10 Healthy Cooking Hacks You Need to Know

Cooking healthy does not have to be hard and eating healthy doesn’t have to taste awful! Sometimes eating healthy just requires tiny adjustments to the foods you already know and love! These 10 healthy cooking hacks are guaranteed to change your perception on dieting and eating healthy!

I started incorporating all 10 of these health hacks into my meal planning for my family about a year ago. Since then, my husband has lost over 20 pounds and I have lost over 15! We did this by using these hacks and incorporating them into the 5 F’s diet plan from my article, How to Lose 5 Pounds in a Month | Weight Loss Goals Made Easy.

All of these healthy cooking hacks also contain foods that help to speed up metabolism!

To find a full list of foods, as well as other tricks to speed up your metabolism, check out my article, 10 Best Tips and Tricks to Speed Up Your Metabolism.

These simple hacks alone will help you drop the L-B’s, however, if you want to maximize your weight loss, try incorporating a workout that is right for you into your daily routine! If you don’t already have a workout plan, check out my article, Customizable 30 Minute Total Body Workout. In that article, you will be able to print and design your own 30 minute, total body workout each day! I can’t stand doing the same routine over and over so the guide provided in that article is designed to keep mixing it up!

If you have trouble getting a workout in every day, or maybe you have a physical limitation, check out another article of mine: Workout Anytime | Ultimate No Excuses Fitness Plan. In that article, you will find ways to incorporate health and fitness into your daily routine without changing a thing about your day-today schedule! You will learn how to incorporate small movements into everyday things! No more stressing about trying to find time to hit the gym! Talk about easy!

Now that you are set with a diet and workout plan that is right for you, let’s talk about these healthy cooking tips:

Like I said, eating healthy doesn’t have to taste bad and cooking healthy doesn’t have to be difficult! Simple swaps or substitutes can bring nutritional value to even your guiltiest of pleasures! Also, a few easy recipes for things that you already know and love can change the way you think about health foods!

Ok, enough talk, let’s get into these 10 simple healthy cooking hacks and start changing your mind and life right now!

In no particular order let’s start:

#1 Flaxseed

Why is flaxseed good for you:

Flaxseed is known to be a digestive agent. It supports healthy digestion as well as relieves constipation. Flaxseed may also help lower LDL (the bad cholesterol) and reduce your risk for heart disease. Finally, flaxseed is chock full of antioxidants that can reduce inflammation, prevent disease, help to fight some autoimmune diseases and prevent the risk of certain cancers!

How to use flaxseed in your everyday cooking:

Add flaxseed naturally into your diet by using it as a substitute for eggs when baking! (One tbsp Flaxseed + 3 tbsp water + 5 minute wait = 1 egg).

Recipes with this food swap: 

Bonkers Brownies 

Crazy for these Oatmeal Crazin “Cookies”

#2 Banana Pancakes

Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 Banana (preferably fairly ripe)
• 2 eggs

(Yes, that’s it!)

How to make banana pancakes:

1. Mash banana in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs.
3. Combine banana and eggs.
4. Cook batter on griddle or in a pan like you would any other pancake!
5. Done!

Why this recipe is so great:

This recipe is only banana and eggs! There is no flour! There is no sugar! That means that instead of heavy, stick-to-your-gut carbs and added sugars, you are getting FIBER and PROTEIN! Although, yes, they will taste like banana (but who doesn’t like bananas on their pancakes anyways?!) they still provide that fluffy deliciousness that you crave! Top them with a sugar free syrup or fresh berries and whipped cream and you are set!

Find this recipe and other tricks to get kiddos to eat healthier in my article, How to Get Kids to Eat Healthy | 5 Nutrition Sneaking Hacks.

#3 Veggie Pasta

This substitute is perfect for healthy eating beginners. The texture of the noodles is exactly the same and the flavor is only slightly different. However, add a sauce and I can bet you that you would have no idea the noodle was any different.

What’s good about this substitute:

Every 3.5oz portion of Barilla Veggie pasta contains one full serving of vegetables! My toddler HATES vegetables and so this is my go-to hack to sneak veggies into her food!

If you read the label on Barilla Veggie pasta and compare it to the label of regular Barilla pasta you will find the difference. Barilla Veggie only includes 1g more protein than regular but a whole lot more vitamins and minerals!

How to use the food swap:

That’s the best part! All you have to do is buy this instead of regular pasta:

#4 Zucchini Noodles

I’m sure that you have heard of zoodles by now, but have you tried them? I was apprehensive at first, but now I prefer them to regular pasta when making spaghetti. That’s because they don’t suck up all the sauce like traditional pasta does so my sauce goes a lot further (which is super cost effective) and I feel like I get more flavor!

The biggest problem that I have found with making zoodles though is how most people will tell you to make them. Most recipes say to use a veggie spiralizer. Yes, you do get more “noodles” that way, but the texture of the “noodles” made from the center of the zucchini are quite mushy and tend to contain seeds. The best way to make zoodles, in my opinion, is with a simple julienne peeler. Simply peel the zucchini one all sides until the peeler blades start to snag on the seeds of the zucchini. Then discard the core of the zucchini. This method results in perfectly textured zoodles in seconds everytime!

The best part about zoodles is that you don’t have to boil water to cook them! Simply add them to your sauce in a pan and heat through until they begin to soften slightly to the texture of an al dente noodle (about 5 minutes)!

