Taking Recipes & Converting Them!

So you have a fave Recipe that you want to hang on to... then do it!!  Just convert it over to something MORE healthy and where the Calorie/Portion Control Fits! 


And here's how.......

Bob's Red Mill is a GREAT Company, they have sooooooo many things to add to your kitchen, its unbelievable, I love their products and the Lundberg Family, who make the Rice and other goodies.


If its a meat, like Ground Beef, you can use TVP (Textured Veg Protein) in most dishes, not all and for the ones you can't, Ground Turkey is better than Ground Chicken.  You can even use Beans in place of meats in many dishes as well.


I stumbled across this website the other day and I love the simplicity of their recipes! And they are so easy to adjust to get them tweaked to be a more healthy choice!


Robert's Place for Recipes (CLICK HERE)


Here is one of the recipes I found there.  I will put my changes in Brackets so you can get the idea of what I mean about Converting Recipes.

Ratatouille Recipe INGREDIENTS: 1 large eggplant (about 1 lb - 500gm) coarse salt 4 small zucchini 1 red pepper 1 yellow pepper 1 orange pepper 1/4 cup (2 fl oz - 60 ml) olive oil 1 tbsp (15 ml) additional olive oil 2 medium yellow onions 3 cloves garlic, minced 28 fl oz can (796ml) plum tomatoes with juice 1/2 tsp (3 ml) white sugar chopped fresh parsley chopped fresh thyme fresh basil leaves salt and ground black pepper to taste ALTERATIONS:  Make sure that the "Course Salt" is a sea salt.   Instead of using that much Olive Oil, I would use a NON-STICK Coated pan and water with the seasonings and if I had to use an Oil, it would be 1 TBSP of Coconut Oil and a lower Head Setting on the stove.  When the Dish is finished, I would place it in a dish and then ADD 1 TBSP of Olive Oil to the dish and let stand for a moment to enhance the flavor before Serving.  Doing these things will cut a HUGE amount of BAD fats out of the Recipe and NOT sacrifice the taste. As soon as you "HEAT" an oil, you change the Molecular Structure of it and it goes from being a Good Fat to a Bad (Trans) Fat.  INSTEAD OF SUGAR you can use Agave Nectar and it is very sweet without being a bad carbon chain OR Honey OR Maple Syrup.  You could even skip the sugar but, I think its here to reduce the acidic of the Tomatoes. METHOD: Cut the eggplant into 3/4" (1.5 cm) cubes, place in a bowl and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Stir well and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and drain well. Slice the zucchini, cut the peppers into pieces and chop the onions. Changes Here ===> Sauté the peppers and zucchini in oil until softened and starting to brown slightly, remove to a colander to drain excess oil. Sauté the eggplant in the same manner, and add to the colander. Changes Here ===> Using additional oil, fry the onions, adding a little salt to prevent browning. Cook until translucent and then add the minced garlic. Changes Here ===> Continue to cook for one or two minutes, then add the tomatoes and their juice, sugar, parsley, thyme, and black pepper. Bring to a slow boil, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until thickened to a sauce-like consistency. Add additional seasonings to taste. Stir in the eggplant, zucchini, and peppers and basil. Return to the heat and simmer for a few minutes until heated through. Serves six. ____________________________________________________ By all means, do not be afraid to try new things, change up the old things to make them new and healthy! If you aren't sure about something, just ask and I will help if I can  ♥ Bon Appetite!