9 Upgrades for Healthier Meals

Stretch your groceries and get more nutrition into every meal with these genius hacks from www.shape.com.sg.

byYuen Yi Ying Sep 2016

Stretch your groceries and get more nutrition into every meal with these genius hacks from www.shape.com.sg.

1 Sneak Grains in Your Salad Quinoa, millet, cous cous and brown rice are great additions to your salad. They’re tiny yet ﬁlling, and soak up ﬂavour and liquids really well, so you don’t end up with soggy greens.

2 Make Better Mash and Fries Instead of using regular potatoes, you can make fries or mash with plenty of other healthier root veggies. Try antioxidant-packed purple or orange sweet potato; lowcalorie, mineral-rich celeriac; or vitamin-ﬁlled parnips.

3 Make a Breakfast Popsicle Fill half a bowl with yogurt, add oats and chopped fruit, and mix. Spoon everything into popsicle moulds and freeze overnight. You’ll have a delicious snack that’s way better than regular ice cream.

4 Power-pack Your Smoothie Up your veggie and nut intake by adding them to your smoothie. Cashews and almonds have a light ﬂavour and make your drink deliciously thick. Kale and spinach are also good options to boost your shake. Adding a cup won’t really affect the taste of your drink (however, it might turn your blend a bit green).

5 Cut Down on Meat Bulk up meatballs and stews with chopped veggies or grains like brown rice, millet or barley. You’ll get a lot more ﬁbre, cut down your cholesterol intake and save on meat!

6 Swop Your Fats Instead of butter or mayonnaise, use avocado as a spread for your sandwich. For an extra tasty kick, add sliced scallions, or sprinkle some crushed cumin or sesame seeds, salt and red chilli ﬂakes.

7 We can’t get poppy seeds in Singapore for whipping up breads and yummy citrusy cakes with a light crunch. However, nutritionpacked chia seeds are a great alternative, and they contain a good amount of ﬁbre, omega-3 fatty acids and essential minerals.

8 Switch Low-nutrition Carbs for Veggies Spiralize veggies to replace pasta, swop burger buns for portobello mushroom caps or lettuce leaves, make a healthier lasagna with eggplant slices instead of lasagna sheets, or chop up cauliﬂower in a food processor as a replacement for rice. You could also combine ground-up cauliﬂower with an egg and some garlic powder to make a pizza base.

9 Use Up Left over Greens If you have herbs and veggies that are too wilted to use in a salad, throw them into a soup. After boiling, blend everything up to make a thick, ﬂavourful mix. Leftover greens also make a good pesto with the addition of some nuts and garlic.