I can adapt any recipe that I find, to convert it from a “not so healthy” recipe to a “my kinda healthy” recipe. With a few tweaks, the recipe that I wouldn’t normally allow myself to even look at, becomes a usable recipe I can add it to my collection without compromising my ingredient standards. Here’s how we make cooking more healthy, interesting, and fun with recipe substitutions.
First you’ll need to create a substitution list of common ingredients that you do not want in your kitchen….the bad Common Ingredients on the left, and the good Healthy Substitutes on the right. Here’s a few of mine, as examples…
| Common Ingredients | Healthy Substitutes |
| Processed Sugar (uncooked) | Organic Raw Honey or Organic Stevia |
| Processed Sugar (for baking) | Organic Apple Juice Concentrate or Organic Coconut Sugar |
| Processed Sugar (for chewy foods) | Organic Blackstrap Molasses |
| Canola or Corn Oil (under 400 degrees) | Organic Olive Oil |
| Canola or Corn Oil (over 400 degrees) | Organic Avocado Oil |
| Wheat Cereals | Organic Bean or Organic Gluten Free Cereals |
| White Rice | Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice |
| White Potatoes | Organic Sweet Yams |
| White Vinegar | Organic Apple Cider Vinegar |
Next you’ll need to convert the recipe you’re trying to cook with. Any time the recipe asks for a Common Ingredient on the left, you’ll pencil in on your recipe one of your Healthy Substitutes on the right side.
I like to copy the original recipe into one of the many free recipe software programs on the Web, so I can then make my ingredient changes in the software, and save them either online or on my PC for future use. My personal favorite recipe software is a website known as Pepperplate. I like it because it lets me manage my recipes or other website recipes in the software. I can make changes to anything in the recipe, including ingredients, photos, or instructions. Love it! Interested in Pepperplate? Click here for more info.
