We are incredibly thankful for you! This is a challenging time of year to make healthy choices. But healthy holiday eating is possible. We thought it would be helpful to share some tips for making favorite recipes healthier. With these tips, you can cut sugar, salt and fat by half:
1. Cut sugar. add flavor. When making pumpkin pie or eggnog, reduce the amount of sugar by half and enhance 'sweetness' by adding a bit more vanilla, nutmeg, or cinnamon. If recipes call for sugary toppings like frosting, jams, and syrup, use fresh fruit instead.
2. Shake the salt out. You can reduce salt by half in most recipes too. Also go easy on salty condiments such as pickles, catsup, mustard, and soy sauce. Instead offer cucumber slices, fresh tomato, or fruit salsas. Or try lower sodium version of mustard and soy sauce. The cheese platter - yikes all that salt and fat. Better to skip it. Instead opt for fresh fruits and veggies. And instead of serving cured ham, try a fresh pork loin roast with herbs.
3. Trim the fat. In baked goods you can cut fat by about half and replace it with unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana. Instead of full fat condensed milk, use condensed skim in pumpkin pie and eggnog. For gravy, heat fat free low sodium broth (or drippings with the fat removed); mix four into cold skim milk and pour slowly into broth, stir until thickened and season to your liking.
