HOW TO TURN A REGULAR RECIPE INTO A LOW FAT RECIPE

RECIPE FORUM Recipe Exchange
1

HOW TO TURN A REGULAR RECIPE INTO A LOW-FAT RECIPE

  1. Flag all high-fat ingredients in the original recipe.

  2. Make a list of low-fat products that can be substituted for
    all of the flagged ingredients.

  3. Replace whole eggs with egg substitute products. One
    egg is equivalent to 1/4 cup of egg substitute.

  4. In sweet baked goods, substitute applesauce or puréed
    fruit for oils, butter or margarine. As a general rule, you can
    use a cup of applesauce or fruit for every cup of oil or butter.

  5. Use skim or 2 percent milk in place of whole milk.

  6. Replace regular sour cream or mayonnaise with fat-free
    or low-fat versions, or use yogurt.

  7. Use ground turkey instead of ground beef, or try extra-lean
    ground beef.

  8. Remove the skin from poultry, either before cooking or
    after cooking, depending on the method (a chicken
    roasted without its skin, for example, would dry out, but
    skinless chicken can be braised to no ill effect).

  9. Use cooking spray to coat pans instead of butter or olive
    oil. Add a little water if foods start to stick.

  10. Learn where added fat is important and where it’s not
    so important. For example, there’s seldom a difference in
    onions sautéed in one tablespoon of oil or onions sautéed
    in two or three tablespoons of oil.

Tips
When replacing fatty ingredients in recipes, start slowly.
Replace a portion of the products at first to determine if the
flavor and consistency remain intact. In baked goods,
especially, a small amount of fat is necessary for texture.
Non-fat muffins, for example, tend to be gummy, but muffins
with a small amount of fat (perhaps two tablespoons), have
a much better texture.

Simply reducing fatty ingredients can have a wonderful
effect, especially when combined with some zesty
seasonings. Instead of two cups of mild Cheddar in a
cheese sauce, for example, try one cup of sharp Cheddar
plus some dry or prepared mustard for kick. Or take out a
third of the cheese in your next lasagna and see what
happens.

Remember that eating too little fat is as unhealthy as eating
too much. On average, you should be getting 20 to
30 percent of your calories from fat.

B-man :wink: