After a holiday season filled with parties, Christmas cookies, and other indulgences, many of us have made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or at least try to get healthier. While it’s not my number one goal for the year, eating healthier is pretty high up on my list of priorities. It’s second to getting organized which in effect does improve my health, as it will help me to keep my sanity in tact. To ensure my success on the road to a healthier diet, I’ve rounded up 16 healthy recipe makeovers that cut some of the calories and fat from some of my favorite dishes.
Familiar comfort foods like macaroni and cheese and french fries have even received a healthy recipe makeover. In addition to these great recipes, I’ve found some simple tips to make my everyday meals a little healthier.
Simple Ways to Cut Calories and Fat from Recipes
- Saute vegetables in a couple of tablespoons of low-sodium vegetable broth, instead of oil or butter.
- Use Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise and sour cream.
- Bulk up meals with lots of extra vegetables.
- Squeeze on citrus, instead of using butter for added flavor.
- When making cream-based soups, sub fat-free half-and-half for any heavy cream.
- When baking, substitute fats like butter and oil with apple sauce.
- Downsize portions. I know this is obvious, but eating smaller portions can go a long way in helping you to lose weight.
- Remove the skin from chicken. You can keep the skin on while cooking to retain moisture, but remove the skin before eating. Three ounces of chicken breast meat with skin has almost 150 calories; three ounces of chicken without the skin has 50 fewer calories.
I’m one of those people who needs to take baby steps when making changes. So, if you’re anything like me you’ll appreciate that all of these tips are rather doable and simple changes that you probably won’t even notice. I would love to hear some of your tips for cutting calories and fat.
Which recipe do you most want to try?
- Lightened Up Sausage, Cheese & Eggs in a Mug
- The Best Homemade French Fries
- Mediterranean Egg Salad In Lettuce Cups Recipe
- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Quinoa
- Low Carb Keto Friendly Broccoli Slaw Recipe
- Better For You Tuna Pasta Casserole
- Healthy Baked Southern Fried Chicken
- Healthy Slow Cooker Stuffed Green Peppers
- Parmesan Garlic Zucchini Recipe
- Skinny Chicken Fajita Soup
- Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bark
- 2 Ingredient Banana Pancakes Recipe
- Skinny Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- One Skillet Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Baked Chicken and Cheese Rolled Tacos
- Cauliflower Cheesy Bread
great ideas, I like to do this too, taking leftovers and giving it a whole new twist!
This is a great list. I am on the look out for information like this so I can learn to eat healthier and share what I learn with my children. I hope to be a great influence on food intake with my kids.
Love all your suggested substitutions. I have been using Greek Yogurt to replace sour cream and mayo and it almost always makes things taste better! Plus it’s healthier.
YUM! That’s a great list and very helpful information for making meals healthier. I have been looking for alternatives to cut out the unwanted fats. I could use Greek yogurt for anything ,especially for yummy fruit dips!
YUM! I love all the tips.
What a great list of tips. We often do most of these, but I’ve never thought of squeezing citrus on food as an alternative to fats..I just like lime:)
i always try to swap for healthier options. i also keep TRYING To like greek yogurt. so far, i’m not succeeding
Great tips! This is what I try to do with everything we make!
Cutting back on portions for me is the big one. I am one of those people that doesn’t know when to stop, so I end up gorging myself and then I get mad at myself for eating too much.
Great collection of recipes! I like to use small plates so that my smaller portions look bigger 🙂