Healthy Cooking Substitutions

The average holiday meal has over 2500 calories in it! If one pound of fat equals 3500 calories, packing on the LBS becomes very easy during this time of year.

Here are some healthy cooking substitutions that you can use to eliminate extra calories, and still enjoy delicious, healthy food with friends and family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• 1 whole egg = 2 egg whites
• Butter = canola oil or olive oil or unsaturated margarine, such as Smart Balance®
• 1 cup shortening = 2/3 cup canola or Enova® oil
• ½ cup vegetable oil = ¼ cup applesauce + ¼ cup canola oil or grapeseed oil
• Sweetened condensed milk = nonfat sweetened condensed milk
• Whole milk = skim milk or soy milk (for baking, try vanilla soy milk)
• Light or heavy cream = evaporated skim milk
• Sour cream or mayonnaise = plain yogurt or puréed nonfat cottage cheese
• 1 oz baking chocolate = 2 TB cocoa powder + 1 TB Enova® oil
• 1 cup buttermilk = 1 cup nonfat buttermilk or heat 1 cup skim milk to room temperature and add 1 TB lemon juice; let stand for five minutes
• White flour = whole wheat flour
• Dry bread crumbs = whole wheat bread crumbs or crushed bran flakes
Substitutions for Processed Sugars
• Substitute Stevia for sugar in coffee, tea or oatmeal; this natural, calorie-free sweetener is 10 times sweeter than real sugar, though, so use sparingly
• Substitute equal parts Sucanat, Xylitol or turbinado (raw sugar) for processed sugar
• Heat syrup and thin it out with a spoonful or two of water
• Almond, vanilla and orange extracts add both extra sweetness and flavor; also add cinnamon, clove, allspice and cardamom
• 1 cup chocolate chips = ½ cup chocolate chips + ½ cup chopped dried fruit and nuts
• Instead of creamy frosting, dust with powdered sugar and add sliced fresh fruit