swap it to drop it

Welcome!

In this guide you will learn how there really ARE healthy plant based alternatives to every single food that you are already eating, that will instantly free up energy in your body by you simply swapping it out. Watch the intro video to understand how making simply swaps makes HUGE changes in your internal health!

Plant based pastas

PASTAS:

• Drop all pastas containing gluten/refined flours this means: wheat, barley rye. Also avoid corn.

• Swap it for: lentil, chickpea, black bean, mung bean, kelp noodles, shirataki noodles OR store bought pre made noodles from veggies: I have found frozen carrots, fresh zucchini, beets, yellow squash, sweet potato and made my own cucumber, zucchini, yellow squash and cooked spaghetti squash. Another alternative is to use broccoli slaw and lightly saute it and it forms shorter ‘noodles’ and you can also try palmini pasta which are noodles made from hearts of palm (these I have only found online until recently Whole Foods has a lasagna noodle)

• What you need to make the homemade options: your oven or crock pot for roasting spaghetti squash and a veggie spiralizer. This is the one I use and it’s only $10.99!

BREAD

• Drop all white/wheat bread that contains zero nutrients and grains stripped of nutrients. Look for gluten free grains like quinoa, rice, oat, buckwheat, or those with nuts or seeds. OR if you can do some gluten get ORGANIC SPROUTED varieties with wheat.

• I also recommend avoiding breads with eggs

• I love Dave’s Killer bread (for organic and sprouted) and One Degree for vegan alternatives (freezer sections) as well as Ezekiel sprouted breads (also found in the frozen section). I mostly just buy Dave’s bread for fresh veggie sandwiches or avocado bread/toast and I buy the same brand of buns if the boys or company is over and wants a burger on a bun!

• TIP: sourdough bread has way less gluten so if I’m out to eat or want to eat bread I buy that!

wraps

• Drop white/wheat flour/corn based wraps and

• Swap it for: rice tortillas, grain free tortillas, black bean wraps, Nori wraps OR use my favorite veggies: Bibb lettuce, romaine lettuce, thinly sliced cucumbers

• I love Siete for wraps that actually bend and don’t break!
  
  

Plant based mylk options:

Run far far away from regular milk. Seriously this alone will create massive space in your body for improvement. Humans are not made to drink milk from cows.

What I look for:

• Organic first if possible

• Unsweetened, so you can control the amount of added sugars you have in you and your family’s diet. The calories are dependent upon the added sugars.

• Plain if you want to use the milk for cooking, cream based dishes or soups, or vanilla flavor

• Carageenan free. Carageenan is a binder that has been linked to cancer so let’s avoid that guy

• I tend to buy mostly oat now because that’s what has been working well for Dash and it’s soooooo creamy and good in coffee and teas, I also recommend this one if you are sending something to school because it’s nut and tree nut free

• My other favorites are almond, cashew, flax and you can also find hemp, rice, macadamia nut, pistachio, walnut, literally anything these days!

• Look in the refrigerated section for fresh options and you can find shelved containers as well if you want to stock up. The last box shown is the almond milk I buy in bulk at Costco, they also recently started carrying an oat milk in bulk

• My simplest ingredient brands are New Barn (so weird, they changed their packaging and I checked their website and it appears they are no longer selling in my state, but if you see them in your markets, buy them! and MALK

plant based yogurts

• Drop all dairy

• Swap it for cashew, almond, coconut, oat yogurt. Look for simple ingredients organic if possible. I love Forager, Nancy’s and Kite Hill and the Oui brand is super decadent and creamy (just make sure you get the BLUE label, that one is plant based, the other is dairy!

• Unsweetened and plain works well to be able to use in dips and cream based recipes but if you know you’re using it mostly for a breakfast, sweet dish, then go for vanilla or the flavors you love, just look at the label to see if they are using added sugars vs real fruit

CHEESE/BUTTER

• Drop dairy containing cheeses and those containing soy

• Swap for plant based made from cashews, almonds, other nuts or seeds and herbs

• I LOVE Violife and Mikoyos (for all things dairy), also I just tried spreadable butter by Forager and it was sooo good.

• Kite Hill is amazing for dips/cream cheese as well.

• I had to add my coconut cool whip too, I’m so obsessed with it!

EGGS

• Drop the eggs

• Swap for raw, milled chia and combine with water to make an egg or use flax

• Or you can try an egg replacement like that from Bob’s Red Mill you simply combine with water (for baking recipes)

• There are some vegan egg replacements but they typically have other ingredients I stay away from but keep your eyes open for these! I did use the Just Eggs for Easter to make a fritatta but like I said, it’s not the best with all ingredients so I use it ‘sometimes’

• Shown below:

  • Organic raw, milled chia (linked)

  • Raw milled Chia called Mila from Live Pure

  • Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer for baking

  • JUST Egg which is what I use for the ‘sometimes’ vegan fritatas I make

  • The vegan fritata with veggies I made for Easter, it does taste good, I just can’t recommend the ingredients in the JUST egg as everyday foods because it does contain soy and canola.

