NUTRITION

Centr Team

Your ultimate guide to Centr meal swapping

For a breakfast-on-the-go, try the Spicy Breakfast Burrito – you can sub in some scrambled egg instead of tempeh. If it’s the prep-ahead part of smoothies you love, make our Spiced Chia Pudding with Raspberries & Pistachio the night before.

2. Prioritize your protein preferences

Protein is essential for muscle growth and maintenance, exercise recovery and all-around wellness, but the kind of protein you’re getting matters. If you just opt for protein powder and chicken breast, you’ll be missing out on other important nutrients.

“People used to fitness diets of repetitive lean proteins might avoid the fattier or more nutrient-dense options, like iron-rich red meat or fatty fish with omega-3s,” Lisa says. “Focusing on meat for protein also means you can miss out on high-fiber black beans or the calcium in soy or dairy products.”

When swapping out a protein, look at the rest of the week’s plan to make sure you’re not doubling up with what you swap in.

3. Be carb conscious, not carb averse

If you’re used to traditional weight-loss crash diets, you may be tempted to swap out your meals for those that are lower in carbs, but you could be doing more harm than good.

“Centr meal plans are already on the lower side for carbs, and the carbs are mostly nutrient-dense and balanced with proteins and healthy fats,” Lisa says. “If you eat too few carbs, you’re at risk of low energy levels and poor recovery when you work out. This can slow your metabolism and also prevent you from performing at your best.”

4. Go grains for gains

As part of a whole foods diet, Centr meal plans have a range of grains and grain-based carbs beyond rice and pasta. However, if there’s a kind of grain you don’t have available or can’t eat – for example, if you are gluten intolerant – you might think you have to swap the whole recipe out. But according to Lisa, most carbs can be substituted with similar quantities of other healthy carbs without damaging your diet.

“Any small variations in carb and calorie content make no difference for one meal, with such a mixed menu over the week,” Lisa says.

Eyeing a Beef Udon Stir-fry, but only have egg noodles? Go for it. Considering quinoa for your Butternut Squash & Chickpea Red Curry? That’s fine. Just keep the quantities similar and make sure you’re getting varied grains throughout the week.

5. Keep your veggies colorful

Broccoli is great, but if you’re trying to fit it into every dinner at the expense of other vegetables, you risk missing out on certain nutrients – not to mention making your menu repetitive.

“A good goal might be trying to get 6-8 different vegetables over a week,” Lisa says. “If you get different colors and different veg you’ll be pretty on track to achieve a range of nutrients.”

We’ve clued you in on a few easy veg swaps already, but in general Lisa advises using color as a guide.

“This means ‘like for like’ swaps. For example, the sweet potato in your Sweet Potato, Kale & Tofu Scramble could easily be pumpkin or squash. Try to get a few different colors of veg into each meal,” Lisa says.