Holiday Eating:Cook With This and Not With That

When thinking about the holidays, most people imagine their grandma’s homemade pie, their mom’s scrumptious casserole and their aunt’s candied sweet potatoes. Umm mm! However, all of these foods have one common denominator: lots of calories! And lots of calories can lead to unwanted weight gain. The average person gains 7 pounds over the holidays because typically people eat higher calorie foods and exercise less.

It is not that you have to cut these foods totally out of your holidays, but making some key substitutions can lower the fat and calories in recipes while keeping the same great taste! Remember, it is not just baked goods that are full of calories, some of your favorite dishes are also loaded with them!

When cooking, substitute:

Cook with this - 1 cup oats or crushed whole wheat crackers
Not with that - 1 cup bread crumbs

Cook with this – 1 cup 2% mozzarella cheese
Not with that –1 cup cheddar cheese

Cook with this – ¼ egg substitute or half banana mashed with half teaspoon baking powder
Not with that - 1 egg

Cook with this – 1 cup low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt
Not with that – 1 cup mayonnaise

Cook with this – 1 cup cooked barley, bulgar or brown rice
Not with that – 1 cup cooked white rice


When baking, substitute:

Bake with this – 1 cup yogurt
Not with that - 1 cup buttermilk

Bake with this – 1 cup natural honey
Not with that – 1 cup corn syrup

Bake with this – 1 cup frozen light whipped topping (thawed)
Not with that – 1 cup cream (whipped)

Bake with this – 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese (pureed)
Not with that – 1 cup cream cheese

Bake with this – 1 cup apple sauce or fruit puree
Not with that – 1 cup oil

Note: Don’t substitute every single ingredient because you might alter the taste and integrity of the end result. However, making a few substitutions will help lower the fat and calorie intake of your product!

Amy Goodson, MS, RD, CSSD, LD

Registered Dietitian

If you have a question for the dietitian, visit www.texashealth.org/askamy