Three Easy Recipe Swaps

Dieting is tough. Sometimes, you may think that your favorite recipes are now off limit, that you will have to say bye-bye to making until you reach your goal weight. Not true! Here are some simple swaps for your at home cooking and baking to effortlessly shave off calories.

Swap: Eggs for egg whites. This will work in most recipes (with the exception of rising baked goods, then it gets a little trickier, though not impossible). Seriously, if your recipe calls for 4 eggs, that's a 300 calorie savings. Use 2 egg whites per egg when making things like omelets -- helping egg eaters lose a lb in 10 days by switching to whites alone.

Swap: Oil for applesauce. An old weight loss trick, in most cases you can sub half of the oil in most recipes (cakes, breads, etc) for applesauce. It seriously works without making things taste apple-y and without huge texture changes. You can substitute more (just not all), but it will tend to dry things out.

Swap: Sugar for LESS sugar. You'd be surprised how effective this one is. Reduce your sugar additions up to 30% and go a little heavier on your cinnamon and nutmeg. Chances are, you really won't miss it.

Swap: Bleached flour for whole wheat flour. Switch half of your flour in your favorite recipe to whole wheat flour. Not only is whole wheat flour more nutritious, but swapping a cup of whole wheat flour has the following savings: 90 calories, 3 g sodium, and 4 times the fiber. Don't swap all of it for a cake for a dinner party (texture will change), otherwise, its definitely worth the swap.