Healthy Ingredient Substitutions

One habit that leads to healthier eating is making your food at home rather than eating out. Prepackaged, processed, and restaurant foods typically have more fat, sodium, and added sugars than those made at home. When you prepare your own food, you also have more control on the ingredients and preparation methods. One of the ways you can make your food healthier is by making simple ingredient substitutions.

Here are some ideas for ingredient substitutions in the kitchen.

Instead of…	Try this. . .
Bacon	Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, or smoked turkey
Bread crumbs, dry	Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal
Butter	When coating pans, olive oil or cooking spray.
Regular cream cheese	Neufchatel cheese or low-fat cream cheese
Dressing	Low-fat dressing, or a vinaigrette
Eggs	2 egg whites or ¼ cup egg substitute for each whole egg
Flour, all-purpose	Whole-wheat flour for half of the called for all-purpose flour Black beans (in brownies)
Gravy	Skim off the fat before serving
Ground beef	Lean ground beef, or ground turkey; drain off all fats before serving
Heavy cream	Evaporated milk, reduced-fat or skim milk To thicken soup, pureed vegetables or potatoes
Iceberg lettuce	Arugula, romaine, spinach, and/or kale
Icecream	Low-fat frozen yogurt
Mayo	Greek yogurt; mashed avocado (as a spread)
Oil	Unsweetened applesauce (for baking)
Pasta	Whole-grain pasta, zucchini ribbons, or roasted and shredded spaghetti squash
Sour cream	Reduced-fat or fat-free sour cream, Greek yogurt, or reduced-fat cottage cheese
Sugar	Reduce the amount of sugar by up to ½; add more flavor with additional vanilla, cinnamon, or nutmeg
Syrup	Pureed fruit, unsweetened applesauce, or low-calorie, reduced sugar syrup
Table salt	Herbs, spices, or citrus juices (lemon, lime, etc.), vinegar, or salt-free spice mixes
White bread	Whole-grain bread
White rice	Brown rice

(Gluten-Free) Black Bean Brownies
http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/gluten-freeblack-bean-brownies/

1 19 oz. (540 mL) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the black beans, sugar, eggs, melted butter, cocoa, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth, pulsing and scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the beans are completely pureed. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour into an 8″x8″ pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until slightly puffed and set. Cool before cutting into squares.

 

Sources:

"Healthy Recipes: A Guide to Ingredient Substitutions." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Nov. 2010. Web. 12 July 2013. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00585>.

"Healthy Substitutions Food Chart." The Heart Institute. The Heart Institute, n.d. Web. 12 July 2013. <http://www.mealspartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/SubstitutionChart-62926-1.pdf>.

Kramer, Mike. "Smart Substitutions Calorie Chart." SparkPeople. SparkPeople, n.d. Web. 12 July 2013. <http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=162>.

Morin, Kate. "83 Healthy Recipe Substitutions." Greatist. Greatist, 21 June 2012. Web. 12 July 2013. <http://greatist.com/health/83-healthy-recipe-substitutions>.