Independence Day Special: 10 Food Swaps to Make You Healthier

'Slow and steady wins the race' - Adopt the Tortoise strategy if you are trying to lose weight. This Independence Day as part of #MyFit100Days join the campaign to get India fit, with some help from our experts. #GetFitIndia Campaign's Motto - To encourage people to make healthier choices and help them cut some of the excess saturated fat and sugar from their diet. Did you know you can shed the extra pounds from your body in just 2 months if you swap these unhealthy foods with the healthy ones? Here's a weight loss checklist to get you started!

Drop the pop! Aerated drinks or sodas contain high amounts of sugar - a single can of soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. And that's just empty calories you are having. Sugar is crowned as 'Bad-Empty Calories' which contains no nutrients at all. That's true! Make a wise decision and throw out these calorie-loaded drinks from your life. What you can have instead is coconut water.

Why Coconut Water is Good for You?
Low in calories, it contains natural fat and is known to be cholesterol free. Need more reasons? It has got more potassium than four bananas and is super hydrating!

Celebs Swear By It
Nargis Fakhri, Sonam Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha drink a lot of coconut water to keep their system free from toxins. That's one of their weight loss secrets! Experts suggest you should drink 2-3 glasses of coconut water along with 10 glasses of water daily, that ways you will include more liquids in your diet as well.

Smoothies are appetizingly cool and comes in delicious fruity flavors. What's not to like about smoothies? Did you know that these frozen beverages or smoothies contain high amounts of Trans fat? Some of these drinks can have as much as 9 grams of trans fat per serving.

What Can You Have Instead?
Home-Made Fruit Smoothies- All you need are some fresh fruits and milk and you are good to blend yourself a perfect nutritious smoothie. Takeaway - Pad your smoothie with oats or flax seeds to increase its nutritional value.
While garama garama parathas can please your hungry soul, but remember with all good things comes a price you have to pay. You don't want your unhealthy food choices to take a toll on your health. Swap your buttery delight with a stuffed roti (All you need to do is fill it with your choice of ingredients and make it as simple paratha without any oil or ghee.)

A recent study done by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition established that even moderate levels of butter consumption can lead to higher cholesterol levels. It also showed that butter can raise your blood cholesterol levels more than alternatives like olive oil.
What's wrong with your Toast Butter? For starters, toast butter is usually made with white bread which is made from refined grains. Refined grains are low in magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, fibre and essential fatty acids. And butter, which is packaged, full of extra salt, color, preservatives and to add, each tablespoon of butter contains about 426 calories, according to the USDA. (United States Department of Agriculture)

It's time to get fit India! Swap your favourite breakfast or an evening snack with a healthier alternative - Vegetable Sandwich. Tips: Remember to avoid dressings, cheese, tomato ketchup to your sandwich. What you can put instead is Salsa, oregano, mustard sauce.

Yes! We agree instant noodles is one of the best comfort food, but it's still one of the unhealthiest things you can ever eat!

Noodles is made of maida - milled, refined and bleached version of wheat flour. What makes Maida so bad? It is highly processed and is devoid of any nutrition. Adding to the list Maggi has many preservatives and is a source of empty calories ripped of all nutrition. Fitness experts and nutritionist says, it's excessive consumption can lead to obesity.

#MyFit100Days experts suggest swapping your bowl of noodles with masala oats can be one of the healthiest decision you can make for yourself.

Feather-light on your stomach, full of fibre and essential nutrients - Oats are one of the wonder foods that are needed for a healthy and fit lifestyle! A small cup of oats can offer a lot more than you can imagine. Oats help in proper digestion, is good for your heart and have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.
The afternoon tea wouldn't be the same without any cookies. But the choice is yours! Cookies and biscuits which you eat just stuff your stomach with flour - these are just empty calories you are eating. This habit of yours can be really, really be bad for the waistline. Vegetable fats or hydrogenated fats that are added in the biscuits are of very high quantities and when baked at very high temperatures this can result in the production of trans-fats.

Swap your biscuits with Khakhra - Delicious, crunchy and made with whole wheat flour, it is just as healthy as it looks.
Nutritionist Shubi Husain says, "it is important to cook protein sources in a healthy way to avoid adding excess fat and calories to the food. Good methods include, poaching, dry frying, grilling or roasting with little olive oil."

Swap your fried eggs with scrambled eggs - Did you know one large scrambled egg contains just 91 calories, 6 grams of protein, 1 gram of carbohydrate and 7 grams of fat? Thereby making it a healthier alternative than your usual biscuits.

Tip - Add spinach, tomatoes and other vegetables to your eggs, for an extra nutritional boost

If you thought eating flavoured yogurt is healthy, then think again. The fruity Flavoured Yogurt contains several packets of sugar. To get your fill of all essential and good for you nutrients like protein, probiotics, vitamin D, and calcium, choose unflavoured yogurt and mix fresh fruits with it. Or simply grab some fruits and blend a healthy smoothie for yourself. yogurt contains several packets of sugar. To get your fill of all essential and good for you nutrients like protein, probiotics, vitamin D, and calcium, choose unflavoured yogurt and mix fresh fruits with it. Or simply grab some fruits and blend a healthy smoothie for yourself.
Eating Granola bars can add an extra 300-400 calories to your daily routine. These are packed with enriched white flour, high fructose corn syrup, and other sweeteners. Some are quite high in saturated fat and low in fibre. It is best to avoid it. What you can have instead is a bowl of oatmeal, if you are craving for something sweet then sprinkle berries, nuts in your bowl of oatmeal.
Get rid of unhealthy ingredients from your salad if you want to shed those extra bulges. What to avoid? Creamy dressings, full-fat cheese and high-calorie croutons. Many salad dressings also contain a secret-killer called MSG (Monosodium glutamate), which is considered a neurotoxin as it can overexcite your cells to the point of damage, brain dysfunction and even death. What to have instead? Plain simple vegetable, fruit salad - for flavours add oregano, salsa sauce, mustard sauce.

Next Up on Our Independence Day Special #GetFitIndia Series: Get Fit India With These Healthy Twist to Indian Recipes