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Recipe makeovers: 5 ways to create healthy recipes

3. Eliminate or cut back on some ingredients

In some recipes, you can eliminate an ingredient altogether or scale back the amount you use.

  • Toppings. Eliminate items you generally add out of habit or for appearance, such as frosting, coconut or whipped cream toppings, which are all high in fat and calories.
  • Condiments. Cut condiments, such as pickles, olives, butter, mayonnaise, syrup, jelly and mustard, which can have large amounts of salt, sugar, fat and calories. Use fresh condiments such as cucumbers vs pickles, cherry tomatoes vs olives, non-fat or reduced fat spreads vs butter or mayonnaise. Instead of syrup or jelly, try fresh berries that are mashed, or thin slices of fresh apples, peaches or pears. Use low-sodium soy sauce in a smaller amount than a recipe calls for to decrease the amount of salt.
  • Cheese. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, use 1/2 cup instead.

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