As the weather cools, many cooks reach for comfort food, dishes that are often higher in fat, carbohydrate or sugar. In a column for Farm and Dairy, Holly Bandy suggests a handful of substitutions that keep the familiar flavours while making the dishes lighter and more nutritious. Cooler weather can make the body crave more calories, she writes, even when it does not need them.
Plain Greek yogurt can stand in for butter, milk, sour cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, buttermilk and heavy cream, cutting fat while adding protein and calcium; she uses it for a lighter buffalo chicken dip. Applesauce can replace butter or oil in most baked goods, usually one for one. It works best in quick breads, brownies and dense cakes, and is not recommended for cookies.
Cauliflower can be turned into pizza crusts, breadsticks, a rice substitute or a mash. Replacing higher-fat meats such as sausage with lean protein such as turkey reduces the fat in a meal, which helps most in recipes heavy with cream, cheese and butter.
Extra vegetables can take the place of some or all of the meat in pizza, chili or macaroni and cheese. Vegetables bring fibre and are naturally low in saturated fat and calories, so they lower the overall fat, salt and calorie content of the dish; she adds zucchini to her chili, which adds nutrients without changing the taste.
Beans and legumes are another swap: they are good sources of protein and fibre. Chickpea pizza crust, chickpea or other legume-based pasta and even black bean brownies are among her suggestions, and the fibre can help a meal feel more filling.
For cooks wary of new ingredients, the column's simplest advice is to watch portion sizes, for instance by serving casseroles on a smaller salad plate.
Photo: A Healthier Michigan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: Farm and Dairy
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