Create Healthier Recipes With Healthier Ingredients Substitution List
Creating healthier recipes means taking a look at the ingredients in your recipe. You may be surprised how easy it is to find some healthier substitutions for your recipe that will have little or no effect on the taste!
We have put together a list of common recipe items that you can substitute to add more nutrition to your recipes. You have to experiment with amounts. In many cases, you can substitute the entire amount for a alternative healthier ingredient.
But if you are not sure, try going 1/2 current ingredient and 1/2 the alternative healthier ingredient. Or 1/3 to 2/3s.
But overall, you may be able to add more vitamins, minerals and reduce sugar, sodium, fat and/or cholesterol to your recipes!
Once you find the perfect substitutions, share it with your us on facebook or twitter!
Milk Food Group |
|
| Condensed whole milk or Evaporated milk | Evaporated skim milk |
| Cream for soups | Mashed potato flakes, pureed starchy vegetables or silken tofu |
| Creamed soups | Fat-free milk-based soups |
| Eggnog | Sparkling cider or reduced fat eggnog |
| Full-fat cream cheese | Fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, low-fat cottage cheese pureed until smooth |
| Ice cream | Low fat whipped cream or frozen low fat yogurt |
| Sour cream | Low fat yogurt or reduced fat sour cream |
| Whole milk | Reduced-fat or fat-free milk, soy milk, or rice milk |
Protein Food Group |
|
| Bacon | Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, or lean prosciutto |
| Eggs | Two egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute for each whole egg |
| Ground beef | Extra-lean or lean ground beef, chicken or turkey breast |
| Meat | Add vegetables and mix in with meat |
| Meat | Tofu or soy based |
| Chicken, Poutry, Turkey dark meat | Chicken, Poutry, Turkey white meat |
| Chicken, Poutry, Turkey with skin | Chicken, Poutry, Turkey without skin |
Grains Food Group |
|
| All-purpose flour | Whole-wheat flour (you may only need 1/2 as much) |
| Dry bread crumbs | Rolled oats, whole wheat bread crumbs or crushed bran cereal |
| Enriched pasta | Whole-wheat or brown rice pasta |
| Pie crust | Graham cracker crust |
| Traditional stuffing | Add chopped vegetables to stuffing |
| White bread | 100% Whole-wheat, whole grain or sprouted bread |
| White rice | Brown rice, wild rice, bulgur, couscous or pearl barley |
Vegetables Food Group |
|
| Creamed vegetables | Steamed vegetables |
| Iceberg lettuce |
Arugula, chicory, collard greens, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach or watercress
|
| Mashed potatoes | Mashed sweet potatoes |
Fruits Food Group |
|
| Fruit canned in heavy syrup | Fruit canned in its own juices or in water, or fresh fruit |
| Pie and ice cream | Fresh fruit with sorbet |
| Pecan or fruit pies | Baked fruit based desserts with no added sugar |
| Pumpkin or pecan pie | Low fat angel food cake served with fresh fruit |
Sweetners and Seasonings |
|
| Chocolate chips | Dried fruit |
| Seasoning salt | Herb seasonings or minced garlic, celery or onions |
| Syrup | Pureed fruit, such as applesauce, Low-calorie, sugar-free syrup |
| Soy sauce | Low-sodium soy sauce |
|
High sodium packaged
or canned foods
|
Low-sodium or reduced-sodium versions |
| Sugar for desserts | Natural sweeteners such as fruit, honey, stevia or Agava |
Oils |
|
|
Butter, margarine, shortening or
oil to prevent sticking
|
Cooking spray or nonstick pans |
| Butter, shortening or oil | Margarine or 1/2 the amount of fruit puree when baking |
| Margarine in baked goods |
Trans fat-free butter spreads or shortenings that are
specially formulated for baking
|
| Mayonnaise | Reduced-calorie, reduced-fat mayonnaise |
| Oil-based marinades | Wine, balsamic vinegar, fruit juice or fat-free broth |
| Salad dressing |
Fat-free or reduced-calorie dressing, herbed season olive oil or
flavored vinegars
|
|
Turkey drippings for gravy
|
Low fat turkey broth for gravy or skim all the fat off the
drippings
|
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