Comments on: How to Turn a Regular Recipe Into a Low-Fat Recipe

on 5/27/2008 great article and great comments!

on 2/23/2006 I use butter flavored popcorn salt on a variety of things, like baked potatoes, all kinds of veggies and in even in baking. Of course, you have to be careful not to use too much, because it is mostly salt. But it adds a hint of butter flavor, plus it's inexpensive.

I also use Enova oil quite a lot, which the body metabolizes differently from normal oils but is still made from soy and canola. I mix Enova with equal parts of soft butter (yes, real butter) with a hand mixer until smooth, and put the mixture in a plastic tub with a lid, then use it as a butter spread. It tastes like the butter, not like the Enova.

on 12/12/2005 The envelop directions are to add 1/4 cup vinegar, 3 tablespoons water and 1/2 cup oil. I increase the water and vinegar by 1 tablespoon each and decrease the oil to 6 tablespoons. This takes 200 calories out of the recipe. I have been using olive oil in most recipes for years and seldom use butter or margarine.

on 11/22/2005 Fat-free is not equal to calorie-free. We can choose leaner meat, cut out the visible fat (such as fat on the meat), remove oil floating on the soup, and limit the amount of deep fried foods. Use low-fat or fat-free margarine, non-fat yogurt, nonfat (skim) milk and egg white or an egg substitute for baking, plant or vegetable oil instead of animal fat (lard), and exclude palm and coconut oil (they are high in saturated fat). Intake more mono saturated and polyunsaturated fat, they can help in bring down the bad cholesterol (LDL). The good sources are fish, tree nuts, chicken breast without skin, olive (oil), sunflower seed, and canola oil. Just remember, fat intake daily cannot exceed 30% and cholesterol intake daily cannot exceed 300 mg in order to reduce risk of heart disease.

on 11/22/2005 We use salsa mixed with no-fat ranch dressing to make a great salad dressing or a dressing to put on sandwiches. This mixture (or salsa alone) is also great on baked potatoes.

on 11/22/2005 Like most folks, I can't stand the fat-free stuff, and the low-fat isn't much better. What I do is mix equal portions of regular (sour cream, for example) and nonfat. Slightly reduced flavor and half the fat or calories. Works for sweeteners, syrups also.

on 11/22/2005 For tuna, potato or macaroni salad, replace mayo with 1 cup of lowfat yogurt and 2 tablespoons of mayo, and flavor with raspberry vinegar.

on 11/22/2005 Skip the butter on fresh bread and enjoy the taste of fresh bread! Make this a rule and follow it!

on 11/22/2005 Instead of topping your baked potato with butter and sour cream, top it with creamed corn. It tastes great and you don't have to eat your potato dry.

on 11/22/2005 Try to find foods that are low-fat, low-calorie that you actually like and then build meals around that - like canned tomatoes or 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup, noodles, fat-free cheese, fat-free ricotta, etc.

on 11/22/2005 I see I'm not the only one who rinses browned ground beef with a colander. I wanted to add that doing this for chili makes a big difference. No "sea" of fat floating on top. I get rave reviews from everyone, even those not watching their fat intake!

on 11/22/2005 I've found a line of salad dressings that, believe it or not, contain ZERO calories and taste GREAT !!! They're from Walden Farms (www.waldenfarms.com), and there are so many flavors to choose from. WHAT A FIND !!!

on 11/22/2005 I have a recipe for zucchini bread that calls for 1 cup of oil. I wanted to replace the oil with something healthier, but applesauce just didn't seem like the replacement I wanted. I used plain non-fat yogart and the bread was delicious!

on 11/22/2005 When using less fat in receipes such as cakes, cookies, and other baked desserts; I replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the enriched bleached flour with whole wheat flour. It gives good substance to the dish, and makes it more filling.

on 11/22/2005 Try Veggie Slices soy cheese. It has twice the calcium as regular cheese, and melts well in cooking. I recommend the Pepper Jack variety.