110 Part I: Eating Right with Every Bite
Ground beef substitutes:
✓ Extra-lean ground beef
✓ Lean ground turkey or chicken
Sausage substitutes:
✓ Lean ground turkey sausage
✓ 95 percent fat-free sausage
✓ Soy-based sausage products
Mayonnaise and salad dressing substitutes:
✓ Low-fat mayonnaise
✓ Low-fat or fat-free dressings
Butter substitutes:
✓ Low-fat margarine
✓ Spray margarine
Checking out other ways to save calories
Another way to reduce your calorie intake is by using less of the ingredient.
Many times a recipe calls for sautéing something in 2 tablespoons of oil.
Usually you can cut this amount in half. Reducing the amount of cheese in a
recipe is an easy change. You can also put in less pasta and/or rice so the dish
is easier for you to tolerate as well as lower-calorie. Another easy place to cut
back is in a recipe that includes nuts. Nuts are typically included just for flavor,
not to dominate the food. Don’t decrease the amount of vegetables, though!
You can leave many ingredients out entirely. Sometimes an ingredient is added
for appearance sake or as a garnish. You don’t have to top a taco with sour cream
and guacamole. If the ingredient isn’t critical to the recipe, just don’t put it in.
You can change some ingredients. If a cooking recipe (not for a baked item)
calls for sugar, use sugar substitute. In addition, herbs and spices can add a
lot of flavor without calories. They’re interchangeable and can be substituted
to suit your tastes.
You can change the cooking method. We give you lots of good information at
the beginning of this chapter to help you pick the right cooking method for
the food, so find a healthier option for the dish you want to make.
