Modify Recipes for a Heart-Healthy Diet
Topic Overview
You don't have to abandon all your favorite recipes to eat
healthier. Several small modifications in your current recipes can often
greatly lower the fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and/or calories in your diet
for a heart-healthy makeover.
These small changes in your current recipes can make a big difference
in your intake of fat and calories without significantly affecting the taste or
enjoyment of your favorite meals. Some suggestions for making heart-healthy
substitutions in your recipes are given below.
Recipe modificationsInstead of: | Choose: |
|---|
| 1 cup shortening or lard | ¾ cup canola or olive oil |
| 1 cup oil (baking) | ¼ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce |
| 1 cup whole milk | 1 cup nonfat milk |
| 1 cup heavy cream | 1 cup evaporated skim milk |
| 1 cup sour cream | 1 cup low-fat or nonfat yogurt or sour cream |
| 1 cup cheddar cheese | 1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese |
| 8 oz cream cheese | 8 oz light cream cheese |
| 4 oz skim ricotta and 4 oz tofu blended |
| 1 can cream of chicken soup | 1 can low-fat cream soup |
| 1 lb ground beef | 1 lb ground turkey or 1 lb diet lean ground beef
(93% fat-free) |
| 6 oz tuna in oil | 6 oz tuna in water |
| 2 eggs | 4 egg whites or an equal amount of egg
substitute |
| 1 cup chocolate chips | ½ cup chocolate chips |
To eat less fat, salt, and cholesterol, use the following tips while
you cook.
Heart-healthy cooking tipsInstead of: | Try: |
|---|
| Frying your food | Baking, broiling, steaming, poaching, or
grilling your food |
| Eating convenience foods (canned soups,
TV dinners, frozen pizza) | Eating fresh fish, meats, fruits, and
vegetables. Or look for low-salt convenience foods and make a balanced meal by
adding a fruit, a vegetable, and low-fat or nonfat milk. |
| Using butter or other fats high in
saturated fat | Using products low in saturated fat,
such as olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, or chicken broth |
| Using salt, soy sauce, or barbecue
sauce | Using herbs, spices, or lemon |
| Eating all of the meat product | Eating a 2 to 3 oz serving of meat
(which is about the size of a deck of cards). Trim fat from meat, and remove
skin from chicken. |
| Eating egg yolks | Eating egg whites or egg
substitutes |
Additional tips for reducing fat in recipes
- Reduce the amount of fat in the recipe by half
(this can often be done without having a major effect on the final
product).
- Use nonstick pans and nonstick cooking sprays to cut down
on the amount of fat used in cooking.
- When stir-frying, use a small
amount of oil. If foods begin to stick, use water, wine, broth, or tomato juice
to add moisture rather than adding more oil or other fat.
- When
making pies, omit the high-fat pastry crusts or choose a reduced-fat version,
such as a graham cracker crust.
- Experiment with herbs, spices, or
even lemon to add flavor to low-fat foods.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
|---|
| Primary Medical Reviewer | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine |
|---|
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Rhonda O'Brien, MS, RD, CDE - Certified Diabetes Educator |
|---|
| Last Revised | May 1, 2010 |
|---|
Last Revised:
May 1, 2010
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