By Mary D. Brown, MS, RD, LDN of Budding Baby and Nutrition Specialists, LLC
Coming up with alternative/healthier menu items for your holiday meals can be FRUSTRATING! So why not make the usual recipes, but alter them ever so slightly… increasing the fiber content and decreasing fat and calories per serving?!
Question: How can I substitute whole wheat flour for white flour to increase the fiber in a recipe? You can substitute whole wheat flour for half the amount of the white flour called for in the recipe. For example, 1 cup of white all-purpose flour = 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup of white all-purpose flour. By doing this you will increase the fiber content of your recipe by 8 grams.
Question: How can I decrease the calories and fat content of my recipes that call for cream?When it comes to cream you can substitute 3 tablespoons butter+ 7/8 cup reduced fat milk for each cup of cream the recipe calls for. This will save you 195 calories and 26 grams of fat.
Question: And what about whole milk substitutions?
There are a few healthy substitutions for whole milk: 1/2 cup evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup water OR 1 cup water plus 1/3 cup nonfat evaporated dry milk powder OR 1 cup skim milk plus 2 teaspoons melted butter can be substituted for 1 cup whole milk. All of which will decrease the recipe by about 100 calories and 5 grams of fat.
Any other ideas?
YES! Substitute chicken or vegetable broth for butter, oil or milk, for example steam veggies in vegetable broth for added flavor and try mashed potatoes with chicken broth instead of the milk. You will be saving yourself AT LEAST 90 calories/cup!
For mayonnaise, substitute for ½ the amount of mayonnaise called for in the recipe for reduced-fat yogurt. You will save 370 calories and 46 grams of fat for every ¼ cup substituted.
Substitute a graham cracker crust for your normal pie crust, this will save over 50 calories per serving.
For fat in baked goods such as pumpkin bread, banana bread, or brownies, use the same amount of applesauce as a substitute for the oil. This will save around 400 calories per ¼ cup substituted.
It’s the egg yolk that has all the fat and cholesterol, not egg whites, use two egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute for one whole egg, saving 40 calories per egg.
Hope these ideas come in handy during the holiday baking, if not during the rest of the year when trying to stick to those New Years resolutions!
