These seven healthy ingredient swaps for dinners are kid-friendly and easy to make. Use what you have in your pantry to make these healthier changes to your current go to meals.
Annette at Coffee Chaos and Dry Shampoo is bringing us these easy and realistic suggestions for healthier ingredient swaps to make our dinners a bit more nutritious and still kid-friendly.
Annette is a scrunchy mom who writes about how to live a healthy, all natural, eco-friendly life without breaking the bank or sacrificing time and convenience in order to do so.
Make sure you check out her resource library for lots of tips, ebooks, and tricks to make your scrunchy mom life that much easier.
Do not forget to pin this post so you can quickly reference.
This post may contain affiliate links.
All of us want to find healthier dinner options, but unfortunately, sometimes we have to choose between health and convenience. I am not sure about you, but when I am presented with this choice more often than not I am going to choose convenience. I am not ashamed of that. There is a lot on my plate each day and finding convenient options in everyday life is important in helping me keep my sanity.
However, over the years I have been able to find ways to swap out ingredients for healthier options so I do not have to compromise between quick or health when it comes to dinner.
Here are some of my favorite recipes and healthy swaps you can make for seemingly traditional meals.
1. Spaghetti
Spaghetti is a simple and easy, yet filling and delicious, meal that is a go to for busy families. However, between all the boxed and canned ingredients that go into this dinner, it can turn out less than ideal when it comes to being a healthy family dinner.
With a few ingredient swaps you can make spaghetti a go to nutritional meal.
Swaps
- Noodles – Consider using different varieties of noodles, such as whole wheat or quinoa. You can choose an even healthier option by opting for zucchini noodles or making spaghetti squash spaghetti.
- Pasta Sauce – Look for pasta sauces that are in jars and do not contain lots of added sugars. Some good brands to check out include Cucina Antica, Amy’s Organic Pasta Sauces, and Classico.
- Tomatoes – Instead of using canned diced/stewed tomatoes, dice up fresh tomatoes and add them to your jarred sauce for added freshness.
2. Tacos
Taco Tuesdays are a weekly routine for our family. Tacos are basically a formal way of saying grab night – simply grab some taco shells, a protein, condiments of choice, and voila! By making these ingredient swaps, you have got a new reason to celebrate Taco Tuesdays.
Swaps
- Shells – Trade in those flour shells for a whole wheat option instead. If you are looking for an even healthier option, consider using romaine lettuce leaves.
- Fillers – Use brown rice or quinoa in place of white rice. Consider adding some cilantro to give it a bit more flavor.
- Protein – Opt for fish or chicken tacos as a leaner alternative to ground beef. Or use grilled cauliflower if you are looking for a meatless option.
- Condiments – Look for condiments that are low in added sugars, such as hot sauces and taco sauces. Use fresh ingredients such as avocados and cilantro in place of pre-made guacamole.
3. Stir Fry
Stir Fry has become an easy go to meal for our family. We grab a pack of fresh or frozen stir fry veggies and fry them up with a protein, and some kind of filler. Plus, there are a number of different stir fry recipes you can make simply based on the spices you use making this the perfect go to dinner if your spice cabinet is running a bit low.
For example, you can make peanut stir fry, teriyaki stir fry, maple ginger stir fry, and on and on. Although, even with all of these different sauce varieties there are still ingredient swaps that can be made to make them even healthier.
Swaps
- Soy Sauce – Try swapping out soy sauce for coconut aminos for a lower sodium option. In addition to being lower in overall sodium, coconut aminos has a sweeter flavor than soy sauce, which means you can reduce the amount of any added sugar you would normally include in your sauce recipe.
- Filler – Opt for brown rice or quinoa, both of which have added nutrients compared to traditional white rice.
4. Lasagna
Lasagna is one of those dinners moms love because you can set it and forget it. The amount of prep work is worth it when you consider how much will be left over. That is why I recommend making your lasagna on Friday nights, and with these ingredient swaps you will have a healthy meal that will last all weekend.
Swaps
- Noodles – Use zucchini noodles as a healthy alternative to pasta noodles. Plus, zucchini is low carb and packed with tons of added nutrients. Here’s an easy tutorial on how to cut zucchini without a mandolin.
- Meat – Use chicken or ground turkey in place of beef for a leaner protein option.
- Filler – Add some vegetables, such as spinach, to your lasagna recipes for some added nutrients.
5. Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Joes can get messy but there is no denying they are definitely a kid favorite. However, with all their beefy goodness comes some room for ingredient improvements. By making these couple of swaps, you can turn a dinner favorite into a healthy and nutritious meal for the whole family.
Swaps
- Protein – Swap out traditional beef for a leaner ratio or ground turkey instead.
- Filler – Use fresh diced tomatoes instead of the canned variety and add your own seasonings and peppers.
- Worcestershire – If you use Worcestershire sauce look for options that are free of high fructose corn syrup.
6. Chili
Use a large crockpot, set it and forget it. By the time you get home you will have piping hot chili that is delicious and ready to eat. Not only is chili easy to make but it creates a ton of leftovers. Whether you are looking to make dinner ahead of time, or food to last the weekend, chili is a great option for the whole family.
Swaps
- Protein – Use ground turkey instead of beef for a leaner protein option.
- Fresh Ingredients – Use fresh chili’s, peppers, and tomatoes instead of the canned options.
7. Grilled Cheese
This has got to be the easiest, most kid friendly meal on this list. Between getting the kids off to their activities, playdates, or sporting events, you have little time to get a healthy dinner on the table. Meaning you have only a few options to choose from. That is why grilled cheese sandwiches can be the perfect healthy option for busy nights when you use these swaps.
Swaps
- Bread – Use whole wheat or multi grain bread options instead of white bread.
- Cheese – There are definitely noticeable differences between the types of cheeses out there. Instead of using the classic, single wrapped cheese, opt for a block of cheese and cut your own slices.
- Tomato Soup – Even though it will take more time, consider making your own tomato soup. You can use this recipe to make a batch ahead of time, freeze it and then thaw it out for dinner.
Moms should not have to choose between health and convenience. By using these ingredient swaps you do not have to. Instead, you can feel confident that you are providing healthy dinner options for your family without having to compromise your time or sanity.
Make sure to pin this post so you can quickly reference these healthy dinner ingredient swaps!
