Serves: 5

Shaping up Your Favorite Recipes

Changing favorite recipes to fit your plan for healthy eating often boils down to a few simple steps, such as those listed below. By following these suggestions, you can cut fat, cholesterol and sodium and add significantly to the fiber, vitamin and mineral content of foods.

Don’t try to make too many changes in your recipes at once. Pick one or two ingredients to focus on first, then make gradual changes until you achieve your desired results. Baked items, such as breads and cakes, are not as easy to change, so you may have to experiment before you have successful results.

> Cut by one-fourth the amount of fat or oil called for in a recipe. If that yields good results, cut the fat by one-third the next time you prepare that recipe. Keep reducing the fat until you find the minimum that will still produce an appealing dish.

> Choose low-fat or nonfat versions of dairy products. Most dairy items offer reduced-fat options.

> Try substituting applesauce for half or all of the fat in muffins, cookies and other baked goods.

> Sauté chopped vegetables in a small amount of water, chicken broth, apple juice, flavored vinegar or wine instead of butter, margarine or oil.

> Use reduced-fat mayonnaise and salad dressings as alternatives to regular products.

> Use egg whites, homemade egg substitute or purchased cholesterol-free egg product instead of whole eggs.

> Add new and unusual greens and other vegetables or cooked beans to salads. These simple additions add fiber and increase vitamins and minerals.

> Limit portions of cooked meat to 2 to 3 ounces per serving by boosting the amounts of vegetables, pasta and beans in chili, soups, stews, stir-fries and casseroles.

> Substitute whole wheat flour for up to one-half of all-purpose flour in recipes. Foods will be slightly heavier, darker and heartier.

> Decrease or eliminate salt from recipes except for yeast breads, which need salt to prevent excessive rising. Reduce added salt in recipes calling for ingredients that already contain salt, such as chicken broth, tomato sauce or soy sauce. Or choose low- or reduced-sodium versions of those ingredients.

> Do not add salt to the cooking water of rice, pasta or vegetables.

> Use a nonstick cooking spray.

> Baste meats with their own juices, broth or vegetable juices instead of oil, margarine or butter, then make a low-fat sauce or gravy by skimming the fat from the pan juices and reducing the juices by boiling in a skillet. You’ll get delicious concentrated flavor.

> Choose herbs and spices, mustard, lemon juice or flavored vinegars instead of butter or oils to "spike" foods that need a splash of flavor.

From "Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking." Text Copyright 1998 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More Recipes from the Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking Cookbook:
1. Nutrition Through the Life Cycle
2. Meal Planning
3. Shaping up your Favorite Recipes
4. Stocking Up
5. Healthy Eating Out of the House and on the Road
6. A Guide to the Food Pyramid
7. Learning the Nutrition Facts
8. Energize with Exercise
9. The Framework--A Healthy Attitude