To reduce fat:
• Use evaporated skim milk instead of cream.
• Use 1/4 cup egg substitute or two egg whites in place of a whole egg.
• In quick breads, muffins, brownies or cakes, substitute half or all of the oil, butter or other shortening with unsweetened applesauce, mashed bananas or fruit puree. Note: Making this substitution will increase carbohydrates in the end product — something to be aware of if you have diabetes.
• Use low-fat or nonfat yogurt in place of sour cream.
• Use low-fat cottage cheese pureed until smooth or low-fat cream cheese in place of full-fat cream cheese.
• Try lower-fat or nonfat versions of a variety of foods, especially milk, cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressing and margarine.
• Use an air popper for popcorn.
To increase fiber:
• Replace half the all-purpose flour in baked goods with whole-wheat flour.
• Add oats or finely ground fiber-rich nonsweetened cereal to replace some or all of the bread crumbs in a recipe, or to the crust or batter when making desserts.
• Add beans or barley to soups, stews and casseroles.
• Add sauteed vegetables — cherry tomatoes, onions, spinach or zucchini, for example — to scrambled eggs.
• Don’t peel apples, cucumbers, zucchini or potatoes before eating them or using them in recipes.
• Choose high-fiber alternatives for cereal, bread and pasta — look at the Nutrition Facts labels.
To increase other nutrients:
• Add cooked and mashed cauliflower to mashed potatoes, or add cooked chopped cauliflower to macaroni and cheese.
• Add chopped spinach or zucchini to pasta sauce, soups and casseroles.
• For salads, choose romaine, endive or other dark-green leafy lettuce instead of iceberg lettuce, and include baby spinach leaves.
• Increase calcium by adding nonfat milk or dry milk to a casserole’s cream sauce or to cream soups.
• Increase antioxidants by sprinkling hot sauce on foods. The capsaicin in it shows promise in anti-cancer studies, though it may take quite a bit to have a discernible effect.
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