5 ways to make your recipes healthier
: Recipe makeovers
November 14, 2004
You love your grandmother's bread pudding. But her
recipe calls for 4 cups of whole milk, 1 stick of butter
and 4 eggs — ingredients that raise the calorie
count and fat content of this dessert. The solution?
Redo the recipe by switching or reducing certain ingredients.
Most recipes can tolerate a healthy renovation without
it affecting the taste or texture of the food. So whether
you're trying to stick to a healthy eating plan or following
a special diet, use these techniques to make your recipes
— including your time-honored family favorites
— healthier.
1. Reduce the amount of fat, sugar and sodium
With most recipes, you can reduce the amount of fat,
sugar and sodium without losing the flavor. By cutting
fat and sugar, you also cut calories. How much can you
leave out without affecting the flavor and consistency
of the food? Apply the following general guidelines:
Fat. Use half of the butter, shortening or oil and
replace the other half with unsweetened applesauce,
mashed banana or prune puree.
Sugar. Reduce the amount of sugar by one-third to one-half.
When you use less sugar, add spices such as cinnamon,
cloves, allspice and nutmeg or flavorings such as vanilla
extract or almond flavoring to enhance the sweetness
of the food.
Sodium. Reduce salt by one-half in baked goods that
don't require yeast. For foods that require yeast, don't
reduce the amount of salt, which is necessary for leavening.
Without salt, the foods may become dense and flat. For
most main dishes, salads, soups and other foods, however,
you can reduce the salt by one-half or eliminate it
completely.
Other ingredients may contain sugar, fat and sodium,
and you can decrease them as well. For example, if the
recipe calls for 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, use
1/2 cup instead. Or use less soy sauce than is indicated
to decrease the amount of sodium in the food.
2. Make a healthy substitution
Healthy substitutions not only reduce the amount of
fat, calories and sodium in your recipes, but they can
also boost the nutritional content. For example, use
whole-wheat pasta in place of enriched pasta to add
fiber, magnesium, iron and B vitamins (niacin, thiamin
and riboflavin) to your meal. Prepare a dessert with
fat-free milk instead of whole milk to save 63 calories
and almost 8 grams of fat per cup.
3. Delete an ingredient
In some recipes, you can delete an ingredient altogether.
Likely candidates include items you add out of habit
or for appearance, such as frosting, coconut or nuts,
which are high in fat and calories. Other possibilities
include optional condiments, such as pickles, olives,
butter, mayonnaise, syrup, jelly and mustard, which
can have large amounts of sodium, sugar, fat and calories.
4. Change the method of preparation
Healthy cooking techniques — such as braising,
broiling, grilling and steaming — can capture
the flavor and nutrients of your food without adding
excessive amounts of fat, oil or sodium. If your recipe
calls for frying the ingredients in oil or butter, try
baking, broiling or poaching the food instead. If the
directions say to baste the meat or vegetables in oil
or drippings, use wine, fruit juice, vegetable juice
or fat-free vegetable broth instead. Using nonstick
pans or spraying pans with nonstick cooking spray will
further reduce the amount of fat and calories added
to your meals.
5. Change the portion size
No matter how much you reduce, switch or omit ingredients,
some recipes may still be too high in sugar, fat or
salt. In these cases, reduce the amount of that food
you eat. Smaller portions have less fat, calories and
sodium and allow you to eat a wider variety of foods
during a meal. Eating a variety of foods will ensure
that you get all the energy, protein, vitamins, minerals
and fiber you need.
Putting it all together
As you look over your recipe, decide what to change
and how to change it. Make notes of any alterations,
so you can refer to them the next time you prepare the
food. You may have to make the recipe a few times, adjusting
your alterations, before you get the results you want.
But finding the right combination of ingredients —
for the desired taste, consistency and nutrients —
is well worth the trouble.
Just as there are a wide variety of recipes, so are
the ways in which you can make them healthier. So get
creative and start experimenting with the favorites
in your recipe collection.
Source:www.mayoclinic.com
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