Make Your Recipes Healthier (2653)

If you want to stay healthy, you may need to update some of your favorite family recipes that could be high in fat, sugar and salt. Don't bother changing that special recipe you serve only once or twice a year, but by all means modify the recipes you serve often.

Whether you are trying to cut down on calories or on fat in your diet, the way to begin is by reducing the amount of fat you use in cooking and is some cases, by changing the type of fat you have been using.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that all of us try to choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat. Saturated fats are found in the largest proportions in fats of animal origin such as whole milk, cream, cheese, butter, lard, beef tallow and in coconut oil and palm kernel oil. The animal fats are also the only fats that contain cholesterol.

With this in mind, look at the total amount of fat in a recipe, and at the type of fat. In recipes for main dishes and casseroles, you can reduce or eliminate fat that might be used to brown meats or sauté onions. Use a cooking spray or non-stick pan. For example, ground beef always contains plenty of fat to keep from sticking while you brown it. Drain all the fat from the ground beef before you add other ingredients. Remove the skin from poultry before you cook it. Chill gravy or soup stock before you add the other ingredients. Then you can skim off the hardened fat.

When choosing fat. Choose mono-unsaturated fats most often. Examples include; olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil.

In casserole recipes use part-skim mozzarella cheese, farmer cheese or other reduced fat cheeses rather than full-fat cheese. Substitute tub-margarines for stick margarine or butter. In recipes calling for several eggs, like quiche, use two egg whites in place of one whole egg. If yellow color is desired use a few drops of yellow food coloring. Use reduced-fat or no fat dairy products.

In baked products, try cutting down the total amount of fat by one-fourth to one-third.

To replace solid fat (saturated fat or hydrogenated fat) in a recipe use 3/4 of a cup oil. to one cup solid fat. To eliminate fat in quick breads replace all or part of the oil with applesauce. Use oil-based pastry recipes instead of those calling for solid shortening as much as possible. You can also try cutting down on sugar in your baked products to further reduce calories. Try a one-fourth reduction at first. Freeze product to eliminate the possibility of mold growth.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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