Making recipes healthier

Making recipes healthier

A quick and easy way to make meals healthier instantly is to arm yourself with Mum's secret weapon at the supermarket: The Heart Foundation Tick. Download the shopping list here.

But you can also make many of your favourite, everyday recipes healthier by simply reducing their energy (kilojoules) or their saturated fat content.

The two steps to changing a recipe are:

1. Try healthier cooking methods
2. Change ingredients by reducing, removing or replacing with something else.

Method	Healthier Cooking Methods
Deep-fry	Roast in the oven on a lined tray or grill tray. Food can be lightly steamed or microwaved first, then brushed with oil such as canola, sunflower, soybean or olive oil for crispness. Crumbed fish, chicken and oven fries can be cooked in the oven rather than deep-fried.
Shallow-fry / Sauté	Stir-fry using reduced salt stock and/or oil, such as canola, sunflower, soybean, olive or peanut oil. Try using a non-stick frypan.
Roast	Choose lean cuts of meat or trim all visible fat and then place the meat on a rack in a baking dish with 1 to 2 cm water. For extra flavour, add herbs to the water. Try brushing with a marinade to prevent the meat drying out, or cover the food with a lid or aluminium foil for part of the cooking time. Roasting on a spit or rotisserie will allow fat to drip away. Brush or spray vegetables with oil such as canola, sunflower, soybean, olive or peanut oil, and bake in a separate pan.
Casserole / Stew	Trim fat off meat before cooking. Add legumes, such as kidney beans, chickpeas, soy beans or lentils, for extra fibre and flavour. After cooking, chill the food so any fat solidifies on the surface. Skim the fat off the surface before reheating and thickening (if necessary).

Ingredient	Healthier Alternative
Milk /  Yoghurt / Cream	Use reduced, low or no fat varieties. Use ricotta cheese whipped with a little icing sugar, fruit or reduced, low or no fat milk as a substitute for cream.
Sour cream	Blend cottage cheese and reduced, low or no fat milk (add a little lemon juice or vinegar if desired). Use reduced, low or no fat natural yoghurt. Use evaporated reduced fat milk and lemon juice.
Cheese	Use smaller amounts of reduced fat varieties. Use a little grated parmesan cheese instead of grated cheddar - it gives more flavour and less is needed. Mix grated reduced fat cheese with oats, breadcrumbs or wheatgerm for toppings on casseroles, gratins and baked dishes.
Butter / Margarine spreads	Use margarine spreads made from canola, sunflower or olive oil, and dairy blends that have earned the Heart Foundation Tick instead of butter, other dairy blends, lard, copha or cooking fats.
Oil	Use a variety of oils for cooking. Some suitable choices include canola, sunflower, soybean, olive and peanut oil.
Mayonnaise / Dressing	Use salad dressings and mayonnaise made from oils such as canola, sunflower, soybean and olive oi.. Make your own using ingredients such as reduced, low or no fat yoghurt, buttermilk, tomato paste, balsamic or other vinegars, elmon juice, ricotta cheese, mustard and fruit pulp.
Meat / Poultry	Choose lean meats and poultry. Remove all visible fat from meat and skin from poultry before cooking. Marinate or add flavour with ingredients such as wine vinegars. Sear meat quickly to keep in juices.
Cakes / Biscuits	Use margarine spreads made from canola, sunflower or olive oil, or dairy blends that have earned the Heart Foundation Tick instead of butter. Use oils such as canola, sunflower or olive oil. The minimum fat required for biscuits is about 2 tablespoons per cup of flour - this will retain crispness. Make plain sponges, yeast cakes, breads, muffins and schones as they generally use less fat. use wholegrain or wholemeal flour to add some extra fibre.
Pastry / Savoury	Use filo pastry, brusing every three to four layers with oil such as canola, sunflower, soybean or olive oil, egg white or reduced, low or no fat yoghurt. Use pastry made with oil such as canola, sunflower or olive oil.
Cocount cream / Coconut milk	Use evaporated reduced fat milk with a little coconut essense. Alternatively, if you have time, soak desiccated coconut in warm reduced, low or no fat milk for 30 minutes, then strain, discard the coconut and use the milk. For occasional use, try a reduced fat coconut milk.