How To Make Your Cooking Healthier With Recipe Substitutions

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 IngredientsHealthy 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 CerealsOrganic Bean or Organic Gluten Free Cereals
White RiceOrganic Whole Grain Brown Rice
White PotatoesOrganic Sweet Yams
White VinegarOrganic 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.