I like to cook and am always looking for ways to make recipes "healthier" with the caveat that I cook for four children who define the word 'picky'. Healthier, for my personal definition, means increasing protein whenever possible while minimizing fat/calories. The important point is that there must be no sacrifice in taste.
I am not an 'organic' person nor have I delved into 'clean' eating or worry about artificial sweeteners.
I've had lots of people at work ask for my tips/suggestions, so I thought I would share here. Take it or leave it as you like.
I'm also born and raised in Iowa, U.S.A., so I don't know whether our food-terms equate much. I know you say biscuit where we say cookie, but I've had UK friends who say that they still aren't really the same thing.
Anyway, here are my substitutions and recipe tweak suggestions. May I invite anyone who has similar tricks to share to please feel free to add them!
Baked cookies/cakes:
Substitute whey protein powder for one-half of the flour of cookie recipes to increase protein content. This works *great* for breakfast pancakes, too, and the kids *love* them. I mostly use vanilla protein powder unless the dish is a chocolate one.
Substitute 2 egg whites for 1 whole egg to reduce fat and increase protein.
Use REAL butter - the flavor difference is not worth the calorie savings.
General substitutions/recipe tweaks:
You can substitute half the fat with something healthier in most liquidy batters like cakes and brownies. If it is a white cake, then apple sauce is great. If it is a dark (chocolate) cake/brownies, then pureed prunes (in the U.S., I buy mine in little baby-food jars) work really great. Never substitute more than half your fat, though, or you loose a lot of moisture/texture of the end result.
Don't substitute any of the fat content if your end product is supposed to be crispy like cookies (biscuits).
If your recipe calls for sour cream, substitute plain Greek yogurt if it is incorporated into the batter before cooking. (Does not heat well if it is in a sauce)
Any recipe calling for heavy whipping cream (except actual whipped cream) can have fat free evaporated milk instead.
Drained/pureed cottage cheese or low fat plain Greek yogurt can be substituted for sour cream in almost every recipe. If you strain your Greek yogurt in a cheese cloth in the fridge for at least 24 hours, then you can use the resultant yogurt cheese in place of cream cheese in almost every recipe, too. It looses a little texture for something that is MOSTLY cream cheese like a cheesecake, so for that sort of thing I only swap half the cream cheese.
Mashed Potatoes:
Use fat-free Evaporated milk for the milk in your potatoes.
Steam a head of cauliflower with several cloves of garlic in the microwave and puree it thoroughly in a food processor. You can use 2 cups mashed potatoes/2 cups pureed cauliflower to add nutrients/fiber/decrease glycemic index of the potatoes without changing the taste at all.
Whisk in some plain Greek yogurt shortly before serving to add a 'sour cream' richness to the potatoes.
This turns a very "starchy" side dish that has a very high glycemic index into a dish that is much healthier and much lower glycemic index! My pickiest eater in the house will eat several large servings of this.
Rice substitute:
Discover the joy of Quinoa! It's low cal, high protein, high fiber and perfect to replace every grain of rice in any dish you've ever made. It's a little more expensive than rice, but the health/dietary benefits are huge and worth the expense, IMO. I cook mine in chicken stock to add flavor and freeze it in meal-sized portions for quick use on busy nights.
Macaroni and Cheese: This is a staple at our house! We have a brand of pasta noodles here called "Smart Taste". It contains added fiber, added calcium, added protein, etc. and yet tastes like an ordinary white-pasta noodle. My kids *hate* any of the 'whole wheat' varieties, but they'll gobble this up.
Cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Make your sauce - we all have our favorites, right? Substitute fat free evaporated milk for milk - it is very rich and creamy and ridiculously high in protein with no fat! Do not use fat free/low fat cheese, though. While your sauce is cooking/thickening, your noodles should be fairly cool. Mix in 1-2 cups low fat plain Greek Yogurt into the noodles. It will get lumpy and curdle if you try to cook it in the sauce, but if you coat the noodles with it now, it will give a rich and creamy texture and more protein to your completed dish. Once your sauce is rich and bubbly, pour it over your noodles, blend it all together and bake it. You've just vastly increased your nutritional content of your mac and cheese!! I will also occasionally chop up some frozen spinach and mix it in as well, and the kids will still eat it if I don't use too much spinach.
