TRADITIONAL VEGETABLE DISHES WITH LESS FAT September 21, 2005 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are good for us. After all, authorities from Mom to the government tell us so. It must be true.

There's another piece of advice we should apply to the eating of fruits and vegetables. It's the KISS theory - "keep it simple, stupid."

While fruits and vegetables are full of nutrients we need, we sometimes get off track when preparing them. To the good stuff, we add lots of stuff we don't need to over indulge in, such as fat, sugar, and cholesterol. These come disguised as creamy sauces, nut toppings, and other wonderful tastes.

So do we have to give up the flavorful add-ons we've come to like? No way. Smart cooking techniques can help us keep the health - and flavor - in traditional fruit and vegetable dishes.

One smart technique is to substitute lower fat ingredients. There are many reduced-fat and no-fat products on the market, including half and half, sour cream, mayonnaise, cheeses, and salad dressings.

You can easily use these instead of the real McCoys in most of your recipes. However, baking with some reduced-fat products, such as sour cream and cream cheese, can be tricky due to their increased water content. It is a good idea to use recipes developed for these products when baking.

Some substitutes are less obvious because "reduced-fat" or "fat-free" does not appear in their labeling. For example, evaporated milk is a great substitute when a recipe calls for heavy or whipping cream as a liquid ingredient. Use the same amount of evaporated milk as cream called for. Two of the following recipes use this substitution.

Egg substitutes can be used instead of eggs to reduce both fat and cholesterol. And they're easier to use. Just open the carton and pour - no egg shell mess on the counter to clean up.

When selecting egg substitutes, do compare brands as they can vary significantly in the amount of fat they contain. The carton will indicate how much substitute is equal to one egg to help you convert your recipe from eggs to substitute.

Egg substitutes can be expensive. To save money, use only the whites of real eggs instead of egg substitute. Typically, you would use two whites for each whole egg called for. This technique is used in the sweet potato casserole.

With substitutes or whites, you can substitute for up to four whole eggs. If your recipe calls for more eggs than four, you will need to fill in the difference with real eggs.

Another smart technique is to toast nuts. This develops their flavor, so you can use fewer nuts. As nuts typically are very expensive, this technique reduces cost as well as fat.

If you need to toast just a few nuts, use your microwave instead of heating up the oven. Spread a handful of nuts evenly in a single layer on a flat microwaveable dish. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir nuts and continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes more till nuts are fragrant and toasted to taste. Just don't taste too many in your decision-making process.

That's enough advice. Check out the following recipes and get cooking.

This version has less fat, cholesterol, sugar, and calories than the traditional sweet potato casserole. Those who tasted this healthy version at Sweet Potato Day at the Regional Farmers Market this past February never missed them; they thought the casserole was great.

Mix cooked sweet potato with sugar, eggs, vanilla, evaporated milk, and margarine. Spread in 9- x 13-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Combine topping ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Sprinkle topping over casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cook limas and corn according to package directions. (I cooked these in the same pot, adding the frozen corn after limas had already cooked a few minutes. This saved the electricity necessary to heat up and wash another pot.) Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, place margarine and bacon in large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook over medium-high heat till bacon starts to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in onion and bell pepper; cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add drained corn and limas, broth, salt, and pepper; heat through. Then stir in evaporated milk and tomatoes and heat through.

Yields 8 servings.

Simplify meal preparation by combining a vegetable with your bread.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine egg substitute, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, and salt in large bowl. Stir in onion, broccoli, and muffin mix; stir till well blended. Pour into 9- x 13-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 27 minutes or till set.

Yields 12 servings.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 9/26/05