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Healthy recipes: A guide to ingredient substitutions
Whipping up healthy meals may be easier than you think. Use this guide to make simple ingredient substitutions to reduce salt and saturated fat — and boost fiber — in your favorite recipes.
| If a recipe calls for this: | Try using this: |
| Bread crumbs, dry | Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal |
| Butter, margarine, shortening or oil in baked goods | Applesauce or prune puree for half of the called-for butter, shortening or oil; trans-free spreads or shortenings formulated for baking |
| Butter, margarine or shortening to prevent sticking | Cooking spray |
| Canned meat, fish, vegetables and soups | Low-sodium or reduced-sodium versions |
| Cream | Fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk |
| Cream cheese, full fat | Fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, Neufchatel cheese, or pureed low-fat cottage cheese |
| Eggs | Two egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute for each whole egg |
| Flour, all-purpose (plain) | Whole-wheat flour for half of the flour called for in baked goods |
| Ground beef | Extra-lean or lean ground beef, ground chicken breast or ground turkey breast |
| Mayonnaise | Reduced-calorie, reduced-fat mayonnaise |
| Meat | Vegetables for half of the meat called for in casseroles, soups and stews |
| Milk, evaporated | Evaporated skim milk |
| Milk, whole | Reduced-fat or fat-free milk |
| Pasta, enriched (white) | Whole-wheat pasta |
| Rice, white | Brown rice, wild rice, bulgur wheat or pearl barley |
| Seasoning salt, such as garlic salt, celery salt or onion salt | Herb-only seasonings, such as garlic powder, celery seed or onion flakes, or finely chopped fresh herbs, garlic, celery or onions |
| Sour cream, full fat | Fat-free or low-fat sour cream, or plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt |
