Recipe Makeovers for the New Year

It’s a new year, the perfect time for a health makeover. First stop: your recipe box! It’s true -- meals that are healthy and delicious really do exist and they don’t have to be much different from what you are already preparing. It’s just all about knowing when to make an ingredient swap, cut down or omit an ingredient, or when to try a healthier cooking method. Here, we’ll break down healthy recipe substitutions so you can tie those apron strings and get cooking.

Make a Swap
Healthy substitutions not only reduce the amount of fat, calories and salt in your recipes, but they can also boost the nutritional content.
· Choose low-fat or fat-free versions of ingredients like milk, yogurt, sour cream, cheese or mayonnaise.
Try Greek yogurt in place of sour cream
· Opt for “light” tub margarine in place of butter.
· Choose light or low-fat condiments like salad dressings, dips and sauces.
· Try using hummus in place of high-fat spreads and condiments.
· Choose lean meats. Prepare dishes using ground turkey or chicken breast in place of ground beef (or choose extra lean ground beef). Try chicken or turkey sausage in place of pork varieties and choose Canadian or turkey bacon over regular bacon.
· Switch from refined white grains to whole grains. Experiment with different types of whole-grain pasta, breads, brown and wild rice, or quinoa.

Limit or Omit Ingredients
In some recipes, you can eliminate an ingredient or scale back the amount you use.
· Eliminate toppings that are used only for presentation like whipped topping, coconut, frosting, chocolate chips or cheese and butter toppings for casseroles
· Omit salt from recipes and add your favorite salt-free seasoning blends, herbs, citrus zest, juice or vinegars.
· Use low-sodium marinades and soy sauce. Cut the amount a recipe calls for in half to reduce the salt content.
· Use ½ the amount of cheese a recipe calls for. (opt for sharp versions for more flavor)
· Use egg whites in place of whole eggs. One whole egg is equal to two egg whites in recipe conversions.

Healthy Cooking Methods
The way you prepare food can also alter its nutrient content.
· Retain nutrients in vegetables by steaming
· Bake, broil, grill, poach, stir fry or roast lean meats instead of frying or sautéing.
· To intensify veggie flavors try roasting them with 1-2 tsp of oil, a pinch of salt and pepper. Try this with broccoli, Brussels sprouts, string beans, cauliflower, zucchini and wedges of cabbage.
· If you need a “crunchy” texture, try oven “frying” or pan frying instead of deep frying and opt for a healthy oil such as canola or olive oil