Recipe Makeovers Reduce Fat, Calories

Monday, August 02, 2004

ROCHESTER, Minn. — You want to make healthier food choices and lose weight, but it's hard to give up your favorite (sometimes high-calorie) foods. You may be able to switch some ingredients in your recipes and keep the taste while cutting calories and fat.

The August issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource offers these recipe makeover tips:

Use low-fat or fat-free yogurt, milk or cheese instead of the full-fat versions. * In baking, replace all or part of the butter or oil with applesauce or prune puree. * Use cooking spray for frying. * Use cooking spray instead of oil or butter to grease pans for baking. * Sauté vegetables in low-fat or fat-free broth rather than oil. If you prefer oil, use half the amount the recipe calls for. * Grill or broil meats and poultry so that much of the fat drops off. * Use lean cuts of meat and cut away all the visible fat before cooking. * Reduce the sugar in a recipe by one-third or even one-half. * Flavor foods with cinnamon, nutmeg and other "sweet" spices. * Substitute unsweetened applesauce, mashed bananas or prune puree for all or some of the sugar in a recipe.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester — Lisa Lucier
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511(evenings)
E-mail: newsbureau@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville — Erik Kaldor
904-953-2299

Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale — Anne Tewksbury
480-301-4368

Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource is published monthly to help women enjoy healthier, more productive lives. Revenue from subscriptions is used to support medical research at Mayo Clinic. To subscribe, please call 800-876-8633, extension 9PK1.

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