Recipe Modification
Use this guide to reduce the amount of fat, salt, sugar or calories in your diet, which may lower your risk for diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Baking Ingredients
| Original Ingredient | Substitution |
| Baking chocolate, unsweetened | 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder plus 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or soft margarine Tip: Since carob is sweeter than cocoa, reduce the sugar in the recipe by 25% when using this substitute |
| Butter, margarine, shortening, oils in baked goods | Reduce amount of fat in recipe by 1/3 When appropriate use an canola oil for solid fat (3/4 cup canola oil = 1 cup of solid fat) Applesauce or prune puree for the amount of butter, shortening, or oil Butter spreads or shortenings specially formulated for baking, trans-fat free (Country Crock® Baking Sticks, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter® All Purpose Sticks, or Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening Baking Sticks) Tip: To avoid soggy or flat baked goods, don’t use diet, whipped or tub margarine for regular margarine |
| Chocolate chips | Reduce the amount by ½ and use mini chocolate chips to help spread the chips throughout the recipe |
| Egg | Replace 2 egg whites for 1 egg ¼ cup of egg substitute for 1 egg 1 Tablespoon flax meal or chia seed + 3 Tablespoons hot water (Stir to combine and let stand for about 10 minutes or until thick) |
| Flour for baking | Whole wheat flour for half of the called for flour White whole wheat flour (read package for directions) |
| Sugar | Reduce amount by 1/4 or 1/3 for baked items Use a sugar substitute such as Truvía® Baking Blend or SPLENDA® sugar blend (follow directions on package for the amount to use) |
| Tip: For best results, do not make more than 2 changes to recipes for baked good | |
Dairy Ingredients
| Ingredient | Substitution |
| Buttermilk | Low fat buttermilk Powdered buttermilk Add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of low fat milk.Stir to combine and then let stand for 10-15 minutes until mixture begins to curdle |
| Cheese, sliced or shredded | Reduced fat, fat free, or light Use a stronger flavored cheese, like sharp cheddar, but use ½ the amount Use dairy-free cheese like Daiya®, Go Veggie!® or SoDelicious® |
| Cream | Fat free half and half Evaporated skim milk |
| Cream Cheese | Fat free or low fat/Neufchâtel cream cheese Greek cream cheese (made with Greek yogurt) |
| Cream, whipped | Fat free or low fat whipped topping |
| Ice cream or Frozen yogurt | Fat free or low fat Sugar free or no sugar added Sherbet Specialty ice creams such as Halo Top®, Chilly Cow®, Moophoria by Ben and Jerry’s® |
| Milk Milk, evaporated Milk, sweetened condensed | Nonfat (skim) or 1% milk Fat free, evaporated Fat free or low fat, sweetened condensed |
| Sour Cream | Fat free or low fat Plain regular or Greek yogurt, fat free or low fat Blended cottage cheese, fat free or low fat |
Fat Ingredients
| Ingredient | Substitution |
| Bacon | Lower sodium bacon Turkey bacon Vegetarian bacon (MorningStar Farms® Veggie Bacon Strips) Canadian bacon Smoked turkey Lean prosciutto (Italian ham) |
| Butter, margarine, shortening, oils in cooking | Canola or olive oil Cooking spray or water |
| Mayonnaise | Fat free, low fat, reduced fat, or light |
| Salad dressing | Balsamic vinegar or flavored vinegars Low fat vinaigrettes Low fat or fat free |
Meat Ingredients
| Ingredient | Substitution |
| Beef and pork | Lean cuts (flank, round, loin) Trim visible fat Reduce portion size |
| Chicken and turkey | Remove skin before cooking White meat more than dark Ground turkey or chicken breast at least 90% lean, extra lean or white meat Soy Chik’n Nuggets® Lightly breaded chicken breast (Perdue® Simply Smart®) |
| Ground beef | At least 90% lean beef Brown, drain, rinse before adding to recipe Ground turkey or chicken breast at least 90% lean, extra lean or white meat |
| Tip: Replace some meat in soups or casseroles with beans or lentils | |
Miscellaneous Ingredients
| Ingredient | Substitution |
| Fruit, canned in heavy syrup | Canned fruit in light syrup or natural juice Rinse fruit with water Fresh or frozen unsweetened fruit |
| Gelatin or pudding mixes | Sugar free gelatin Sugar free and fat free pudding Make pudding with nonfat (skim) milk |
| Soups or broth | Lower fat and no salt added soups and broth |
| Syrup | Lower calorie, sugar-free syrup Pureed unsweetened fruit |
| Vegetables, canned | No salt added canned vegetables Rinse canned vegetables Fresh or frozen |
Seasoning Ingredients
| Ingredient | Substitution |
| MSG “Accent®” | Eliminate |
| Salt | Eliminate except for yeast breads Reduce the amount Herbs, spices, or salt-free seasoning mixes or herb blends |
| Seasoned salts (garlic, onion, celery) | Fresh ingredients Powdered seasonings |
| Soy sauce | Less sodium soy sauce |
| Tip: Flavor foods with juices, vinegars, citrus zest or strongly flavored vegetables, such as onion or garlic | |
Cooking Methods
| Ingredient | Substitution |
| Sautéing | Use a nonstick skillet. Less or no oil is required to prevent sticking Use a nonstick cooking spray instead of butter, margarine, oil or shortening Sauté foods in a small amount of wine, broth or juice instead of using fat or oil |
| Deep Frying | Bake, broil, grill, roast or stew instead |
| Pan Frying | Remove fat from cooked ground meat by draining in a colander or using paper towel to soak up grease |
| Baking | Place meat on a rack while cooking so grease will drain off |
Watch this video to learn more!
References
American Heart Association. Web. 12 Feb. 2019. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/cooking-skills/cooking/smart-substitutions-to-eat-healthy
“Cooking Tips for Weight Management.” Nutrition Care Manual. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Web. 12 Feb. 2019. http://www.nutritioncaremanual.org/vault/2440/web/files/CookingTipsWeightMgmt.pdf
“Your Guide to Healthy Ingredient Substitutions.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 26 July 2016, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/healthy-recipes/art-20047195
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