We are coming up on “the Holidays” and our Southern tradition is to prepare wonderful delicious dishes for every occasion.  The rest of the world should stand in awe of our cooking skills and the quantity of food spread on tables throughout Mississippi.  Most of us look forward to this time of year with great anticipation, but this cooking and eating frenzy causes great anxiety for those trying to watch their weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. 
     Traditions are important and celebrating them with food and friends and family is one of life’s greatest pleasures.  What if you could take those high fat, high sugar recipes and modify them to create a healthier version of Grandma’s dish?  With a little experimentation you may be able to get the taste very close to the original item, and help those who are dealing with health issues make it through the holidays with less stress.
Here are a few of my favorite hints for modifying recipes:

• Substitutions – No one will notice if you substitute low-fat or reduced fat mayonnaise, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cream soups, sour cream, whipped topping, or light margarine.  For example, substitute evaporated milk for heavy whipping cream and save 44 grams of fat and almost 400 calories for ½ cup! Carnation makes evaporated skim milk, too.

      Visit www.verybestbaking.com/recipes for 49 favorites made with evaporated skim milk including hash brown casserole and pumpkin pie.

• In most baked goods you can cut the fat in half or add another ingredient to keep the product moist. For instance, leave off the ½ cup oil called for on the brownie or cake mix and substitute with ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce. You will have great cake or brownies and you saved almost 800 calories and nearly 100 grams of fat. Most homemade cakes and coffee cakes can be prepared with 1/3 cup of oil, butter or shortening without changing the taste.
• Sugar – Sugar not only makes those desserts taste good, it helps them brown and have a great texture. For those with diabetes or those cutting down on sweets, reduce the sugar in the recipe by ½ and then add Splenda sugar substitute in an equal amount. Splenda is great for baking and stands up to heat better than other sugar substitutes.
• Many recipes such as cornbread dressing call for chicken broth as an ingredient. You can buy 99% fat free canned broth and low-sodium versions. If you boil your  fresh chicken with onions, garlic, and celery and then refrigerate the broth overnight, the fat can be skimmed off the top for a tasty low-sodium, low-fat stock. Try substituting lean turkey bacon or turkey sausage in those breakfast casseroles.
• Sauces and gravies can usually be prepared with one or two tablespoons of butter or oil instead of a full stick of butter.
• If your favorite cookie recipe calls for 1 cup of butter or shortening, use 1/2 to 2/3 cup instead. Your friends and family will eat them all up and never notice.