Preparing Foods with Less Fat and Sugar

Fat and sugar are added to recipes to provide tenderness, texture, flavor, sweetness and colour.

Make your favorite recipes healthier with some simple changes.  Decrease the fat and sugar in your recipes using the ideas in this handout.

Note: For people with diabetes
1 cup (250 mL) of flour = 6 carbohydrate choices
1 cup (250 mL) sugar =16 carbohydrate choices
½ cup fat (125 mL) = 24 fat choices

Cooking with less fat

• Use low fat cooking methods: bake, steam, barbeque, boil, grill, sauté with broth or juice, or microwave.
• Use sharp flavoured cheese in a recipe and cut the amount in half.  Try to use cheese with 20% or less MF.
• Drain the fat while cooking.  You can drain browned ground meat in a colander, rinse briefly under running water and then pat dry with paper towels.
• Chill gravy, stews or soup until the fat hardens and then remove the fat layer.
• Choose lean cuts of meat and trim any visible fat. 
• Take the skin off chicken or choose to purchase skinless products.
• Do not add oil to marinades.
• Replace some of the meat in recipes with extra vegetables or legumes like pinto, navy or kidney beans or lentils.
• When making cream sauces and soups use low fat evaporated milk, skim or 1% milk instead of cream. 

Baking with less fat

You can replace fat in recipes with fruit puree.  Replacing fat will change the texture.  For best results, start by replacing half the fat because substituting all the fat may result in a less acceptable product.  For example, replace ½ cup (125mL) margarine with ¼ cup (50mL) fruit puree and ¼ cup (50mL) non-hydrogenated margarine.

You can also reduce the amount of oil a recipe calls for.  For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of oil (250 mL), use 2/3 or ¾ cup (150-175 mL) instead.

If a recipe calls for nuts, toast them first to enhance their flavour and use less.

Muffins, quick breads and cakes

• Replace whole milk or cream with buttermilk, plain yogurt, skim milk, soy milk or fat free or low fat sour cream.
• Substitute a portion or all of the fat with an equal amount of pureed fruit.
  • pureed peaches work well in muffins and spice cakes
  • pureed prunes work well in chocolate-based recipes
  • pureed pears and bananas work well in quick breads and coffee cakes
  • unsweetened applesauce works well in most baked goods
• Sprinkle some powdered icing sugar on cakes instead of using frosting.

Cookies

• Cookies need some fat so they can spread out during baking.  A little fat is also needed so they stay chewy or crispy and do not break apart.
• Replace half the fat with the same amount of applesauce.

Pies
It is difficult to replace the shortening in a pastry crust so try the following or make fruit crisps instead.

• Forget the top crust and use only a bottom crust.
• Try a crust made of graham, vanilla or chocolate wafers or gingersnap crumbs.

Baking with less sugar

• Some artificial sweeteners can withstand the heat of baking and cooking.  One sweetener that works well in baking or cooking is sucralose (Splenda®). 
• Aspartame (Equal®) can be used if temperature is less than 400oF for less than 50 minutes.
• Add the sweetener to the liquid ingredients for even distribution.
• Reduce sugar by half in muffin, loaf or cookie recipes.  Some or all of the sugar that was reduced can be replaced with a sweetener.
• You can replace all of the sugar in pies, cheesecake, fruit crisps and puddings with a sweetener. 

Baking tips

• Use non-stick pans or parchment paper to prevent sticking and help with browning.  You could also coat your pan with flour or corn meal.
• Sift your flour or use cake or pastry flour.  Unsifted regular flour can be too heavy for low fat baking.

Do not overmix

• Over mixing can make your baked goods tough, full of tunnels and have less flavour.

Do not overbake

• Baked goods made with less sugar may not brown as much.  Low fat baked goods have moist, shiny tops and might look underdone.
• When quick breads, muffins or cakes are done, edges should be lightly browned and start to peel away from the sides of the pan.
• Some quick breads may develop a large crack down the top when they are done.

Decrease the oven temperature

• Decrease the oven temperature so your low fat baking does not get dry.  Some suggested temperatures are:
• Muffins at 350F or 175C
• Quick breads and cakes at 325 to 350F or 160 to 175C
• Cookies at 275 to 300F or 135 to 150C
• Brownies, biscuits and scones at 375F or 175C

Storage

• Most low fat baked goods wrapped in foil will stay fresh up to 2 days at room temperature.
• Foil holds in moisture better than plastic wrap.
• Cookies store best in sealed plastic bags.
• Low fat baked goods, wrapped in foil and placed in a sealed bag, can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Try these great substitutions…

References: Secrets of Fat Free Baking, Sandra Woodruff RD
 Canola Information Services
 The HeartCare Program

Suggested cookbooks

Any diabetes or "heart healthy" cookbook is a good choice.  Check at your library or bookstore.  Magazines and websites may also contain recipe and menu ideas.  Here are some of our favourites!

Looney Spoons, Crazy Plates or Eat Shrink and Be Merry – Janet and Greta Podleski (1999, 2005)
Combine healthy recipes with humour and nutrition information.

Complete Canadian Diabetes Cookbbook – Kathyrn Younker (2005)
Gives recipe tips and meal ideas.

Choice Menus Presents – Marjorie Hollands & Margaret Hollands (1993, 1996, 2000)
A series of cookbooks that provide menus and recipes.

Lighthearted Cooking series – Anne Lindsay
Several books with useful nutrition information and recipes.

Company's Coming Diabetic Cooking or Diabetic Dinners– Jean Pare (2001, 2004)

Meals for Good Health – Karen Graham (1998, 2003) Menus for a month and tips on healthy living.

The Everyday Diabetes Cookbook – Stella Bowling (2005)

Becoming Vegetarian – Vesanto Melina (2003)
A complete guide to adopting a vegetarian diet.

Dietitians of Canada has published a series of cookbooks that provide healthy recipes (2000, 2002, 2007).

Heart and Stroke Foundation:
www.heartandstroke.ca

Healthy Alberta:
http://www.healthyalberta.ca/101_recipes.asp

American Heart Association
http://www.deliciousdecisions.org/

Disclaimer
Reviewed by Alberta clinical experts. Brought to you by HealthLink Alberta. Copyright.
This material is designed for information purposes only. It should not be used in place of medical advice, instruction and/or treatment. For more health advice call Capital Health Link at 780-408-LINK (5465) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Alberta, call Toll-free: 1-866-408-LINK (5465)