Healthy Holiday Cooking Substitutes

It’s the holidays, which can mean tons of sweets and unhealthy food, as well as an increased waistline. However, it doesn’t have to; you can still enjoy the holidays by making these simple substitutions. Oftentimes, you won’t even know it’s a substitution, and your body will thank you for it!

Whole Grain/Wheat Flour Instead of using white bleached flour, opt for whole grain unbleached flour. It has more nutritional value and can make your baked goods have a richer flavor.

Applesauce Substitute applesauce in your cookie, pie and cake recipes by using it instead of butter and oil.

Pumpkin Instead of using heavy cream and butter in your mashed potatoes, put a can of pumpkin in with some spices and herbs for a delicious, creamy dish.

Broths Avoid cooking your meats and vegetables in oils. Instead, steam them in a half cup of vegetable, chicken or beef broth.

Cocoa If a recipe calls for chocolate, you can substitute 3 tablespoons of powdered chocolate for every one ounce of chocolate.

Sources: http://www.mealtime.org/content.aspx?id =94