Healthy Alternatives That You Can Swap For These Common Ingredients — Compass Rose Nutrition & Wellness
Are you wanting to ditch the dairy and see what changes you notice? Or perhaps you want to try out a new recipe without setting off a food allergy. The main ingredients in most traditional recipes are usually the culprits that set you off. It could even be that you’re just one or two ingredients short of the recipe you want to try and don’t have time to run to the store. For all these moments and more, it’s helpful to know a few common ingredient substitutes to hack into your cooking skills.
Whether your goal is to be healthier, to use what’s already in your kitchen, or to avoid a food sensitivity issue, these ingredient swaps can help you master any recipes!
Butter
Baking something? You can use coconut oil in a ratio of 1:1 in either soft or solid form to substitute the need for butter.
Milk
If milk is asked for in you’re baking recipe, simply swap it for any type of nut-milk. That means almond milk or any dairy-free milk in the same amount as called for in the recipe.
Whipped Cream
Want to top your fruit with fresh whipped cream but without the dairy? Use coconut cream instead. Just be sure that it’s well chilled overnight and only use the solid parts for the whipping. It has such a fresh and light taste to it!
Eggs
If you have an egg allergy or going vegan, you can still bake up tasty treats by replacing each egg in the recipe with 3 tablespoons of flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tablespoons of purified water. Make sure you mix it into a paste first before combining it with your other ingredients. You can also replace eggs with unsweetened applesauce if you don’t have flaxseed in your pantry
Going Gluten-Free
Instead of using regular flour, use a cup of gluten-free flour plus a half-teaspoon of xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer to prevent ingredients from separating. Make sure to read the labels on your gluten-free flour choice…some gluten-free flour varieties already have xanthan in them which means you won’t need to add it.
Fish Sauce
Fish sauce is a favourite in many Asian recipes and if you’re allergic (or need an alternative) you can swap it out with either soy sauce or tamari. Tamari is also gluten-free! Although you won’t have that same umami flavour the fish sauce will bring, it will still be delightful, and you’ll hardly notice the difference.
Grated Parmesan
If you need to add grated Parmesan to your recipe, choose nutritional yeast. Side note: it’s fabulous on air-popped popcorn, too.
Vinegar
Vinegar is one of those that can challenge you in the kitchen since there are so many types, but the good news is that it’s very adaptable. So if you have a recipe that calls for white vinegar, can use apple cider vinegar. The only vinegar you can’t just randomly sub in or out of your recipes is balsamic vinegar because the flavour is truly unique. Thankfully, it’s an ingredient that fits well with all diets so you won’t be doing anyone harm.
With this quick list of common ingredients to swap, you’ll be able to master any dish for any occasion or any dietary concern. Do you have any secret swaps that I need to know? Pop them in the comments below. Bon Appetit!
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Originally published at https://www.compassrosenutrition.ca on October 5, 2020.