To give your recipes that “healthy” twist, one rule of thumb is to reduce the amount of fat, sugar and salt. The good news is that you can do this without compromising on flavour. No one will suspect a thing!

Less fat

• Choose ingredients low in fat, such as milk with 2% or less M.F. or cheese with 20% or less M.F.

• In spaghetti sauce, shepherd’s pie and other beef-based dishes, opt for lean or extra lean beef or replace beef with chicken, turkey, lentils or crumbled tofu.
• In baked goods (breads, muffins, cakes, etc.), replace half the fat with unsweetened apple or prune sauce or mashed bananas. For the other half, opt for oil instead of butter and margarine instead of shortening.
• In soups, sauces and desserts, use 2% condensed milk, plain yogurt or silky tofu instead of cream.
• In dips and dressings, a number of options are possible. Instead of 14% M.F. sour cream, choose light sour cream, plain yogurt or cottage cheese blended in a food processor. Replace half the mayonnaise with plain yogurt and in classic dressings, substitute half the oil with orange or vegetable juice.
• To reduce fat during cooking, use a non-stick skillet or cooking oil spray or opt to steam, grill, bake or cook en papillote.

A good idea: Use apple sauce instead of fat, like in the recipe for Three-Fruit Muffins.

Less sugar

• Reduce the amount of sugar in all recipes by one-third or one-half. To enhance sweetness add spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, etc.) or vanilla or almond extract.
• Opt for foods labelled “unsweetened” or “no sugar added.”
• Choose fruit canned in its own juice rather than in syrup.
• Replace fruit drinks, cocktails and punches with 100% fruit juice.

Less salt

• In recipes reduce the amount of salt by half, including soy sauce. You can also eliminate it completely by replacing it with fresh or dried herbs (parsley, chives, basil, mint, thyme, bay leaves, oregano), aromatics (garlic, onion, shallots), spices (pepper, curry, paprika, ginger) or lemon.
• Limit salty seasonings. For example, replace garlic salt with garlic powder, celery salt with celery seed and onion salt with onion flakes.
• Opt for fresh foods—fresh meat instead of cold cuts, fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned, and homemade dishes instead of prepared foods.
• Look for foods low in sodium, including soups, sauces, dressings, crackers, canned foods, etc.
• Fill the salt shaker on your table with a blend of dried herbs and spices, e.g., an equal blend of basil and thyme or dried mustard, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper.

A good idea: Avoid condiments high in salt (ketchup, steak sauce, etc.) by serving meat with homemade marinade, such as Mango and Coriander Salsa.