#5 Roasted Veggies with Olive/Avocado Oil

Everyone knows that vegetables are good for you. However, how many of us top our vegetables with butter or cheese? Guilty! At least that was until I started roasting my vegetables! By simply tossing whatever veggies you are feeling that day in a little bit of heart healthy olive oil (just enough for a thin coat) and whatever seasoning you desire and roasting in a preheated 425 degree oven, you are going to get that flavor and texture that you desire but without adding all the saturated fat!

My rule of thumb for most veggies for roasting is about 20-25 minutes. However, this nifty guide will help you get more accurate cooking time for your favorite veggies!

• Sweet potato – 35 minutes
• Brussels sprouts – 35 minutes
• White potato – 30 minutes
• Tomatoes – 30 minutes
• Butternut squash – 25 minutes
• Parsnip – 25 minutes
• Eggplant – 25 minutes
• Cabbage – 25 minutes
• Carrots – 20 minutes
• Broccoli – 20 minutes
• Cauliflower – 20 minutes
• Green beans – 20 minutes
• Onion slices – 15 minutes
• Bell pepper strips – 15 minutes
• Okra – 12 minutes
• Snap peas – 10 minutes
• Zucchini – 10 minutes
• Summer squash – 10 minutes
• Sugar peas – 8 minutes

#6 Stovetop Popcorn

Cooking it on the stove is tastier, keeps better and is better for you then other methods.  And after 30 years experience making popcorn almost every night, I have finally mastered the perfect popcorn.  I let the cat out of the bag giving away this recipe in my article, Epic Stovetop Popcorn.

What makes popcorn so great?

1. Popcorn is delicious!  I challenge you to stop eating it after making it this way!
2. It is budget friendly.  All you need is kernels, oil and salt!
3. It is whole grain, meaning it contains fiber and protein.  Fiber helps with digestion and keeps you full longer.
4. Popcorn is low calorie AND low fat.
5. Several B Vitamins are also found in popcorn that can help to increase energy levels as well as naturally ease depression.
6. It supports a healthy immune system and is even linked to potentially killing certain kinds of tumor cells! 
7. Did I mention that it is delicious???

#7 Cauliflower Mash

Ditching the potato and substituting cauliflower may be difficult at first, but I promise, you will feel so much better because of it! I had never been a huge fan of mashed potatoes, so I don’t totally understand the obsession, but for me, I can’t really tell the difference between the taste between the two. The thing that I do understand is how I feel after I eat them. Because of all the starch and carbohydrates in traditional mashed potatoes, I would always feel bloated and sluggish after eating them. I guess that’s why they call them comfort food, because they really do ‘stick to your ribs’. But with cauliflower mash, I get the same taste and effect as with potatoes, but I get up feeling full yet energized!

The best recipe for cauliflower mash that I have found would be, Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes {The BEST!} by iFOODreal.com. If you are virgin to the cauliflower substitute, please give it a try and let me know what you think!

#8 Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Okay, now that you have opened your mind up to the world of the cauliflower substitute, let’s try another one! Cauliflower pizza crust is an easy swap for one of America’s favorite foods- pizza! Again, swapping out that heavy carb load for a high fiber, low calorie option will make your waistline and energy level so happy!

Yes, you can make your own cauliflower pizza crust if you want. The best recipe I have found for it would be this one: Chef John’s Cauliflower Pizza Crust from Allrecipes. This recipe adds a bit of goat and parmesan cheese to the crust which gives it a nice texture and it isn’t as delicate as some other recipes that I have tried. However, because of this added cheese, I always go light on the topping cheese to offset some of the calorie load.

But, if making your own crust is just not in the cards. Maybe you don’t have time or maybe you just don’t want to, there are easier options. Several pizza places now carry a cauliflower crust option so you can order in! But there are also frozen cauliflower crust pizzas as well as ready made cauliflower pizza crust (my favorite option because I like to add my own toppings).

Now that you’re on a cauliflower substitute kick, don’t stop here! Try a couple more of my favorites: cauliflower rice and cauliflower wings!

#9 Bonkers Brownies

Have you tried my Bonkers Brownies recipe yet?! If not, this recipe will change your life! I am a self proclaimed dessert addict and refuse to end my day without something sweet! These brownies are unbelievably gluten-free, butter-free, oil-free and egg-free! They simply take all the guilt out of my guilty pleasure!

Get full recipe HERE!

#10 Kale Chips

Substituting kale chips for potato chips will satisfy that craving for salty crunch! No, it is not the same greasy chip you know and love, but that’s the point, right?! Subbing out the not so good for you for the good! Trust me, you will get that sensation that you yearn for but without the guilty empty calories!

Ingredients for kale chips:

• 1 bunch kale

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp sea salt (or to taste) **You can also substitute kosher or seasoning salt. Or add other flavors that resignate with you!

How to make kale chips:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a nonstick spray.
3. Remove stems from kale leaves and discard.
4. Tear kale leaves into bite sized pieces.
5. Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
6. Spread out on prepared cookie sheet.
7. Bake until edges start to brown (about 10-15 minutes).

Have you tried any of these cooking hacks in the past? Do you currently use any of these easy hacks? Which healthy hacks do you want to try in the near future? Let me know your answers and tell me what you think about all 10 of these healthy cooking hacks in the comments!