Healthier Food Substitutes

Are you trying to make your favorite recipes healthier for you and your family?

Try these lower-fat substitutions!

Original Food	Try Using…
bacon	Canadian bacon, lean ham, or turkey bacon
bologna	low-fat sliced turkey, ham, or chicken
butter (on a bagel or toast)	low-fat/non-fat cream cheese, jam
butter, oil, lard (in baking)	unsweetened applesauce (or other fruit puree if baking), margarine, or decrease the amount of oil
buttermilk (1 cup)	1 Tbsp vinegar plus enough milk to make one cup, plain yogurt
candy bar (snack)	granola bar
cheese (hard, full-fat cheeses)	ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, reduced-fat cheeses e.g. part-skim mozzarella
chocolate (1 oz. for baking)	3 tbsp cocoa powder plus 1 tbsp butter
cooking/frying oil	nonstick cooking spray
cream cheese	lowfat ricotta cheese plus yogurt
cream or half-and-half	low-fat or fat-free milk
creamy salad dressing (e.g. ranch)	low-fat/non-fat vinaigrette or Italian dressing, oil & vinegar, lemon juice
evaporated milk	evaporated skim milk
ground beef	lean ground beef, ground chicken or turkey, tofu
honey (1 cup)	1 1/4 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup water
ice-cream	low or non-fat ice-cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, frozen juice product
mayonnaise	low or non-fat mayonnaise, yogurt, sour cream, or mustard
meats	replace a portion with kidney beans (e.g. in stews)
nuts (for baking or snacking)	dried fruits or granola
potato chips, tortilla chips, cheetos	pretzels or unbuttered popcorn
sausage	lean ground turkey, turkey or chicken sausage
sour cream	low or non-fat sour cream, plain low-fat yogurt, 1/2 cup cottage cheese blended with 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
sugar (white, granular)	Splenda or other sugar replacement
whipped cream	non-dairy whipped topping (cool-whip)
white bread	whole-wheat bread, low-fat bread
whole egg	2 egg whites, 1 egg white plus 2 tsp. oil
whole milk	skim, 1% or 2% milk