Healthy Substitutes

Bacon: Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, smoked turkey or lean prosciutto (Italian ham)

Dry bread crumbs: Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal

Sour Cream: Plain low-fat yogurt or 1/2 cup cottage cheese blended with 1-1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Mayonnaise:Plain low-fat yogurt combined with low-fat cottage cheese

On a sandwich or Bagel:

Instead of: One tablespoon mayonnaise (100 calories)
Instead of: 2-teaspoons butter (72 calories)

Try: One tablespoonlow-fat mayonnaise (50 calories)
Try: One tablespoon mustard (15 calories)
Try: Two teaspoons cream cheese (33 calories)
Try: Two teaspoons nonfat cream cheese (25 calories)
Try: Two teaspoonsall-fruit jam (35 calories)

8 ounces of cream cheese for 8 ounces of yogurt cheese

1 cup heavy cream (in recipes, not for whipping): 2 teaspoons cornstarch or 1 tablespoon flour whisked into 1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup sour cream: 1 cup lowfat cottage cheese + 2 tablespoons skim milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup fat for sautéing: 4 cups low fat stock/broth, fruit juice or wine and sauté until liquid evaporates (or I would try a little olive oil with stock/broth, fruit juice or white/red wine vinegar)

For a starting base for salad dressings and meat marinades, use lemon juice mixed with vinegar.

For sauces, casseroles, and desserts that call for cream, use evaporated skim milk instead.

When baking breads, cakes, scones, muffins, or cookies, substitute applesauce for a portion of the called-for oil. Substitute Oil: Straight across ½ cup oil for ½ cup apple sauce + a little oil (about 1 T.)

Can't imagine going a day without chocolate, you can substitute three tablespoons of cocoa powder for every ounce of unsweetened chocolate called for in your favorite cookie, brownie, or fudge recipe.

Skim milk is 1/2 the calories of whole.

Buttermilk or yogurt used in place of sour cream is 1/5 the calories.

Evaporated milk (skim) is 1/5 the calories of heavy cream.

3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa - 40 calories as opposed to 1 square of chocolate at 145 calories.

Using broth and adding herbs has less fat and calories then a bullion cube