7 recipe substitutes that will help you live happy and healthy (2024)

Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

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This story is sponsored by Intermountain Live Well. Live Well is about fresh ideas to help you make healthful choices.

We'd all like to eat a little healthier, but it's tough when some of our favorite recipes contain some not-so-healthy ingredients. Things get even trickier when there are other and pickier mouths to feed as well.

Luckily, there are some simple ingredient substitutions you can make that will allow you to enjoy your favorite meals without the guilt or the extra padding to your waistline, and nobody in your family will be the wiser.

A ton of recipes call for some type of fat, whether it's sour cream, oil, butter or margarine. After all, it's the fat that give sauces their texture, potato salads their body and baked goods their savor. Popsugar.com says people won't be able to tell the difference between greek yogurt and sour cream on their potatoes, and you can use it in a 1:1 ratio to replace cream cheese or mayonnaise. In cookies, you can replace half the butter with Greek yogurt without a significant difference in taste.

What makes it more healthy? Alissa Rumsey, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Healthline.com that greek yogurt has had its liquid whey removed which "results in a thicker texture with fewer carbohydrates and sugar, and more protein than regular yogurt," which means it fills you up without filling you out.

If you like your baked goods dense and rich, whole wheat flour is a great substitution choice for white flour. Better Homes & Garden says to "use 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour to replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour" and "reduce the butter or shortening by 20 percent" if you're making cookies. When altering a white bread recipe, add another 1/4 cup of liquid.

By replacing white flour with whole wheat flour in your baked goods, you'll add essential nutrients and extra fiber back into your diet. Kidshealth.org explains that unlike white flour, which is made up of only the starchy endosperm of the grain kernel, whole grains contain the entire kernel, including the germ and bran, which is where most of the vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, protein and fiber are.

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If you're looking to make your meal vegan or you'd like to add healthy fats and fiber to your diet, you can sprinkle flax seed on just about anything. Try it on oatmeal, in your smoothies or with a salad and experience its beneficial properties without noticing a change in flavor. You can replace eggs with flax seed meal, as well, though with noticeable effects, according to veganbaking.net.

What makes flax seed such a powerful food is its concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. Healthyeating.sfgate.com pointed out that Americans often lack these healthy fats that can help lessen your risk of heart disease. It is also a source of complete protein and has three grams of fiber per tablespoon. If you aren't used to consuming your full dietary requirement of fiber each day, you might want to go easy on the flax seed at first.

Sweeten your drinks, oatmeal and baked goods with cinnamon, and you'll still find the sweet taste you're looking for without spiking your blood sugar. You'll get the benefit of its flavor without the calories associated with sugar.

When you're craving a sweet treat, essortment.com suggests you try peeling an apple, slicing it and removing the core, putting a teaspoon of butter and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon on, and then microwaving the apple for 10 seconds or slightly more on a microwave-safe plate to soften the slices and melt the butter. Allow to cool for five minutes and enjoy.

Another great butter substitute is avocado. Mash it ahead of time and offer it as a spread for toast at breakfast. Your family probably won't notice the difference, and they'll be packing into their diets an extra boost of fiber, vitamin K and potassium. Everydayhealth.com says avocados are high in monounsaturated fat "which helps to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol."

You can swap avocado in for butter in your baked goods, as well. Avocadocentral.com says you can use it in a 1:1 ratio to replace solid butter, but be prepared to make other adjustments if you're substituting it for oil as "it may be necessary to add another liquid to balance the recipe and 'thin out' thicker batters or mixes."

Love ice cream? Freeze yourself a stash of peeled bananas cut in 1-inch sections and you'll be able to indulge as often as you like guilt free (no added sugar and no fat to speak of). Simply toss a few frozen banana pieces in a blender and puree until it reaches a custard-like state. Chopchopmag.org says this may take a little while, depending on the quality of your blender or food processor and you may need to add a little liquid to help it along.

With a serving size of three frozen bananas, consider adding 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to flavor your ice cream.

Time magazine also explained how you can replace sugar or butter with bananas in baking, though you'll need to decrease the amount of other moisture you add to your recipe to compensate.

Reduce the sodium in your diet by using herbs as seasonings instead of table salt or seasoning salt. Webmd.com says you can replace salt straight across with just about any herb in your cabinet, including garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, onion powder, nutmeg, cumin, cilantro, bay leaf or oregano.

Other ways to cut back on salt in your diet include preparing your food yourself, as restaurant and processed foods tend to have much more. Also, look for low-sodium versions of ingredients like cheese and soy sauce.

No matter where you decide to cut back or substitute, Intermountain Healthcare encourages you to live well and stay healthy.

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