Related Links:
- Food and diet
- Eating a balanced diet
- 8 tips for healthy eating
- The Eatwell Guide
- Food labels
- Food labelling terms
- Reference intakes on food labels
- Starchy foods and carbohydrates
- Dairy and alternatives
- Meat in your diet
- Fish and shellfish
- The healthy way to eat eggs
- Beans and pulses
- Water, drinks and your health
- Eating processed foods
- Why 5 A Day?
- What counts?
- 5 A Day portion sizes
- 5 A Day tips
- 5 A Day FAQs
- Fat: the facts
- Salt: the facts
- Sugar: the facts
- Top sources of added sugar
- What does 100 calories look like?
- Red meat and the risk of bowel cancer
- What is a Mediterranean diet?
- 20 tips to eat well for less
- How to prepare and cook food safely
- How to store food and leftovers
- 10 ways to prevent food poisoning
- Why you should never wash raw chicken
- Cooking turkey
- How to wash fruit and vegetables
- The truth about sweeteners
- Sprouted seeds safety advice
- The vegetarian diet
- The vegan diet
- Vegetarian and vegan mums-to-be
- Vegetarian and vegan diets Q&A
- Recipes and tips
- Healthy breakfasts
- Surprising 100-calorie snacks
- 8 healthy eating tips
- How to eat more fibre
- Healthy food swaps
- Healthy breakfast cereals
- How to eat less saturated fat
- Tips for a lower salt diet
- How to cut down on sugar
- Healthier takeaways
- Food and drinks for sport
- Healthy eating for teens
- Digestive health
Healthy food swaps
Choosing healthier foods is easier than you may think. By changing just a few eating habits you can make a big difference to your diet.
Making small changes to your diet is the healthiest and most achievable way to lose weight.
Your first step is to eat fewer foods high in calories, fat, salt and sugars and swap them for something healthier, including more fruit and vegetables.
Remember, small changes can add up to make a big overall difference to your diet.
Find out more from the Eatwell Guide about which foods you should be eating – and in what amounts – to achieve a balanced diet.
Food and drink swaps
Try these small changes when you have your next meal or drink, or when you open the kitchen cupboard or fridge looking for a snack.
Once you have got started, try thinking of your own healthier swaps, too.
When buying pre-packed food, don't rely on the attractive promotional print on the wrapping, which can be misleading.
Instead, learn to read the nutritional information when checking for calorie, fat, salt and sugar content.
Breakfast
- swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, 1% fat or even skimmed milk
- swap a sugar-coated breakfast cereal for a wholegrain breakfast cereal such as porridge or shredded wholegrain wheat cereal with no added sugar – read about how to choose a healthy breakfast cereal
- swap a sprinkle of sugar on your breakfast cereal for a topping of fresh or dried fruit, which counts towards one of your 5 A DAY
- swap full-fat greek yoghurt for lower-fat or fat-free greek yoghurt, or natural low-fat yoghurt
Get more ideas for healthy breakfasts.
Lunch
- swap white breads, bagels and muffins for wholegrain varieties
- swap butter and cheese in your baked potato for reduced-fat spread and reduced salt and sugar baked beans
- swap a tuna melt panini for a tuna salad sandwich on wholemeal bread without mayo
- swap a cheddar cheese filling in your sandwich for reduced-fat hard cheese
Dinner
- swap creamy or cheesy sauces for tomato- or vegetable-based sauces on your pasta, meat or fish dishes
- swap mashed potato made with butter and whole milk for mash with low-fat spread and a lower-fat milk, such as semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed
- choose leaner cuts of meat – for example, swap streaky bacon for back bacon
- swap the frying pan for the grill when cooking meat
Drinks
- swap a coffee made with whole milk to a "skinny" coffee made with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk
- swap a cordial for a cordial with no added sugar
- swap a few of your sugary drinks for a glass of water
- swap a cola or fizzy drink with some 100% fruit juice (with no added sugar) mixed with soda water
- swap hot chocolate made with whole milk and served with whipped cream for a hot chocolate made with skimmed milk and no cream
Snacks
- choose from these 10 surprising 100kcal snacks
- swap a blueberry muffin for a currant bun on its own or with some reduced-fat spread
- swap yoghurt-coated raisins for plain raisins
- swap salted nuts for unsalted nuts
- swap cheese straws for rice cakes with lower-fat cream cheese
More information
Start the NHS weight loss plan, a 12-week guide combining advice on healthier eating and physical activity.
Learn the basics of a healthy diet in Eight tips for healthy eating.
Find healthy recipes for your family in Healthy recipes.