Adapting recipes for health needs

The aim of a good healthy lifestyle is to include a variety of many different foods that will supply plenty of nutrients and to balance your energy intake with your activity levels!

If you have particular dietary requirements and wish to alter some recipes to suit you, there are many ways this can be done. Below are just some ideas. Obviously a recipe has been developed using the original ingredients so you may have to experiment a little!

How to Lower Fat and Cholesterol
Ingredient Replace with
Full cream milk – Reduced or non-fat milk
Full cream evaporated milk – Low fat evaporated milk (1.6% fat)
Yoghurt – Low fat yoghurt, Cream Yoghurt or Evaporated milk (4 % fat)
Sour Cream – Low fat yoghurt, Reduced fat sour cream
Coconut Cream – Lite Coconut milk, Low fat evaporated milk plus coconut essence
Cream cheese – Ricotta or cottage cheese Regular Cheese Low fat (10%) cheese, 25% fat hard cheese such as Edam
Butter – Mono/polyunsaturated oils or spread
Cooked Chicken – Remove chicken skin, choose breast meat
Fatty Meats – Lean meats, remove all fat
Streaky bacon – Middle eye rasher
Tuna or Salmon in oil – Tuna or salmon in brine or spring water
Puff & regular pastry – Filo pastry and spray with oil

How to Lower Salt or Sodium
Ingredient Replace with
Salt in cooking – Lemon juice, curry powder, spices
Canned or smoked fish – Canned in spring water
Sauces – Low salt varieties

How to Lower Sugar
Ingredient Replace with
Sugar – Reduce quantity or sugar, or smaller amount of honey Add fruit juice instead of sugar
Use fresh or dried fruit instead of sugar
Use a liquid or powdered equivalent substitute

How to Increase Fibre
Ingredient Replace with
White flour – Wholemeal Flour
White rice – Brown Rice
Plain pasta – Wholemeal pasta
Peeled vegetables – Unpeeled Vegetables
White Bread crumbs – Wholemeal bread crumbs

You Might also Like: Mercury in Fish