Making a Delicious Meal, Making it Healthier

Sometimes, we come across that recipe...it sounds amazing, the picture makes it look delicious, and then - we start reading the ingredients. Odds are, the recipe that calls for 8 tablespoons of butter doesn't REALLY need all 8 tablespoons, although it really will taste phenomenal! I try to cut that unhealthy stuff whenever I can, and the rule of thumb is pretty easy - trust your instinct.

Mmm...butter makes things taste so good, but we don't need a lot of it!

Now, I've told you before that I'm not a huge baker, and this is one of the reasons why. You canNOT alter ingredients when baking. There is a lot more chemistry involved in the measurements of certain ingredients when baking so this rule of thumb goes for cooking, NOT baking.

If it calls for cream, most times you can use 2% or skim milk in its place. If it calls for eight tablespoons of butter, start with three or four. If it calls for 1/2 a cup of sour cream, get the low-fat variety. Lots of stuffed pasta recipes call for full-fat ricotta cheese, but the low-fat kind works JUST as well. Cut where you can! Also, as a rule, brown is better than white - go with brown rice, wheat bread, wheat flour and wheat pasta...see what I mean?

Milk

The key is to keep tasting your food while cooking, and if you walk into any restaurant kitchen, you'll see it happening. Chefs and cooks always taste their food as they're making it, adjusting the seasonings, adding a little this, a little that, until it's just right. You have an advantage over them as well...all the time in the world! So, take your time, adjust your measurements to your tastes, and go with the healthier option when you can...unless you're just in the mood for an all-out decadent feast...which is fun to have sometimes, but everything in moderation, right?