Fall recipe substitutions for flavorful and healthful fall foods

Recipes for Fall: Flavorful and Healthful

In the fall, nothing seems more comforting than sitting down to a nice, warm meal with your loved ones. But wait, you are trying to eat healthfully! Not to worry—you still can enjoy the enticing richness of autumn’s harvest, while meeting your health goals. These recipe tips will help.

Sweet potato casserole

• Use egg whites or Egg Beaters® in place of the whole eggs
• Reduce the amount of margarine or use lite margarine
• Add some applesauce to the sweet potato mixture
• Replace canned sweet potatoes with fresh sweet potatoes
• Choose pineapple packed in its own juice, instead of the kind in heavy syrup
• Add a cut up apple to the streusel topping and cut down on the amount of pecans
• Substitute orange juice for some of the melted margarine in the streusel topping

Stuffing

• Make with low-fat margarine
• Replace whole eggs with egg whites or Egg Beaters
• Substitute chicken or turkey sausage for pork sausage
• Use fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
• Choose whole-grain bread

Mashed potatoes

• Make with low-fat cream cheese or lite butter
• Replace some of the potato with steamed cauliflower (it sounds odd, but it works)
• Use 2% milk or low-fat buttermilk in place of the heavy cream

Chili

• Make with extra-lean ground beef, ground turkey, turkey sausage, or trimmed pork tenderloin
• Select low-sodium, well-drained beans
• Replace salt with a salt substitute
• Use lite beer, if beer is called for in your favorite recipe

Corn bread

• Use low-fat buttermilk
• Substitute egg whites or Egg Beaters for whole eggs
• Cut down on the oil, and add an extra splash of milk or some applesauce

Creamed spinach

• Make with lite margarine
• Replace sour cream with low-fat sour cream
• Substitute Neufchâtel cheese for cream cheese
• Add half the amount of Parmesan cheese called for in the recipe
• Use no-salt seasoning

Squash or pumpkin soup

• Make with lite margarine
• Use low-sodium, low-salt chicken broth or stock
• Choose lite whipping cream or low-fat half-and-half
• Substitute Neufchâtel for cream cheese, if your recipe calls for it

Macaroni and cheese

• Make with lite margarine
• Use low-fat cheese
• Choose low-fat half-and-half, evaporated milk, or skim milk
• Substitute Egg Beaters for whole eggs
• Replace sour cream with low-fat sour cream, if your recipe calls for it
• Select whole-grain, lite bread for the topping

Resource: RD411.com