Heart-Healthy Ingredient Substitutions
by Betsy Crisp, M.S., L.D.
Extension Family and Consumers Sciences Agent
| Recipe calls for: |
Use |
| Whole or 2% milk | Skim milk, 1%, or evaporated skimmed milk diluted equally with water |
| Whipping cream | Chilled evaporated skimmed milk, whipped |
| Cheddar, American, Swiss, and Monterey Jack cheese | Cheeses with 5 grams of fat or less per ounce |
| Mozzarella cheese | Part-skim mozzarella cheese |
| Cream cheese | Light cream cheese products or Neufchâtel cheese |
| Creamed cottage cheese | Nonfat or 1% fat cottage cheese, or farmer's cheese |
| Ricotta cheese | Nonfat, lite, or part-skim ricotta cheese |
| Sour cream | Nonfat or low-fat sour cream, or nonfat or low-fat yogurt |
| Whole egg | 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute |
| Baking chocolate, 1-ounce square | 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon monounsaturated or polyunsaturated vegetable oil or margarine |
| Fudge sauce | Chocolate syrup |
| White flour, 1 cup | 1/2 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/2 cup white flour, or 2/3 cup white flour plus 1/3 cup oat bran |
| Sugar | Reduce amount by 1/3 to 1/2; substitute brown sugar or honey when flavor will not be affected |
| Salt | Reduce by 1/2 or eliminate |
| Margarine | Reduce amount, using a margarine made from monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oil, or use reduced-calorie margarine |
| Vegetable oil | Reduce amount, using a monounsaturated or polyunsaturated oil |
| Mayonnaise | Fat-free, reduced-calorie, or low-cholesterol mayonnaise |
| Gravy | Gravy made with bouillon granules or broth and thickened with flour or cornstarch |
| Condensed cream of mushroom soup | 99% fat-free condensed cream of mushroom soup |
| Egg noodles | Noodles made without egg yolks |
| White rice | Brown or wild rice |
| Pecans, walnuts | Reduce by 1/3 or 1/2 |
| Beef, pork, veal, or lamb | Lean cuts of red meat trimmed of all visible fat, or substitute with chicken or turkey |
| Ground beef | Ground turkey or lean ground round |
| Bacon strips | Turkey bacon or Canadian bacon |
| Poultry | Skinned poultry |
| Self-basting turkey | Baste turkey with fat-free chicken broth |
| Tuna packed in oil | Tuna packed in spring water |