savoring the flavors with a mindful intake.
