Sensational Substitutions for Cooking and Baking

Make Your Favorite Foods Diet-Friendly

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

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New Year’s Resolutions…always made and often broken.

Is your motivation waning? Are you already feeling deprived because your favorite recipes are off limits? Making meals count is important. Meals should be satisfying, good tasting, pleasing to the eye, nutritious, and have a texture that is pleasing to your palate. Otherwise, you WILL feel deprived. The good news? It is easy to modify some of your favorite recipes by using the sensational substitutions listed below. You don’t have to eat a sparse and boring "diet meal" any longer.

Cooking Substitutions

Instead of…	Try…
1 Cup Cream	1 Cup Evaporated Milk
Cream to thicken Soups	Pureed Potatoes or Vegetables
Oil-based Marinades	Citrus Juice or Flavored Vinegar
Stick Margarine	Small amounts of Olive oil, Canola oil, or Broth
2 ounces of Mild Cheddar Cheese	1 ounce Reduced-fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese
White Rice	Brown rice, Bulgur, Kasha, Quinoa, Whole Wheat Couscous
Meat or Poultry for Stir Fry	Tofu (Extra Firm, Cubed) or more Vegetables
Ground Meat	Ground Turkey Breast; Finely Chopped Vegetables with Less Meat; Crumbled Tofu, Tempeh, or Soy Crumbles; Beans

Baking Substitutions

Instead of…	Try…
1/2 Cup Oil, Butter or Margarine	1/4 Cup Applesauce + 1/4 Cup Canola Oil, Butter, or Margarine
1 Egg	2 Egg Whites
Sweetened Condensed Milk	Nonfat Sweetened Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk	Evaporated Skim Milk
1 Cup Chocolate Chips	1/2 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips, Chopped Dried Fruit, or Chopped Nuts
Frosting	Sliced Fresh Fruit with a dusting of Powdered Sugar
Sour Cream	Nonfat Sour Cream, Low fat Sour Cream, Pureed Low Fat Cottage Cheese
Whole Milk	Skim Milk
Cream Cheese	Low Fat Cream Cheese
Sugar	Artificial sweetener for some or all (follow manufacturer’s directions); 1/4 to 1/2 Less Sugar in the recipe

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About The Author

Becky Hand
Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. Through her company, An Ounce of Prevention, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy to apply and fun. See all of Becky's articles.

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Member Comments

NELLJONES

For baking results to be worthwhile the fat-liquid-starch proportions have to be exact. If you remove fat in one place you have to add it or the equivalent. Read the ingredients on "lowfat" prepared food. Manufacturers have access to substitutes that home bakers just don't have. Those chemical names may sound scary but they are there for a reason. - 12/21/2012 7:08:32 AM
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GEORGIE1957

Instead of using eggs, oil and water with cake mixes from the box. I used a 16 oz can of pumpkin with the cake mix and it turned out great and it was healthier for me. It was less calories, and its a fruit as well. I did it with Red Velvet Cake mix and Chocolate Cake mix. For the frosting I used Whipped Cream. Just a thought. - 11/9/2012 9:54:27 AM
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MRS_CIESIOLKA

If you want to save this to your favorites just click on the save button on the right hand side of the screen. :o) - 10/28/2012 9:19:38 AM
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GREATGRANNY55

Great info. Just what I need! - 5/1/2012 6:23:15 PM
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SPARKLINGME176

I want to save this! Amazing! - 4/10/2012 11:42:22 PM
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HEATHERR81

i also wish this could be added to the favorites list. i will need to reference back to it many times thru the year I am sure. - 4/10/2012 10:16:46 PM
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DINAISPO

Where is the save to favorites button? - 4/10/2012 9:50:04 PM
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TENNVEG

I use coconut oil in my recipes because it's a healthy fat, much better than canola oil. - 4/10/2012 3:20:40 PM
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FITALLEY

I also love using pureed white beans (Great Northern, etc.) to replace half the fat in baking. I have used them in Snickerdoodles, side-by-side with regular Snickerdoodles, and my kids couldn't tell the difference. It also boosts the protein and fiber of baked goods. - 4/10/2012 12:49:09 PM
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CHLEKI

I'm not on a fat free/reduced fat diet either but I go low fat when I can to reduce the calories. (I get adequate amounts of fat with the coconut oil and olive oil I use.) I agree about the Greek Yogurt. I can't eat/cook with sour cream because of lactose intolerance. Greek yogurt is 99% lactose free and and works great as a sour cream substitute. Also as previously mentioned, ground flax seed is a great substitute for oil. - 4/10/2012 12:37:24 PM
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FITTINGIN130

Where's the add to favorites button?? - 4/10/2012 12:30:21 PM
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OKIE_NANA

I expected something to help with peanut butter cookies. They are my weakness. Maybe applesauce in place of extra fat and bits of apple with raisins (or is that part oatmeal cookies. - 4/10/2012 12:29:00 PM
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CASERET

One obvious miss in this article is to substitute Fat Free Greek Yogurt for all or part of the Sour Cream called for in a recipe. When I use low fat sour cream, the end product has much less flavor, and often seems watery - with Fat free Greek yogurt you hae all of the flavor AND thickness. And no, I'm not advocating making everything completely fat free, but when I make something that calls for a LOT of Sour cream (like Beef Stroganoff) I like to replace 1/2 to all of the sour cream with Fat Free Greek Yogurt. - 4/10/2012 12:23:11 PM
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MRSG1095

0 fat Greek Yogurt is my new go-to food. I mixed it with salsa this morning for a creamy salad dressing. - 4/10/2012 12:00:36 PM
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JOYFULMN

Thanks for the great list. I will reiterate what others have said - I don't see this list calling for NO fats. Note that one part even says HALF applesauce and HALF suggested fat thus lowering the fat content but not eliminating it.

I was interested in searching for the comment on flax seed someone mentioned. If anyone else is curious I found this from LILMISS808 "another great tip is instead of using whole eggs use 2tbs flax meal plus 3tbs of water, for oil substitutions I use fresh apple sauce " - 4/10/2012 10:37:19 AM
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