Tricks and substitutions.

This post is for Erin!

I mentioned last week that I had discovered a few new tricks for cutting calories in my food. So, I am gonna share, these are both some old ones I have used forever and a couple new ones (whipped cream anyone!) I have recently discovered. I am still on the lookout for new tricks so feel free to add your own!

-In place of whipped heavy cream chilled, whipped evaporated skim milk does the trick. You need to add a little sweetener to get the right flavor.

-Looking for a healthier substitute for sugar? Agave nectar! It is diabetic friendly and, although it does have more calories than granulated sugar, it is much much sweeter so you can use less. If you want to know more about altering recipes to use agave this site has some info.

-Frozen yogurt, seriously, freeze your yogurt. Low-fat or non-fat in whatever flavors your heart desires. No it is not the same as the whipped, airy soft serve, but it is sweet, cold and guilt free.

-This baking trick is one everyone probably already knows. Use apple sauce, smashed banana, or jarred baby food prunes in place of oil, well in place of half the oil, every little bit helps.

-Make soups and stews in advance and chill them. The flavors have a longer time to blend and you can collect the hardened fat of the top before re-warming. If you don’t have time to make things the day before, throw a few ice cubes in, the fat will harden around the ice and you can scoop it out. It’s not quite as effective but it gets some out.

-In baking, replace whole eggs with egg whites. You do need to keep at least 1-2 whole eggs to maintain taste and consistency. For example, replace 3 whole eggs with 1 whole egg and 4 egg whites --you'll save 10 grams of fat.