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.
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?
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that skinny taco dip looks amazing!
i think the swapping of ingredients is the simplest you can do. i like using yogurt and applesauce in place of fats without compromising taste
Looking forward to trying some of these healthier recipes!
The lower fat hazelnut truffles sound so good! I have never attempted to make my own yet, but am inspired!
These are excellent tips! We also use greek yogurt to sub for sour cream or mayo – it not only tastes great, but also adds tons of protein.
I love taking fattening recipes and making them healthier. Ever since my husband got his gallbladder removed we have had to really health-a-fy our appetizers.
I have put off swapping mayo & sour cream with greek yougurt because I hate the taste of it…. is it as obvious in a recipe like that?
Your posts are always so good! I love advice you give.
Everything looks delicious that lightened up buffalo chicken dip would be perfect for game time!
this is a nice way to summarize these items all in one place. I can print this list out and keep in the kitchen so I can think to do this calorie/fat cutting while cooking. Thank you!