Small Changes Add Up to Big Results

This isn’t huge news, but changes don’t always have to be big to result in significant improvement. On one level it’s about specifics, on another, it’s part of a belief system that gets to core values.

Sometimes there are simple things we can all do that make big differences in our own health and wellness—and yes, weight loss. Becoming just “a little more” physically active. Watching liquid calories. (We’ve posted on these before.)

This isn’t one of those thought-provoking, doesn’t it make you mad, did you know posts. We just want to share some information from LoneStart Wellness that can lead to some of these “wellness” changes—changes resulting from something as simple as recipe modifications.

The goal is to decrease calories and fats without sacrificing texture and taste, using simple techniques such as: When reducing salt in a recipe, enhancing the flavor with herbs and spices;

liquid oils can usually be reduced, so make-up the difference with other liquids such as broth, water, skim milk or low fat milk. And, in many recipes, butter and margarine can be replaced with healthy oils like grape seed, canola and olive oil.

Following are simple modifications to make your recipes heart healthier:

• Instead of 1 whole egg—use 2 egg whites
• Instead of bacon—try Canadian bacon
• Instead of ground beef—try ground turkey
• Instead of chicken with skin—remove the skin before cooking
• Instead of sour cream—try plain nonfat or low fat yogurt or reduced fat or no fat sour cream
• Instead of cheddar cheese—use extra-sharp cheddar but one-third the amount
• Instead of whipped cream—chill evaporated skim milk until almost frozen and then whip
• Instead of ½ cup shortening try 1/3-cup canola or olive oil (may not work in baking)
• When using prepared condensed cream soups—use 99 percent fat-free condensed soup
• When a recipe calls for sugar—you can usually cut it by at least one-fourth and not lose any of the sweetness

Each of these in and of itself isn’t a big deal. Together, and over time, they can become a big deal. If we look, we can all find ways to become more mindful of the choices we make—can’t we?