| Cooking | |||||
| Instead of: | Portion | Use: | Portion | Calories Saved | Fat Saved |
| Sugar | 1 cup | Splenda * | 1 cup |
652 |
0 |
| Cream, half 'n half | 1 cup | Fat-free half and half | 1 cup | 152 | 28 |
| Evaporated milk | 1 cup | Evaporated skim milk | 1 cup | 140 | 18 |
| Whole milk | 1 cup | Skim milk | 1 cup | 52 | 8 |
| Sour cream | 1 ounce | Nonfat sour cream | 1 ounce | 45 | 5 |
| Gravy | 2 Tbsp | Defatted gravy | 2 Tbsp | 45 | 5 |
| Cream cheese | 1 ounce | Light cream cheese | 1 ounce | 31 | 5 |
| Butter | 2 Tbsp | Trans-fat-free margarine *** | 1 Tbsp | 56 | 6.5 |
| Salt | 1 Tbsp | Grated Parmesan cheese | 2 Tbsp | ** | ** |
| Baking/Desserts | |||||
| Instead of: | Portion | Use: | Portion |
Calories Saved |
Fat Saved |
| Sugar | 1 cup | Splenda,* | 1 cup | 652 | 0 |
| Karo syrup | 1 cup | Reduced calorie maple syrup | 1 cup | 543 | 0 |
| Pecans or nuts | 1 cup | Grape nuts | 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup nuts | 160 | 36 |
| Cream, half 'n half | 1 cup | Fat-free half and half | 1 cup | 152 | 28 |
| Evaporated milk | 1 cup | Evaporated skim milk | 1 cup | 140 | 18 |
| Fruit pie with 2 crusts | 1/8 slice | Fruit pie with 1 crust | 1/8 slice | 112 | 7 |
| Eggs | 2 | Egg whites or nonfat egg substitute | 1/4 cup | 54 | 6 |
| Whole milk | 1 cup | Skim milk | 1 cup | 52 | 8 |
| Sour cream | 1 ounce | Nonfat sour cream | 1 ounce | 45 | 5 |
| Whipped cream | 2 Tbsp | Fat free whipped cream | 2 Tbsp | 40 | 5 |
| Cream cheese | 1 ounce | Light cream cheese | 1 ounce | 31 | 5 |
| Butter | 2 Tbsp | Trans-free margarine | 1 Tbsp*** | 56 | 6.5 |
Notes:
* Follow manufacturer’s tips on the package or at www.splenda.com. This substitution works the best for puddings, pie fillings and sauces. It doesn’t work as well for cookies, cakes, or pastry where the sugar is needed for structure of the finished product. You may get away with partial substitutions in these instances.
**By using 2 Tbsp of parmesan cheese in place of 1 tsp of salt, you will save 2139 mg of sodium or more that one day’s supply!
*** Trans-free margarine is about the same as butter with regards to fat and calories, but it contains less saturated fat, about 2 grams per tablespoon to 7.5 for butter. Note that we suggest you cut the amount of fat in half. If a recipe calls for 2 Tbsp of butter, replace it with 1 Tbsp of trans-fat-free margarine.
Sources: USDA Handbook8, Jean Pennington's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used, Manufacturer's Data. Note that the calorie difference is not just the number of fat grams multiplied by 9 because of sugar or other carbohydrates usually replace some of the fat and add calories back in.