eat right
ingredient substitution options for a
total wellness ▪ winter 2012
by julia bree horie | design by karin yuen
Tired of letting nutrition labels take over your life? Gain control of your diet by creating flavorful culinary masterpieces in your own kitchen – using ingredients you choose. Although fats, salts, and sugars are all healthy diet components in moderation, many people struggle with consuming too much of these rather than too little. Replacing unhealthy ingredients with healthier alternatives can be done without sacrificing texture or flavor – however, it is important to first understand that each ingredient plays its own role in building a satisfactory culinary product.
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❯ Fat: enhances flavor and richness, improves texture and tenderness in baked goods, makes baked goods flaky and light, promotes smoothness and creaminess in foods ❯ Eggs: thicken and emulsify (help to mix fat and water), provide structure and add volume to foods when beat ❯ Sugar: increases flavor, tenderness, and browning in baked goods, helps yeast breads rise, aides preservation in jams, jellies, and pickles ❯ Salt: enhances flavor, slows the action of yeast in yeast breads, preserves canned foods and some dried foods
With this understanding, in conjunction with the tables below, you can start to modify recipes to decrease unhealthy fats, lower salt, reduce sugar, increase fiber, and replace meat (for the vegetarians out there).
left: floortje/istockphoto ; right (in order): okea/istockphoto; craftvision/istockphoto; eyewave/istockphoto; kryczka/ istockphoto; david franklin/istockphoto
healthier meal