Why bother to modify your recipes?  Every year more Americans become overweight, develop diabetes, get high blood pressure, suffer from heart disease or develop other chronic diseases.  By changing some ingredients in your recipes, you may control these diseases.

Most recipe changes involve cutting fat, cholesterol, salt or sugar or increasing fiber.  When changing ingredients, make one change at a time.  Changing too many ingredients at one time may ruin your product.  Here are a few ideas to try:

Cutting fat and cholesterol:

* Use non-stick sprays and non-stick pans.

* Cut fat in recipes for baked goods by 1/4 to 1/3.

* Bake, broil, boil, grill, poach or microwave instead of frying.

* Chill soups and stews and remove the fat on top before reheating.

* Cook vegetables in low sodium bouillon or broth instead of butter, margarine or fat back.

* Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute for each whole egg.

* Trim fat off meat and remove skin from poultry before cooking.

* Drain and rinse ground beef in a colander after cooking.

* Use low fat and non-fat milk, cheese, sour cream and yogurt.

* Use evaporated skim milk instead of cream.

* Use oil instead of butter, solid margarine or shortening.  In baked goods, use 1/4 less fat than the recipe requires.

* Make gravy and sauces without fat.  Thicken the broth or skimmed pan juices with cornstarch mixed with a small amount of cold liquid stirred slowly into the hot liquid.

To cut sugar:

* Try cutting sugar by 1/4 to 1/3 in baked goods.  Do not cut sugar in cakes or yeast breads.

* Reduce or leave out sugar when canning or freezing.  Buy canned fruit packed in juice or unsweetened frozen fruit.

* Add vanilla or cinnamon to give a sweet taste with less added sugar.

To cut salt:

* Cut salt in recipes gradually by 1/4 to 1/2.

* Choose lower sodium versions of products like canned vegetables, soups, soy sauce and ketchup.

* Use herbs and spices.  Don’t use garlic salt, onion salt or lemon pepper.

* Consider using a small amount of wine to flavor casseroles and stews.

To increase fiber:

* Replace up to half of the white flour in a recipe with whole wheat flour.

* Use brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, whole cornmeal, whole wheat couscous and barley.

* Add crushed whole grain cereal to meatballs, meatloaf and as a topping for casseroles.

* Stretch meat, poultry and fish with vegetables, whole grains and fruits.

* Add fruit to muffins, pancakes, salads and desserts.

* Add vegetables to breads, egg dishes, casseroles, soups and salads.