LOW FAT COOKING AND HOW TO MODIFY A RECIPE
Diet related diseases like heart disease, obesity, cancer and diabetes greatly affect the quality of life. The need to manage these diseases with proper diet and a growing health-consciousness has brought awareness in people to explore new ways of cooking and eating. There are many sources to draw from including low-fat cookbooks and the latest sources are the numerous web sites that offer low-fat recipes.
It is important to remember that while fats, ‘ghee’ or oils bring richness and taste to the food, they also contain twice the amount of calories from carbohydrate or protein. Besides being a concentrated source of calories they are readily converted and stored as body fat. The kind and amounts of fats and oils used will determine if a recipe is heart-healthy or not. This section of the book will give you tips on making your favorite recipes healthier.
Making your favorite recipes healthier
With a little practice, you can turn any favorite recipe into a healthy dish.
Use a plastic degreaser constructed like a pitcher with a spout that allows the liquid to be poured from the bottom instead of the top.
The following table shows how you can substitute ingredients to make your recipe healthier;
Food Item Substitute with:
Cream Evaporated Skim Milk Whole Milk Skim Milk or 1% Milk
1 cup ghee ¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup ghee 13 cup vegetable oil
Regular cheese low fat cheese or skim milk cheese
Cream cheese light cream cheese
Butter Margarine
Mayonnaise Light mayonnaise or reduce calorie mayonnaise
Salad dressing Reduced calorie, light or fat free salad dressing
Regular gelatin Sugar-free gelatin mix or fruit juice mixed with
unflavored gelatin
1 Whole egg ¼ cup egg substitute 2 egg whites or 1 egg white and
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 Ounce baking chocolate 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Can condensed cream soup Homemade white sauce
(1 cup skim milk + 2tablespoons flour + 2 tablespooons margarine)
Cream of celery soup 1 cup of white sauce + ¼ cup chopped celery
Cream of mushroom soup 1 cup white sauce + 1 cup chopped mushroom
Cream of chicken soup 1 ½ cups white sauce + 1 chicken bouillon cube
Fat in baked recipes use no more than 1-2 tablespoons oil per cup of
flour: increase liquid slightly to add extra moistness
Syrup packed canned fruit Juice-packed canned fruit
2 Tablespoons flour (as thickener) 1 table spoon cornstarch or arrowroot
Sugar in baked recipes Reduce amount by ½ the original amount: use no more that ½ cup added sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses, etc) per cup of flour. Add vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg to increase sweetness.
Baking powder Low-sodium baking powder
Salt in recipes Reduce amount or eliminate; use spices and herbs
Garlic, onion and celery salt Use garlic, onion and celery powder
Fried items Bake if possible or brush items lightly with olive or
canola oil and bake