Swapping Liquids and Swapping Solids
Oct. 24th, 2007 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebThe sneaky chef's most interesting method I never thought of is substituting nutritious liquid for water when boiling foods. Cool, eh? It works best when you are not draining any liquid afterwards. Here are some examples:
* Cook rice in decaffeinated green tea or broth
* Make jello with fruit juice or tea
* Make hot cereal with milk or juice
I don't like green tea plain, so the first one sounds like a cool idea to me.
I never think of broth as being nutritious because I use powders instead of chicken bones to make it, so really it's more of a saltwater than something nutritious.
Oatmeal made with juice intrigues me, although juice is a pretty sugary way to get your fruit. But then I could reduce the added sugar. Hmm, interesting. Of course then I'd actually have to wash the pan after boiling the liquid for my oatmeal.
Other suggestions seem odd. Like make pudding with milk. What else would you make pudding with?
My other favorite sneaky chef strategy is diluting unhealthy things with healthier things. Here are some of her examples:
* Mix yogurt with creamy dressings - I'd rather try Robin's idea of making ranch dressing with all buttermilk instead of half buttermilk and half mayonnaise.
* Substitute pureed fruit for part of the fat in baked goods - an old trick; I have a whole book about baking substitutions like this called Secrets of Fat-Free Baking
* Mix ground turkey with hamburger - another classic
* Cut fruit juice with tea or water - interesting. I wouldn't like juice very diluted, but I buy my juice concentrated. Maybe I should try reconstituting it with green tea.
* Replace part of the cream in soups with pureed white beans - I've only replaced cream with milk or with condensed milk. I have more trouble getting enough fiber than enough calcium, though, so maybe I should try this.
* Replace some cheese in lasagne with tofu - would that work?
I definitely like this strategy and am already using it. Here are some of my examples, some of which are admittedly lame:
* Mix mayonnaise and yogurt together for sandwiches
* Mix firm tofu in with eggs when making egg salad (tofu is comparable to egg whites but may have advantages over egg yolks)
* When making boxed macaroni and cheese, use low-fat cream cheese instead of butter. Also use this neufchatel cream cheese instead of half the butter when making frosting. (That's really just cream cheese frosting, commonly used on carrot cake, but it works just as well on other cakes.)
* Substitute peanut butter for half the fat in baking peanut butter cookies and brownies
* Add peanuts to ice cream with chocolate sauce. What?
I've also researched jams and jellies and found that pumpkin butter is the only one that seems to have much in the way of nutrients. So I use that for toast and sandwiches instead of grape or strawberry jam. (That's a full subtitution, not a dilution.)
I also leave the salt out of most recipes.
Do you routinely make substitutions or dilute things for added nutrition?
* Cook rice in decaffeinated green tea or broth
* Make jello with fruit juice or tea
* Make hot cereal with milk or juice
I don't like green tea plain, so the first one sounds like a cool idea to me.
I never think of broth as being nutritious because I use powders instead of chicken bones to make it, so really it's more of a saltwater than something nutritious.
Oatmeal made with juice intrigues me, although juice is a pretty sugary way to get your fruit. But then I could reduce the added sugar. Hmm, interesting. Of course then I'd actually have to wash the pan after boiling the liquid for my oatmeal.
Other suggestions seem odd. Like make pudding with milk. What else would you make pudding with?
My other favorite sneaky chef strategy is diluting unhealthy things with healthier things. Here are some of her examples:
* Mix yogurt with creamy dressings - I'd rather try Robin's idea of making ranch dressing with all buttermilk instead of half buttermilk and half mayonnaise.
* Substitute pureed fruit for part of the fat in baked goods - an old trick; I have a whole book about baking substitutions like this called Secrets of Fat-Free Baking
* Mix ground turkey with hamburger - another classic
* Cut fruit juice with tea or water - interesting. I wouldn't like juice very diluted, but I buy my juice concentrated. Maybe I should try reconstituting it with green tea.
* Replace part of the cream in soups with pureed white beans - I've only replaced cream with milk or with condensed milk. I have more trouble getting enough fiber than enough calcium, though, so maybe I should try this.
* Replace some cheese in lasagne with tofu - would that work?
I definitely like this strategy and am already using it. Here are some of my examples, some of which are admittedly lame:
* Mix mayonnaise and yogurt together for sandwiches
* Mix firm tofu in with eggs when making egg salad (tofu is comparable to egg whites but may have advantages over egg yolks)
* When making boxed macaroni and cheese, use low-fat cream cheese instead of butter. Also use this neufchatel cream cheese instead of half the butter when making frosting. (That's really just cream cheese frosting, commonly used on carrot cake, but it works just as well on other cakes.)
* Substitute peanut butter for half the fat in baking peanut butter cookies and brownies
* Add peanuts to ice cream with chocolate sauce. What?
I've also researched jams and jellies and found that pumpkin butter is the only one that seems to have much in the way of nutrients. So I use that for toast and sandwiches instead of grape or strawberry jam. (That's a full subtitution, not a dilution.)
I also leave the salt out of most recipes.
Do you routinely make substitutions or dilute things for added nutrition?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2007-10-25 11:48 pm (UTC)I regularly use applesauce or pumpkin puree in muffins. The pumpkin (which I like anyway) is surprisingly non-noticeable in a bran-chocolate muffin, for instance.
I don't like fruit juice in general, but I have had a small amount added to sparkling water and it was good.
I'm really skeptical of the tofu-lasagne substitution, but maybe I would be surprised.
There's a common substitution in making boxed brownies with a can of black beans that I have never tried, but I've heard generally good things about it.
I like bell peppers and have had a lot of success adding them to various recipes. Esp things like pasta sauce can withstand quite a bit of veg being added, IMO.
Cooking rice in chicken broth is yummy but I've never seen it portrayed as a health bonus. I use the chicken base stuff, rarely broth made from an actual chicken, so I don't get that good marrow or whatever.
no subject
on 2007-11-05 07:46 pm (UTC)Mmm, bran-chocolate muffin.
I've never heard of the black-bean brownies before. Interesting.