Adapting Recipes - Dean Ornish MD

Simple techniques can be used to modify recipes that follow the typical American or Western nutrition strategy into much healthier Asian, Mediterranean or Vegetarian nutrition strategies that are the basis of the Nutrition Strategy used for recipes presented in this blog. These modified recipes are much healthier and still taste wonderful.

The techniques in this post are from the healthy nutrition and lifestyle books by Dean Ornish MD, one of the nutrition and medical experts who have influenced the Nutrition Strategy used for recipe analysis and makeovers in this blog. (Buy his books here.)

A post with Dean Ornish's Low Fat Cooking Tips and Techniques is here.

Some of Dean Ornish's techniques for Adapting Recipes are listed after the jump:

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Basic Strategy
Some recipes contain meat. Almost all will contain oil, butter, and salt. Many will contain milk, eggs, cream, or cheese. To convert a recipe to a low-fat, plant based version, simply try making it without the oil and/or animal products or use nonfat substitutes.

Oil and Butter
Frequently, oil can be omitted all together and not affect the character of the dish. Or, substitute another ingredient for the oil, such as yogurt, tofu, or tomato juice, in salads and purees.

Many vegetable dish recipes call for sauteing, but they will taste just as good as if the vegetables are steamed, braised, baked, or microwaved before being mixed with other ingredients. Cook vegetables until tender in a small amount of water, vegetable stock, or wine instead of sauteing them in oil or butter.

Meat
If the recipe contains meat (such as stews, stir-fries, pastas, casseroles, and soups), simply eliminate the meat. Just remove the meat from some familiar meals, such as lasagna, pizza, and chili, split pea and minestrone soup. Many times they can be adapted to meatless versions without sacrificing their character.

To add something for texture or bulk, try equivalent measures of one of the following:

• cooked grains such as rice, bulgur, millet, couscous, or wheat berries (perfect for many casseroles).
• cooked beans, texturized vegetable protein, dehydrated bean flakes (in casseroles).
• finely chopped steamed vegetables, such as carrots, onions, squash, or mushrooms (in pasta sauces or stews)
• grated carrots (in pasta sauces, chili, and stews)
• diced or crumbled tofu (as a cheese or ground beef substitute in sauces; as a meat substitute in stews and soups)

Eggs and Dairy Products
Egg substitutes such as Egg Beaters can replace eggs. But, avoid these egg substitutes that are high in fat. Read the labels carefully.

Use non fat substitutes instead of high fat or partially skimmed milk and yogurt. Butter Buds and similar products can replace butter and margarine.

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These strategies, tips, techniques, and suggestions were obtained from Dean Ornish’s books – Eat More, Weigh Less; Everyday Cooking with Dean Ornish; Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease; and The Spectrum. (Buy them here.)