10 Easy Ways to Lighten Up Any Recipe

I use low fat evaporated milk in "cream" soups. It works well. - 2/25/2013 1:06:54 PM

As much as I love all these tips and love spark people I am so confused why in most articles its says 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day. The recomendation is 9-13+ fruits and veggies per day. If you are following choosemyplate.gov it says half your plate should be fruits & vegetables at every meal. So if you only shooting for 5 either your only eating a super small amount per day or your really falling short of of health & wellness. - 1/31/2013 7:13:42 PM

Why does Spark People say to avoid frankenfoods in one article, then recommend we use them in this article? I'm confused again.

About #1 - that's not sauteing, that's poaching in court bouillon, a wonderful cooking technique in it's own right. Many things can be cooked this way, for instance, fish, chicken, eggs, potatoes, dumplings, etc. IMO, it's best to keep clear about what cooking techniques we're using, avoids confusion.

I'm not sure this article passes muster as being informative and educational. - 1/31/2013 6:05:18 PM

Fat free half & half ..????
it's full of corn syrup and other artificial ingredients.
Is all that junk "better" for you ?
There has to be a better solution - 1/31/2013 4:22:09 PM

Love Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb Cheese Spread! It's my go-to cheese for sandwiches and wraps. - 1/31/2013 2:25:15 PM

Sarah, Thank you for sharing your knowledge, tricks, and GOOD SENSE! - 1/31/2013 11:08:17 AM

Fat free half and half? Blech. Better to have the calories than all those chemicals. Better to eat real food, not food made in a science lab. Love all the rest of the suggestions, many I would not have thought of, but the fat free half and half is a bad idea, IMO. - 1/18/2013 1:48:23 PM

This is a great article. I also use low sodium, fat free broth to add flavor to quinoa when I cook it. - 1/18/2013 6:27:18 AM

This was really a great article - we'd already incorporated some of the changes but the saute thing with broth was something I would've never thought of. Thanks for the great ideas!

-Kelly - 1/18/2013 12:30:29 AM

Sometimes fat is not the enemy. I prefer low-fat dairy to full fat, but I refuse to use fat-free cheeses, or fat-free half-and-half. Just read the labels. I think it's better to eat real foods in moderation than somebody's chemical concoction. I also don't use artificial sweeteners for the same reason.

Others have pointed this out already, but I agree - cottage cheese is not a good substitute for other cheeses. 1/2 cup of cottage cheese is around 400 mg sodium, regardless of whether it's full fat or fat-free. Part-skim ricotta has about 1/3 the amount of sodium, and has a better texture. - 1/5/2013 1:27:02 PM

I love veggies, but hubby does not. we both love fattening comfort foods. i am finding CAULIFLOWER and/or fresh MUSHROOMS are an excellent way to add bulk/fiber so you are getting less calories in your portions of the resulting meal.
yesterday, i made a healthier version of chicken and biscuits. after cooking the chicken in fat free low sodium chicken broth with onion and celery, I put the broth in the fridge so the fat would rise to the top. after skimming the fat, i brought the broth back to a boil and added a whole head of cauliflower, chopped up!! i cooked that until i could puree it into the "gravy" with my immersion blender then thickened gravy more with fat free half and half and corn starch. i threw in a can of fat free cream of mushroom soup and more diced fresh mushrooms then added the chicken i had removed from the bones back into gravy. served with Bisquicks heart healthy reduced fat biscuit mix. hubby NEVER knew i put a whole head of cauliflower into the gravy ! it was SO good and not fattening ! - 12/2/2012 4:55:09 PM

I have only spent ten minutes here and have a wealth of great new tools to improve my cooking more healthy. Thanks for all the great information.
- 9/16/2012 5:24:54 PM

It certainly would be nice if I could have saved this article to my favorites. No matter how I tried, I couldn't get that option to appear! - 6/2/2012 6:22:20 PM

It would be nice if I could save this article into my favorites. The option isn't there. - 6/2/2012 5:48:13 PM

while I agree on some of the things said..fat free and reduced fats can have high fructose syrups in them and higher sodium..so you really need to read the labels on these things..some times "regular" is better.. - 6/2/2012 1:26:38 PM