Get a better balance on your menu by making simple swaps with the ingredients and/or products you provide.
Drink swaps
Consider what drink swaps you can make to provide healthier options.
| Swap this | To this |
| Full fat milk drinks | Reduced fat milk drinks |
| Regular soft drinks | Drinks with intense artificial or natural sweetener or ‘diet’ drinks, with no added sugar |
| Regular sports drinks | Sugar free or zero sugar sports drinks, with intense artificial or natural sweetener |
| Fruit juices, cordials or fruit-flavoured drinks with added sugar | 100% fruit juice (250ml or less) with no added sugar Kombucha, with <1g sugar per 100g |
| Flavoured mineral waters and iced teas with added sugar | Plain, still or sparkling water, including tap water Flavoured waters with no added sugar |
Cooking swaps
Consider what small ingredient swaps you can make to provide healthier options.
| Swap this | To this |
| Full fat cream and sour cream | Reduced-fat evaporated milk, yoghurt or sour cream |
| Processed meats (regular fat and regular salt ham, full or middle bacon rasher) | Salt reduced and leaner cuts of processed meats (reduced salt ham, short cut bacon) or lean meats (shredded chicken, turkey, roast beef) |
| Salt | Herbs, spices, lemon juice, onion, garlic, shallots, mustard, vinegar, ginger, chilli |
| Butter, palm oil, coconut oil, ghee, lard, copha, shortening | Poly- or monounsaturated spreads or oils (olive, canola, sunflower), or a thin layer of avocado, low-fat mayonnaise or hummus |
| Full fat oily/creamy dressings and mayonnaise | Small amount of canola, olive, or sunflower oil mixed with balsamic; other vinegars or lemon/ lime juice and herbs, clear ‘oil-free’ salad dressings, or reduced fat mayonnaise |
| White bread or wraps | Wholemeal, multigrain or high-fibre white bread, rolls, pita, wraps, English muffins |
| Deep fried battered meat products (i.e. fish, chicken) | Crumbed or plain meat products oven-baked, grilled, steamed or barbecued |
Health and Wellbeing Queensland acknowledges the work of Queensland Health in developing content included in this resource.