Family and Consumer Sciences

For several years health professionals have advised that we should eat less fat, sugar, and salt, and eat more fiber. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the new food pyramid, MyPyramid, reflect those recommendations.

Many recipes today are targeted towards healthier eating. Some recipes in magazines and cookbooks now include nutrition information, which is helpful. Family favorite recipes can often be modified to make them more nutritious.

Not all recipes need to be modified. If a recipe calls for one egg and the dish serves eight people, the amount of cholesterol per serving from the egg already is relatively low.

Consider how often the food is eaten. It is not as important to modify a recipe for a dish eaten once or twice a year as it is for foods eaten more often. Cutting the fat in a weekly tuna salad sandwich will be more beneficial than cutting the fat in a birthday cake.

Sometimes the best way to modify the intake of a food is to eat less of it. Decreasing the quantity eaten may be more satisfying than decreasing the quality. For some people, eating less real jam or jelly may be preferable to eating the regular amount of low-sugar jam.

Recipes specify the ingredients, proportions, and methods necessary to produce a quality product. Companies and publishers spend time and money testing recipes for consumer use. Any change made in the recipe will likely produce a slightly different product from the one that was tested and published. Some changes you may like and others you may not. Some changes may be preferable to the original.

Fat is the most concentrated source of calories. Each gram of fat supplies nine calories, compared to four calories for each gram of protein or carbohydrate. Reducing the amount of fat in a recipe is the most effective way to cut calories.

Many dairy products are available in low-fat or fat-free form. One cup of regular sour cream contains 495 calories and 48 grams of fat. Low-fat sour cream has 310 calories and 24 fat grams. Fat-free sour cream has 240 calories and no fat. Any time a reduced fat version can be substituted will result in quite a savings in calories. Similarly using eight ounces of light cream cheese (Neufchatel) instead of regular cream cheese saves 240 calories and 24 fat grams. Fat-free cream cheese eliminates the fat and reduces calories by 560.

Some ways to reduce fat in foods include:

* An equal amount of applesauce can replace the oil in a cake mix. Yogurt can replace two eggs and 1/2 cup oil in a cake or brownie mix.

* Use yogurt in place of mayonnaise in fruit and Waldorf salads.

* Use low-fat cheese in casseroles. Keep in mind that fat-free cheese does not melt.

* Replace regular "cream of" soup with low-fat "cream of" soup.

* If a recipe calls for a high fat meat such as bacon for flavor, reduce the amount by half, or use bacon crumbles.

* Purchase ground meats that are 90 percent fat-free by weight.

* Chill soups, gravies and stews. Skim off hardened fat before reheating to serve.

* Coat cooking dishes with vegetable cooking spray rather than shortening.

* Replace butter or margarine used for flavor with butter flavor sprinkles or fat-free squeeze or tub margarine.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Even small changes to recipes can have big nutritional benefits.

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Editor's Note: Ann Ludlum is a K-State Research and Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent assigned to Bourbon County. She can be reached at 210 S. National Avenue, Fort Scott, KS 66701; or by phone at (620) 223-3720; or by E-mail at aludlum@oznet.ksu.edu.

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