  • JUST Egg wraps (sold in stores like Whole Foods)

  • See your Always Sometimes Never guide!

healthy snacks

(the large picture is an audio training, it might be hard to see the play sign but just click on it to listen!)

Sea Vegetables: why you want them & how to get them into your plant based diet

Sea Veggies

• Super amazing source of minerals and also aid in detoxification processes, especially in helping to bind heavy metals and safely eliminate them from your tissues, cells and organs

• Pictured: GimMe organic sushi nori (used to make my own wraps, I use veggies inside and things like avocado, mustards, coconut aminos)

• Gimme sea salt seaweed snacks are super great to bring in lunches or for travel, just make sure you don’t have a flavor with soy (their Teriyaki flavor does have that)

• Kelp noodles, can be used cold, you simply rinse off or pour hot water over to use warm (found in Asian food aisle)

• Kelp flakes are my go to almost daily way to get sea veggies in, I sprinkle them all over my salads and veggies and it’s so good!

• Dulse flakes, these I use the least but will sprinkle into vegetable soups, especially if I’m making an asian flavored soup or seafood soup, and in the Medical Medium heavy metal detox smoothie recipe (buy on Amazon, linked here)

sparkling drinks/Soda alternatives

BEER

• Drop beer that contains barley, hops, gluten, wheat, rye

• Swap for gluten free beer

• Heath likes Red Bridge, I hate beer

WINE

• Drop wine that’s not organic and contains sulfites and additives

• Swap for organic or low or no sugar

• I have ordered from Deer Farm, Thrive Market’s organic versions, bough Bonterra at Whole Foods and some local places and recently started ordering from Scout & Cellar and it’s actually really good and I do notice a difference in how I feel! UPDATE: I currently don’t drink at all and it is a huge difference in my body. The more you infuse high vibration foods and thoughts into your cells, the more things like this affect you (in my opinion).

COFFEE/HOT CHOCOLATE/matcha

• Drop regular coffee that has been sprayed with chemicals and pesticides

• Swap for organic beans or organic mushroom coffee that is also LESS acidic and more alkaline plus it contains adaptogens which neutralize it’s affect on your nervous system.

• We love the mushroom hot cacao for a yummy sugar free hot chocolate, I steam plant based milk and stir it in sometimes with honey or stevia, try making your own with almond milk and raw cacao powder and a real plant based sweetener! See how I make mine here!

• I obviously am obsessed with Four Sigmatic, use my discount code: FOODREBEL

• Shown: Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee with Lion’s Mane and Chaga (NO it does not taste at all like a mushroom :), Four Sigmatic matcha, Four sigmatic hot cacao mix (great for kids too), my homemade iced mushroom coffee with almond milk

Ice cream/desserts

I have always loved ice cream and never plan to give it up, i just buy and eat vegan versions which basically means no dairy which means, no digestive issues, yay! Here are some of my go-tos for healthy desserts:

• Nada Moo brand ice cream, is probably my absolute favorite, it’s super creamy, vanilla bean is my fave, but the boys like the cookies ‘n cream

• Oat-Ly brand for nut free options is also very very creamy

• Fronen is the best option for simplest ingredients, they typically have only 5 ingredients all made of real food like banana, coconut cream, vanilla bean, etc

• Gluten free graham crackers are a must. We did them in coconut cool whip or make my version of ice cream sandwiches, you can check out my IGTV on that here!

• Jonny Popps are a fun oat milk version of a fudge bar, they come in various flavors, not a perfect ingredient list but very good swap out! They offer chocolate and strawberry bars (shown) that are dairy free and nut free if you need that as well! Great options to take to schools for treats!

• Coconut cool whip for all the things, dip for fruit, graham crackers, or just eat plain on a spoon!

• The even cleaner option is to make your own ice cream using frozen ripened bananas. To do this more easily, set out your container of frozen bananas a little while before blending and make sure you use a Vitamix or something equally as high powered. You’ll have to stop/start and push the bananas down a few times (or many many times) but then you can make your ice cream any flavor you like! Here are my faves:

  • Add spinach to make it green + fresh mint leaves and top with vegan chocolate chips

  • Add fresh strawberries

  • Add a scoop of PB2 for a peanut butter flavor (and optional to add raw cacao powder)

  • Add vanilla bean

Pizza/crusts

OK I have a lot to say about pizza and pizza crusts. First there is more to a pizza crust being ‘healthy’ than just being gluten free. When you eat out, you really don’t know what’s in the crusts even if it’s gluten free, but let’s focus on store bought here!

• If a company doesn’t use gluten, that means they are going to use other grains, or if it’s a paleo crust it will be completely grain free. Grain free is fine and all and that’s where a lot of cauliflower crusts came into the market, but you still want to look at the label because it has to be made with something, and the question is…what is it made of?

