HEALTHY HOLIDAY
SUBSTITUTIONS
You don't have to feel guilty about splurging on your favorite dishes and
goodies this holiday season. You can enjoy all those special holiday
recipes - prepared healthier with these simple substitutions:
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Applesauce or Plums: Substitute canned applesauce or plums in your holiday
cookie, cake and pie recipes as a healthier alternative to butter and oils.
Pumpkin: Canned pumpkin makes more than just great pies. Instead of using
heavy cream or butter in your mashed potatoes, mix in a can of pumpkin
filling and a few dashes of your favorite herb.
Broths: Instead of sautéing your meats and vegetables in oil, try steaming
them in a 1/2 cup of canned vegetable, chicken or beef broth. Not only a
healthier alternative, but tastier too! Canned chicken broth also can be used
in place of butter to moisten the mashed potatoes on your holiday dinner
table.
Cranberry Sauce: Go easy on the gravy and opt for canned cranberry sauce on
your turkey for a nutritious and fat-free option.
Vegetables: Replace some of the bread in your holiday stuffing with canned
chestnuts - a nutritious and different alternative. And to lighten your stuffing
and add valuable nutrients, use lots of canned, chopped vegetables.
Cocoa: When holiday baking recipes call for chocolate, you can substitute
three tablespoons of cocoa for every one ounce of chocolate.
Milk: Substitute 1/2 cup of canned evaporated milk plus 1/2 cup of water
when recipes call for one cup of sweet milk. Substitute skim or 1% milk for
whole milk to make your holiday baking a little bit healthier.
Heavy Cream: Combine equal parts of half-and-half and fat-free evaporated
milk as a healthier alternative.
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Yogurt: To top off your holiday pies, try using frozen or low-fat yogurt
instead of whipped cream or ice cream. Also, when your holiday hors
d'oeuvre recipes call for sour cream, use plain yogurt instead to create
holiday snacks that are delicious and healthy.
Wheat flour: Substitute whole-wheat flour for 1/2 the flour in your holiday
cookie, cake and pie recipes as a way to boost fiber. Each 1/2 cup serving
of whole-wheat flour adds 7grams of fiber.
Cut the sugar: In most recipes you can eliminate approximately 1/4 cup of
sugar without noticing and/or substitute Splenda sugar blend, Splenda
brown sugar when baking to decrease calories, sugar and carbohydrate in
your favorite recipes. For each ¼ cup of sugar you cut out you save
192calories.
Eggs: Replace 1/2 the eggs in your recipes with egg whites and/or egg
substitutes. One whole egg = 2 egg whites = 1/4 cup egg substitute. For
each large egg you replace, you save 45calories, 5gram of fat, 1.6grams
saturated fat and 213mg cholesterol
Flaxseed. Substitute one tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with three
tablespoons water for one egg in recipes to add valuable nutrients while
cutting cholesterol and fat. Three tablespoons ground flaxseed can be
substituted for 1 tablespoon oil in most recipes.
Cut Down on High Calorie Extras. Recipe add-ins and embellishments can
sometimes be left out or cut in half. If a recipe calls for chocolate chips, you
can reduce the amount. If a recipe calls for dotting your pie with butter, you
can safely skip that step. In a cake recipe, you can often get by with half the
original amount of frosting. In some cakes, bars, cookies you can eliminate
frosting and substitute a light sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Non-stick pans/cooking spray. Use non-stick baking pans and non-stick
cooking spray when greasing cooking pans as a healthier alternative to butter
and oils.