Healthy Substitutions
Sneak Cancer Protection into Your Meals
Slash Fat, Not Flavor
A little healthy fat in your diet is important to have. Some vitamins, like beta-carotene, need to be eaten with a bit of fat for the body to absorb them. And a little healthy fat helps you to feel full.
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Instead of:
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Try:
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|---|---|
| Butter, corn oil or stick margarine | Olive, canola or a nut oil |
| 1 cup cream | 1 cup evaporated skim milk |
| Cream to thicken soups | Potato or vegetable purée |
| Oil as base for marinade | Citrus juice; flavored vinegar |
| Stick margarine or butter for sauté | Small amount of olive or canola oil; vegetable or chicken broth (as needed); soft (tub) trans-free margarine |
| 2 oz. grated mild cheddar cheese | 1 oz. grated reduced-fat sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese or hard cheese like Parmesan |
| Avocado | Mashed green peas for half of avocado |
| High-fat sauces and dressings |
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Change the Ingredients
In a meal or a recipe, ingredients you use out of habit might be changed to healthier ones.
For example, when you’re trying to limit how much red meat you eat each week to 18 ounces or less for lower cancer risk, you can replace it with beans or soy foods. You will be getting protein and iron, as you would from red meat, plus cancer-fighting phytochemicals, fiber and vitamins like folate. Other examples are:
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Instead of:
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Try:
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|---|---|
| Wine | Broth; apple juice |
| White rice | A whole grain like brown rice; bulgur; kasha; quinoa; whole wheat couscous |
| Bread crumbs | Toasted wheat germ; whole-wheat bread crumbs |
| Meat/poultry for stir-fry | Salmon or other fish; Cubes of extra firm tofu |
| Ground beef | Less meat plus finely chopped vegetables; Crumbled soy products like tofu, tempeh or textured vegetable protein (soy crumbles); Beans |
Bake for Better Health
You might be surprised to know that baked goods will still come out well when you try these substitutions in the recipe and on the finished treats:
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Instead of:
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Try:
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|---|---|
| 1/2 cup butter/margarine | 1/4 cup applesauce (or prune purée) + 1/4 cup butter/margarine/oil |
| 1 egg |
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| Sweetened condensed milk | Lowfat/nonfat sweetened condensed milk |
| 1 can evaporated milk | 1 can evaporated skim milk |
| 1 cup all-purpose flour |
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| Pastry pie crust | Phyllo crust; graham cracker crust |
| 1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate |
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| 1 cup chocolate chips |
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| Fudge sauce | Chocolate syrup |
| Frosting |
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| Regular jam and jelly | All-fruit or low-sugar jam and jelly; Low-sugar fruit “butters” |
| Butter | Nonfat cream cheese |
| Whipped cream | Very cold evaporated skim milk whipped in chilled bowl with dash of powdered sugar |
[[S51:pagetool_navRight]] Published on January 28, 2011
