Yogurt vs. Mayo

Substitute half plain yogurt for mayonnaise in dishes like tuna, chicken or egg salad.

Alternatives to Cooking with Butter

Butter can be eliminated from some recipes. When browning onions, hamburger, etc., you can spray your skillet with non-stick spray or use chicken or beef broth instead of butter. When baking, you can use reduced-calorie margarine instead of butter, but the texture will not always come out right. You've got to experiment a little. Non-fat margarines currently on the market do not bake well at all. Just remember...with baked goods, it's not always the calorie content per cookie or piece of cake, it's how many you eat! Remembering that has helped me maintain my weight better than any reduced calorie diet.

Evaporated Skim Milk

Evaporated skim milk is very low in fat, yet rich in taste and texture. Use it in place of whole milk or cream in cooking.

Olive Oil Uses

Use olive oil to fry scrambled eggs, omelets or fried eggs. Use instead of margarine or butter for healthier eggs!

Tips to cut the fat from your cooking

Need more healthy eating tips? Cut back on the amount of Cheddar cheese a recipe calls for, and add a bit of lower-fat Parmesan cheese for flavor. Remove the skin from chicken, it reduces the fat substantially. When possible, substitute beans for red meat in a recipe. Prepare mashed potatoes with low-fat chicken broth instead of cream and butter. Choose Canadian Bacon instead of regular strip bacon.

Low-Fat ground beef

When you cook ground beef or ground sausage, after you have cooked the meat, place it in a colander, and rinse under warm water. It doesn't effect the taste, and removes the excess fat.

Lower Fat Cereal

Healthy eating tips: Another way to keep pounds off is to use skim milk and omit the sugar in your cereal. Its hard at first not but if you read the ingredients on the box, most cereals are made with sugar, and we don't need the extra pounds.

Low Fat Sauteing

Instead of using fats and oils to saute, use defatted or low sodium chicken broth.

Grease vs. Parchment Paper

Instead of greasing or oiling pans for baking, use parchment paper. Your food won't stick and there's no mess and unwanted fat or calories.

Vegetable Dips

Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream for vegetable dips. Great taste, less calories and fat.

Low Fat Stir Frys

Stir frying in chicken stock rather than oil. This also adds more flavor.

Spaghetti Squash

Looking for healthy eating tips? Spaghetti squash is great for any diet that you're on. It's also really easy to make. Cut it in half horizontally, scoop out the seeds, put saran wrap over it, then place it face down in a microwave safe dish with a little water. Microwave it for about 15 minutes. Use a fork to scrape out the "noodles." Substitute it for any noodle recipe!

Saute in Wine

Save calories and fat by sautéing in wine instead of butter or oil.

Saute in Stock

Sauté in a small amount of stock instead of butter or oil to save fat and calories.

Better Peanut Butter

More healthy eating tips: Peanut butter is high in fat. To reduce the fat and still retain the peanutty taste, mix a little peanut butter with carrots. 1/2 C peanut butter to 1 cup carrots, sliced and cooked. Raisins can be added as an option.

A Tangy Way to Cut Fat

To lower the fat in your favorite full-fat mayonnaise, combine it with an equal amount of fat-free plain yogurt for a reduced-fat “mayo” that adds tang to tuna, potato, and chicken salad, not to mention coleslaw.

Grapes

Twenty grapes equals about 100 calories.

Yogurt vs. Sour Cream

Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream for your dips.

Thickening Soup

Use pureed cooked vegetables to thicken sauces and soups rather than the more traditional high fat alternatives.

Recipes with Milk

A quick change to a recipe to make it lower in fat is to use skim milk instead of whole milk.

Low Fat Baking

Healthy eating tips: Place a rack in the bottom of your pan so the meat or poultry doesn't sit in its own fat drippings. For basting, use fat-free liquids like wine, lemon juice, or soy sauce.

Removing Fat

Remove fat from soups and stews by wrapping ice cubes in cheesecloth or paper towel and skim over the top of the pot. Fat will also cling to lettuce leaves.

Butter

About 1 tablespoon of butter equals 100 calories.

Low Fat Steak

To have the lowest amount of fat in your steak, choose the meat carefully and trim all visible fat.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature. These have been shown to increase blood cholesterol levels. They are primarily found in animal products such as butter, milk, cream, and lard. Some plant foods, such as palm oil, coconut oil, vegetable shortening, and some peanut butters have large amounts of these fats

Blue Cheese

While it is a high fat food, blue cheese has such a concentrated flavor that you use just a tiny amount to add a lot of flavor to otherwise bland dishes.

Vegetable Oil Substitute

Substituting half applesauce for vegetable oil in baking reduces the fat content.

