Cooking for Fun and Health at Home

Try these suggestions for how to lower the fat and calories in meals and snacks.

Cook with low-fat methods such as baking, broiling, boiling, or microwaving rather than frying
Choose low-fat or fat-free dairy products, salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other condiments
Serve fruit instead of cookies or ice cream for dessert
Add salsa to baked potatoes instead of butter or sour cream
Eat fruits canned in their own juice rather than syrup

**Use these substitutions when you cook or bake.**
Instead of:	Substitute:
1 cup cream	1 cup evaporated fat-free milk
1 cup butter, margarine, or oil	1/2 cup apple butter or applesauce
1 egg	2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute
Pastry dough	Graham cracker crumb crust
Butter, margarine, or vegetable oil for sautéing	Cooking spray, chicken broth, or a small amount of olive oil
Bacon	Lean turkey bacon
Ground beef	Extra lean ground beef or ground turkey breast
Sour cream	Fat-free sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips	1/4 - 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup sugar	3/4 cup sugar (this works with most everything except yeast breads)
1 cup mayonnaise	1 cup reduced-fat or fat-free mayonnaise
1 cup whole milk	1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup cream cheese	1/2 cup ricotta cheese pureed with 1/2 cup fat-free cream cheese
Oil and vinegar dressing with 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar	1 part olive oil + 1 part vinegar (preferably a flavored vinegar, such as balsamic) + 1 part orange juice
Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce)	3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or margarine

It is helpful to know how to substitute the ingredients in favorite recipes to lower the amounts of fat, added sugar, and calories. Enjoy this recipe at home with your family. Ask your kids to help you prepare the food!

**Lasagna**
Ingredients:	Substitutions:
1 box lasagna noodles
1 pound ground beef	1 pound extra lean ground beef (93 percent lean) or lean ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 ounces mushrooms, optional
1 jar (about 16 ounces) spaghetti sauce, your favorite	1 jar spaghetti sauce, no added fat
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese	1 1/2 cups part-skin ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese	2 cups reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese	3/4 cup reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown beef, onion, and mushrooms. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic powder, salt, oregano, and basil. In a 2-quart buttered baking dish (about 11x7x2 inches), layer 1/3 of the ricotta cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat layers twice. Bake lasagna for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated and bubbly. Let stand for 8 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6 to 8.	Notes: Don't forget to drain the fat from the meat after you brown it. Use cooking spray instead of butter to grease the dish.

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More tips to reduce fat or added sugar from your family's meals:

Remove skin from poultry and discard before cooking
Cool soups and gravies and skim off fat before reheating to serve
Cook chicken or fish by immersing it in simmering liquid
Use the microwave because it's fast and adds no fat or calories

Suggestions for healthy snacks at home:

Toss sliced apples or berries on top of low-fat plain yogurt
Put a slice of low-fat or fat-free cheese on whole-grain crackers
Make a whole-wheat pita pocket with hummus, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber
Pop some low-fat popcorn
Sprinkle some dry, whole-grain cereal over low-fat or fat-free yogurt
Microwave or toast a soft tortilla with low-fat cheese, sliced peppers, and mushrooms to make a mini-burrito or quesadilla
Drink low-fat chocolate milk; blend it with a banana or strawberries and some ice for a smoothie

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