Think about some of your favorite recipes. Do they include heavy cream by the cup full? Butter by the stick? Those meals may be tasty, but they don’t favor your heart. Fortunately, you don’t have to throw out your recipe books — or sacrifice flavor — to make your meals more heart-healthy.

All it takes is a little translating. When the casserole recipe calls for heavy cream, you read “evaporated skim milk.” In your mind, two cups of all-purpose flour can transform into one cup of all-purpose flour plus one cup of whole-wheat flour. You’ll be well on your way to a low-fat, high-fiber, heart-friendly diet with just a few simple substitutions.

Tweaking recipes
Here are some easy and satisfying ways to tweak your recipes. These tips have been collected from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the American Cancer Society, the Ohio State University Extension Service, and the Purdue University School of Consumer and Family Sciences.

• Instead of one large egg, try two large egg whites. If baking, replace half of the eggs with egg whites. Desserts and bread baked with egg whites only tend to be tough. You can also use egg substitutes in recipes. Generally, one-fourth cup of egg substitute is equal to one whole egg. If a recipe calls for two or more eggs, you can use one whole egg and use either egg whites or egg substitutes for the others.
• Go easy on the oil. If a recipe calls for a cup of oil, use 3/4 or 2/3 of a cup instead. If making sweet bread such as banana bread, cut the oil in half and replace it with pureed plums or prunes, mashed banana, applesauce, or canned pumpkin. However, it’s best not to skimp on oil when making yeast bread or pie crusts. (Eliminating the oil completely makes for a pretty “gummy” product.)
• When baking, use one cup of plain low-fat yogurt instead of one cup of sour cream. You’ll hardly notice the difference and end up with 350 fewer calories, 44 fewer grams of total fat, and nearly 28 fewer grams of saturated fat.
• Think skim. Skim or 1 percent milk makes a perfect stand-in for whole milk.
• Cut down on heavy cream. If making soup or a casserole, use evaporated skim milk instead. If baking, use light cream.
• Instead of evaporated whole milk, try evaporated skim milk.
• Switch to healthier fats. That means cutting out lard, butter, palm oil, coconut oil, and shortenings made with these oils. Instead, use healthy oils such as olive, canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, sesame, peanut, and cottonseed.
• Low-fat cream cheese is a good alternative to regular cream cheese. Remember that nonfat cream cheese will get very runny in cake frosting and dips.
• If you add nuts to a recipe, reduce the quantity and make sure to toast them. This helps bring out the flavor with fewer calories.
• When cooking with all-purpose flour, use half of the usual amount. Then complete the recipe with whole-wheat flour, an excellent source of fiber. (If the flavor seems a little strong, you can cut back on the whole-wheat flour.)
• If you’re on a low-sodium diet, you can reduce (or eliminate) the salt in many recipes without killing the flavor. Try adding herbs and spices instead of salt.

Source: HealthDay: www.healthday.com

Phone: 888-881-5462 Website: www.supportlinc.com
Username: ccsjuneau
If you would like more information on how our EAP works, please reach out to Anneka at 463-6152.

Patricia O’Brien, Needs Assessment Surveyor in Angoon 8/22/22
Teresa DeWitt, Needs Assessment Surveyor in Ketchikan 8/31/22

Marianne Mills, 33 years
Roger Williams, 10 years
Carlos Jackson, 3 years
Pamela Joy, 2 years
Tammy Reed, 1 year