The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

via DIANA CHISTRUGA

If you’ve promised yourself to get healthier and develop better eating habits in the new year every year, then you’re not alone. Finally, this year, we’re going to cut down on sugar, try some air fryer recipes and do some smart swaps. Eating healthily and losing weight in a city full of chips, dips, candy, and chocolate is tricky. Fortunately, there is a way to eat healthier and still get those delicious flavours we all crave by finding healthy substitutes for our favourite snacks.

Deep Fried French Fries vs Airfryer Fries and Vegetables

Nothing beats the crunch of deep-fried fries; we aren’t fooling anyone. But if you try blanching your home-cut fries and adding a bit of salt before air frying them or any cut-up veggies – you will get at least 85 percent of that satisfying crunch we all love. Yes, it is not the same, but it comes close and is much healthier. 

Highly-Processed Chocolates vs High-Quality Dark Chocolate

Funny enough, most chocolate candy bars usually barely contain any actual chocolate. Instead, they are a highly-processed form of chocolate made mainly of sugar, milk, and other ingredients. High-quality dark chocolates with high cocoa percentages give you that rich chocolate flavour without the downsides of chocolate candy. Yes, they can be a bit more bitter than your regular candy bars, but at least it’s healthy cocoa chocolate. 

Puffed Corn Snacks vs Air-popped Popcorn

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Most cheesy puffs are junk food made from highly-processed ingredients like corn and synthetic additives. They’ll only give you refined carbs, sodium, and added flavours – nothing near a healthy whole food like corn on the cob. Swapping those corn snacks with air-popped popcorn can satisfy your cravings for crunch and flavour. You can try Kukuruza, a gourmet air-popped popcorn brand that can be found in most major malls across the capital. 

Processed Jelly Candy vs Homemade Fruit-Peel Candy 

Gummy bears, fruit roll-ups, and hard fruit-flavoured candy‚ are all sweet indulgences that sneak their way into our snacking habits. But they are really just sugar formed into various colours, shapes, and flavours. Homemade fruit peel snacks can be a bit of work but worth it. You can also waste less and make those snacks from actual fruit peels like oranges and grapefruits. They are not 100% healthy because the process includes adding some sugar, but at least they are not 100% processed with no actual fruit content like store-bought ones.   

Store-bought Cookies vs Homemade Cookies

Cookies are a classic pleasure that can often find their way into snack and coffee time. But cookies are a dessert food high in sugar, calories, and carbs, probably causing massive weight gain. Instead of store-bought options, you can make your own healthy cookies and biscuits by swapping common ingredients with a few healthy ones like oats, nuts, almond flour, and hazelnut flour. Experiment with different recipes, as Abu Auf and Healthy Mills are both local brands with various healthy flour options.