Egg White Substitution

2 egg whites can be substituted for 1 whole egg in most recipes to make recipe lower in fat.

Herbs for Low Fat

Herbs can add alot of flavor to lowfat foods. Use them both in your cooking and instead of the salt shaker at the table.

Oranges

There is about 100 calories in a large orange.

Vegetables Add Flavor Not Fat

Roasting meat and especially vegetables, brings out wonderful flavor without adding fat or calories.

Lower Fat in Canned Tuna

To remove oils or salty liquids, drain tuna, then add water to the can, drain again to rinse. This also works for salmon and sardines.

Casserole Toppings

Top casseroles with whole-wheat bread crumbs or wheat germ instead of buttered crumbs.

Lettuce

It takes about 2 large heads to equal 100 calories. It everything else that you put in your salads that add the calories.

Apples

Healthy eating tips: There are about 100 calories in a large apple.

Polyunsaturated Fats

Healthy eating tips: Polyunsaturated fats tend to lower blood cholesterol levels. They are usually liquid at room temperature. Fats such as sunflower oil, corn oil, and soft margarines have large amounts of polyunsaturated fats.

Celery

About 4 cups of celery equals 100 calories.

Pears

About two medium fresh pears equal 100 calories.

Cutting Cholesterol

Cut down on cholesterol by using more vegetables and less poultry or meats in soups, stews and casseroles.

Prunes Replace Fat

Pureed prunes can also serve to replace much of the fat in baking.

Healthy French Fries

Healthy eating tips: Oven fry your frozen french fries in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to one large flat pan or cookie sheet (with sides.) Coat the fries with the oil. (Placing them in a large zipper bag with the oil will work great!) Spread out on the pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, then put fries on bottom rack. After bottom of fries are brown, broil until the tops are brown.

Strawberries

About 1 1/3 cups of strawberries equals 100 calories.

Cottage Cheese

There is about 100 calories in 5 tablespoons of regular cottage cheese.

Raisins

1/4 cup equals about 100 calories.

Healthy Meatloaf

Add finely chopped vegetables, (mushrooms are my favorite,) to your favorite meatloaf recipe. For an even healthier meatloaf, substitute lean ground turkey for part or all of the ground beef, and you'll have a wonderful, low fat, juicy meatloaf.

Low Fat Meatloaf

For a lower-fat meatloaf, use very lean meat and substitute nonfat frozen egg product for eggs (1/4 cup = 1 egg).

Green Beans

2 1/2 cups of green beans equals about 100 calories

Cantaloupe

1 medium cantaloupe equals about 100 calories.

Skim Fat Off

It's easy to get almost all the fat out of stocks or soups by simply chilling them until the fat solidifys. Then simply skim it off the top.

Cutting Fat Out of Cheesy Recipes

Healthy eating tips: For recipes that call for cheddar cheese, there are low-fat and non-fat varieties available. The low-fat varieties work well in recipes. However, the non-fat cheeses usually do not melt very well and aren't great for cooking.

Alternative to Bacon

Healthy eating tips: If you've never tried turkey bacon, you're missing out! Regular bacon is made entirely of fat, with no nutritional value whatsoever. Turkey bacon is not a pork product, it is made from turkey meat. Turkey bacon contains little fat (it is usually about 97 percent fat free). It still doesn't have a lot of nutritional value, but it is relatively low in fat and will give you a little protein. It tastes considerably different from regular bacon, but it is very good!

Low Fat Substitute

You can substitute applesauce for half the amount of vegetable oil called for in a baking recipe.

Macaroni

There is about 100 calories in 3/4 cup of cooked macaroni.

Frozen Smoothy

Use frozen fruit rather than ice cubes when making smoothies. This allows for a thicker texture without watering down the final product.

Fresh/Frozen Peas

Healthy eating tips: It takes about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of fresh peas to make a frozen pint.

Low Fat Mashed Potatoes

Use chicken stock instead of butter or milk when whipping up mashed potatoes.

Low Fat Soup

Healthy eating tips: To remove as much fat as possible from soup, I drop in some ice cubes. The fat clings to the ice, then just spoon the cubes out before they're melted. Or if you have time, refrigerate your soup, then skim off fat on top.

Mayonnaise

There is about 100 calories in a tablespoon of regular mayonnaise.

Bulgar (Cracked Wheat)

Bulgur or cracked wheat is available in most supermarkets or health food stores. It has a nutty flavor and is an excellent substitute for rice.

Corn

Approximately 1/3 cup of corn equals 100 calories

Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats have been shown to decrease cholesterol levels. They can be liquid or solid at room temperature, and can be from plant or animal sources. Olive, peanut, and canola oils are high in this fat.