Weekly Wellness Tips: Healthier Recipe Substitutions

Whipping up healthy recipes may be easier than you think. You can make simple ingredient substitutions to create healthy recipes that don't sacrifice taste and enjoyment.

This links shares EatingWell.com's Recipe Makeovers: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/recipe_makeovers

Unsweetened applesauce for oil or butter

Applesauce gives the right consistency and a hint of sweetness without all the fat of oil or butter. This substitution works well in any type of sweet bread, like banana or zucchini, or in muffins. You can even use this sub with boxed mixes. As with any substitution, try swapping out half the fat (so a recipe using 1 cup of oil would use 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce). If you can't tell the difference with that swap, try swapping a bit more of the fat next time around. Recipe to try: APPLESAUCE MUFFINS

Black beans for flour

Swapping out flour for a can of black beans (drained and rinsed, of course) in brownies is a great way to cut out the gluten and fit in an extra dose of protein. When baking, swap out 1 cup flour for 1 cup black bean puree (about a 15oz can). You can also use a food processor on dried beans to use as flour. Recipe to try: BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

Mashed bananas for fats

The creamy, thickening-power of mashed banana acts the same as avocado in terms of replacing fat in baking recipes. The consistency is ideal, and the bananas add nutrients like potassium, fiber, and vitamin B6. One cup of mashed banana works perfectly in place of 1 cup or butter or oil. Recipe to try:

Rolled oats for breadcrumbs

While breadcrumbs can pack extra sodium, using rolled oats seasoned with herbs is a great way to sneak another whole grain into any meal.

Use lean ground turkey instead of ground beef

When your recipe calls for ground beef, use lean ground turkey instead. You can use this turkey in meat sauces, for burgers, in tacos or in a meatloaf recipe. Ground turkey has less fat than beef, helping your heart and your waistline. Recipe to try: TURKEY BURGER