Trimming the Holidays with Lighter Recipes

Instead of whole eggs, try two egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute for each whole egg in a recipe.

Use evaporated skim milk instead of evaporated milk.

Use fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, or low-fat cottage cheese (pureed until smooth) instead of cream cheese.

In baked goods, use ¾ cup of a healthy oil (canola, corn, olive, sunflower or any non-tropical oil) instead of one cup of butter, margarine or shortening. Or, replace half of the butter or shortening with applesauce or prune puree.

In baked goods, use half the amount of sugar in the recipe. Use canned fruit in its own juices or water.

Substitute the same amount of fat-free plain yogurt, or fat-free/low-fat sour cream for full fat sour cream.

Replace mayonnaise with an equal amount of plain yogurt or plain Greek yogurt.

Replace salt with an equal amount of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or other spices.

Use cooking spray or nonstick pans instead of butter, margarine, shortening or oil to prevent sticking.

Use ½ cup of wheat flour for each cup of white flour in the recipe.