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TIPS: Healthy Cooking Substitutions

Source of Recipe

Professional chef Heather Jansz


Recipe Introduction

Tips for making recipes a little healthier.

List of Ingredients

Reduce the amount of sugar in a recipe, and add vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg to enhance the flavor. For example, try using 2/3 cup of sugar instead of one cup in a recipe. Another great sweetener is rose essence or rose water, which can be found at co-ops or health-food stores.

Get a little more nutritional value out of your sweetener by substituting a 1/8 cup of molasses, which is an excellent source of iron for the sugar.

For the cholesterol-conscious, substitute an egg in a recipe with 2-1/4 teaspoons nonfat milk powder and two teaspoons safflower oil. Combine the ingredients in a blender and whirl. The mixture can be frozen or will keep in the refrigerator for approximately a week. The recipe may be multiplied and can be used in recipes that call for regular whole eggs.

If you are trying to lower your fat intake but still want to enjoy muffins, replace some or all of the fat in the recipe with unsweetened applesauce or mashed bananas. Use an equal or slightly greater portion than called for in the recipe, or try using yogurt or buttermilk.

Nonstick cooking spray is great for replacing fat, but if you’re trying to stay away from chemicals, use a paper towel saturated in olive oil to grease baking pans.

Try using fat-free sour cream or evaporated skim milk for heavy cream in pasta sauces and casseroles.

If you like the taste of cream-based soups, but you don't like the fat, try using potatoes that are cooked until soft, then puréed with skim milk as the base.

Create healthy dressings and sandwich spreads using nonfat yogurt. Olive oil and fruit juice makes a fabulous vinaigrette. Add some yogurt and it’s a creamy dressing.

To cut down on sodium intake, try substituting a mixture of one tablespoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, white pepper and lemon pepper to add flavor to recipes. Another alternative is to try fresh herbs like tarragon, rosemary, thyme, sage, chives, oregano and others. To avoid bitterness from overcooking, add them only in the last minutes of cooking.

Replace ground beef with ground turkey meat or even tuna to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.



Recipe