Cut Calories and Fat, Not Flavor

Most of your favorite recipes can be easily changed to increase the vegetables, fruits, and fiber, and lower the sugar, saturated fat, and calories. See a complete recipe makeover online for Hearty Meat Spaghetti Sauce.

Ask yourself: "Can I reduce or replace oil? Can I use low-fat milk instead of cream?" Try the strategies below to limit fat, then read on for healthful foods that can substitute for rich ingredients and snacks.

Fats like oil, butter, or margarines can usually be cut by one-third to one-half in recipes. Try a small cut-back at first, then increasingly cut back little by little.
To replace some moisture and flavor loss when fat is reduced, make up the difference with broth, non-fat milk, fruit juice, and extra herbs, spices and vegetables.
For a moist baked product when fat is reduced, add dried fruits or applesauce.
Substitute reduced-fat dairy products like milk and cheese for those higher in saturated fats and calories.
Use only small amounts of fatty foods like avocados, coconuts, cheese and nuts.

Fool Your Taste Buds With Healthy Substitutions

Instead of . . .	Try this . . .	And save this much fat!
Whole milk	1% (low-fat)	5 grams per cup
2% milk	Skim milk (nonfat)	5 grams per cup
Cheddar cheese	Reduced-fat cheddar cheese	8 grams per ounce
Ice cream	Ice milk or frozen yogurt	4.5 grams per 1/2 cup
Sour cream	Non-fat sour cream	2 grams per tablespoon
Potato chips	Baked potato chips	10 grams per ounce
Buttered popcorn	Light popcorn	7 grams per serving
Ice cream bar	Frozen fudge pop	12 grams per bar
Pepperoni pizza	Vegetable pizza	7 grams per slice

Revised: 9/28/06