• BEST option I have found is Simple Mills which is a box that contains a powder and you add a few ingredients to it (like avocado oil and apple cider vinegar) and make your own rustic crust. This one literally has all ingredients approved. (first two pics shown)

• Typically pizza crusts will have eggs, because they are used as binders, the ONLY pizza crust up here that doesn’t have egg is the Trader Joe’s crust. But it does have a binder and that’s corn starch, it also contains corn flour and it’s not organic or Non-GMO project verified.

• Trader Joe’s has the fewest ingredients and actually tastes very good and also comes in a broccoli crust.

• Caulipower crusts contain eggs, sunflower oil, sugar and corn starch, showing this as a ‘sometimes’ option but I usually don’t buy this

• Daiya is ok when you need something fast that has toppings because it’s gluten free and dairy free, a lot of gluten free pizzas put dairy cheese on top which I think is quite bizarre but this one does have a lot of ingredients, just not dairy, soy or gluten.

• Last picture: I know it’s not a pizza but you can make pizza on top of grilled eggplant or use one of the wraps I put above, they will just cook very quickly.

• How to decide: it really depends, again I wouldn’t make this an every day food because it does contain the trigger foods eggs, corn and some other things as well, but if you WANT pizza, these are options. You always have the choice of making a crust out of cauliflower or something else plant based but I will buy these from time to time for convenience and remember, this isn’t about being perfect, just finding a better choice :)

• BETTER options besides the Simple Mills option are to use things that aren’t actually pizza crusts like Siete wraps and make mini pizzas or use thinly sliced and baked russet potatoes for mini crusts. All of this you learn in Fueled & Focused in my cooking methods lessons!

veggie burgers/burgers

• If you’re buying veggie burgers, you want to avoid SOY, and a LOT of them have that in them

• My favorite and go-to for veggies burgers are No Bull burgers and Hilary’s brand and they are available in most stores

• If you want an animal protein option, you can buy these pre-made patties of Applegate turkey burgers and they are a super quick cook, especially in the air-fryer!

Condiments/salad dressings/marinara

TIPS

• Look for organic whenever possible

• For mustards, look for brands that only contain mustard seeds plus other spices or flavors or foods like apple cider vinegar

  • What you’re avoiding is yellow food dye and added sugars, ingredients you cannot pronounce

• Ketchup, look for sugar free, or no sugar on the label, this one pictured is sort of the blue ribbon of ketchup lol - it’s made with carrots, tomatoes, squash and spinach, definitely grab it if you see it but at least get a no sugar added option without red food dye

• Pickles: organic and then again avoid yellow food dyes

• Salad Dressings, I don’t buy many of these, but Primal Kitchen is my go-to brand, it’s simple, clean and tastes amazing. Note that if you buy a ‘healthy’ salad dressing that’s a form of ranch or a cream based variety, they MAY contain eggs so check your labels if you want to avoid those 100%, I personally don’t really care if there’s a little egg in that because I don’t buy it often or eat it often, but up to you!

• NOTE: Primal Kitchen also makes sauces now, like an Alfreddo sauce (dairy free), a healthy teriyaki sauce and bbq sauce so you can literally have anything you like in a clean way

• Marinara: any brand, look for organic, no sugar added, and it should be made mostly of TOMATOES and then herbs and spices, and that’s it!

• Coconut aminos is my GO TO most used condiment, it works so well on veggies and salads and doesn’t need anything mixed with it unless you want to! The best replacement for soy sauce and it tastes way better

• Condiments not pictured that I use: capers, olives, roasted red peppers (find organic, packed in WATER not oil and avoid citric acid)

french fries

It’s definitely not hard to make your own fries in the oven or in the air-fryer but Alexia fries are my mom short cut. Like seriously they are so good and cook super fast. And if you have a kid who thinks your fries aren’t the ‘same’ ha! This will do the trick! They have waffle fries and other varieties too! A favorite of ours for busy nights!

We have the Williams Sonoma french fry cutter and it is seriously amazing! My husband was all about getting it and once it came I realized why, it cuts potatoes so quickly and my boys just eat potatoes better in french fry form. I love making them at home much more than store bought and definitely than restaurants because of the oil factor. Even the Alexia fries have oil on them so this way we can control that, or omit it completely. Many nights I’ll just put them into the air fryer oil free and they turn out great. OR I’ll roast them in the oven at 400 F with a very light mist of avocado oil.

I usually buy Yukon Gold potatoes or Russet for french fries. Last picture shows curly fries I made with my veggie spiralizer and then put them in the air fryer for a few minutes!

pancakes/cake

• If I have to make a cake, I’m going to buy a Simple Mills box! I just don’t bake as much as I cook, these are super easy and good and you can easily swap a chia egg for a regular egg if you want to!

• Birch Benders are super good and fast pancakes you literally only add WATER! yay hurry up! NOTE: don’t get the KETO they suck. They are not fluffy at all or taste like the paleo ones.

• Dalton loves it when we make our own pancakes, I have a few recipes that use oats, you can check out more of my plant based recipes if you are feeling the call to cook a little more with whole foods in my Food Rebel EATS cookbook! Check it out here!