Well. That's my contribution to giving some ideas of how to tweak your own favorite recipes. I hope this is useful to some and that better, more experienced cooks will expand upon it!
I am not an 'organic' person nor have I delved into 'clean' eating or worry about artificial sweeteners.
I've had lots of people at work ask for my tips/suggestions, so I thought I would share here. Take it or leave it as you like.
I'm also born and raised in Iowa, U.S.A., so I don't know whether our food-terms equate much. I know you say biscuit where we say cookie, but I've had UK friends who say that they still aren't really the same thing.
Anyway, here are my substitutions and recipe tweak suggestions. May I invite anyone who has similar tricks to share to please feel free to add them!
Baked cookies/cakes:
Substitute whey protein powder for one-half of the flour of cookie recipes to increase protein content. This works *great* for breakfast pancakes, too, and the kids *love* them. I mostly use vanilla protein powder unless the dish is a chocolate one.
Substitute 2 egg whites for 1 whole egg to reduce fat and increase protein.
Use REAL butter - the flavor difference is not worth the calorie savings.
General substitutions/recipe tweaks:
You can substitute half the fat with something healthier in most liquidy batters like cakes and brownies. If it is a white cake, then apple sauce is great. If it is a dark (chocolate) cake/brownies, then pureed prunes (in the U.S., I buy mine in little baby-food jars) work really great. Never substitute more than half your fat, though, or you loose a lot of moisture/texture of the end result.
Don't substitute any of the fat content if your end product is supposed to be crispy like cookies (biscuits).
If your recipe calls for sour cream, substitute plain Greek yogurt if it is incorporated into the batter before cooking. (Does not heat well if it is in a sauce)
Any recipe calling for heavy whipping cream (except actual whipped cream) can have fat free evaporated milk instead.
Drained/pureed cottage cheese or low fat plain Greek yogurt can be substituted for sour cream in almost every recipe. If you strain your Greek yogurt in a cheese cloth in the fridge for at least 24 hours, then you can use the resultant yogurt cheese in place of cream cheese in almost every recipe, too. It looses a little texture for something that is MOSTLY cream cheese like a cheesecake, so for that sort of thing I only swap half the cream cheese.
Mashed Potatoes:
Use fat-free Evaporated milk for the milk in your potatoes.
Steam a head of cauliflower with several cloves of garlic in the microwave and puree it thoroughly in a food processor. You can use 2 cups mashed potatoes/2 cups pureed cauliflower to add nutrients/fiber/decrease glycemic index of the potatoes without changing the taste at all.
Whisk in some plain Greek yogurt shortly before serving to add a 'sour cream' richness to the potatoes.
This turns a very "starchy" side dish that has a very high glycemic index into a dish that is much healthier and much lower glycemic index! My pickiest eater in the house will eat several large servings of this.
Rice substitute:
Discover the joy of Quinoa! It's low cal, high protein, high fiber and perfect to replace every grain of rice in any dish you've ever made. It's a little more expensive than rice, but the health/dietary benefits are huge and worth the expense, IMO. I cook mine in chicken stock to add flavor and freeze it in meal-sized portions for quick use on busy nights.
Macaroni and Cheese: This is a staple at our house! We have a brand of pasta noodles here called "Smart Taste". It contains added fiber, added calcium, added protein, etc. and yet tastes like an ordinary white-pasta noodle. My kids *hate* any of the 'whole wheat' varieties, but they'll gobble this up.
Cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Make your sauce - we all have our favorites, right? Substitute fat free evaporated milk for milk - it is very rich and creamy and ridiculously high in protein with no fat! Do not use fat free/low fat cheese, though. While your sauce is cooking/thickening, your noodles should be fairly cool. Mix in 1-2 cups low fat plain Greek Yogurt into the noodles. It will get lumpy and curdle if you try to cook it in the sauce, but if you coat the noodles with it now, it will give a rich and creamy texture and more protein to your completed dish. Once your sauce is rich and bubbly, pour it over your noodles, blend it all together and bake it. You've just vastly increased your nutritional content of your mac and cheese!! I will also occasionally chop up some frozen spinach and mix it in as well, and the kids will still eat it if I don't use too much spinach.
Well. That's my contribution to giving some ideas of how to tweak your own favorite recipes. I hope this is useful to some and that better, more experienced cooks will expand upon it!
And of course the cauliflower in any potato dish. 
