National Nutrition Month is celebrated each March and to honor this event I want to share some hints to aid in improving the quality of a recipe ingredient. Do you ever want to change a recipe to try to lessen the fat content but are unsure of what to do? If so, the American Heart Association has provided this handy chart to aid in decreasing the amount of fats in your food without sacrificing taste.
| When recipe calls for- | Use this instead– |
| Whole milk (1 cup) | 1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk, plus one tablespoon of liquid vegetable oil |
| Heavy cream (1 cup) | 1 cup evaporated skim milk or 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt and 1/2 cup plain low-fat unsalted cottage cheese |
| Sour cream | Low-fat unsalted cottage cheese plus low-fat or fat-free yogurt; or just use fat-free sour cream |
| Cream cheese | 4 tablespoons soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) blended with 1 cup dry, unsalted low-fat cottage cheese; add a small amount of fat-free milk if needed |
| Butter (1 tablespoon) | 1 tablespoon soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) or 3/4 tablespoon liquid vegetable oil |
| Egg (1) | 2 egg whites; or choose a commercially made, cholesterol-free egg substitute (1/4 cup) |
| Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce) | 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or soft margarine; since carob is sweeter than cocoa, reduce the sugar in the recipe by 25% |
I can personally attest to this and have used almost every substitution listed. Be adventurous and give it a try, after all it is National Nutrition Month! Remember, a healthy low fat diet has many benefits including reducing your risk for many diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer. Eating nutritious meals and maintaining a healthy weight will benefit your health for years to come!
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