Can “Creamy” Recipes Be Low Fat Recipes?

Is it possible for “creamy” recipes to conform to a low fat diet strategy?

Yes!

I looked at 5 different “creamy” stroganoff recipes published by Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Neal Barnard, Whole Foods Market, and Rachal Ray and Paula Dean on the Food Network web site. Both recipes by Drs. Ornish and Barnard fit the healthy Reversal Diet guidelines published by Dean Ornish. The others have a fat content that matches or exceeds the diet statistics of the typical American diet, which seems to be an unhealthy diet considering the obesity epidemic and increasing incidence of diabetes, heart disease and cancer in the United States.

However, it is possible to modify these fatty recipes by reducing, eliminating or replacing added oils and animal protein including dairy products, so they become close to the healthy side of Dr. Dean Ornish’s Spectrum nutrition guidelines. So, YES, it IS possible to enjoy “creamy” recipes that fit the low fat, whole food, mostly plant based diet guidelines recommended by our Nutrition and Medical Experts.

There are low fat “creamy” recipes in books and on web sites authored by our Nutrition and Medical Experts that don’t need any modification. Or you can use the suggestions for modifying higher fat recipes to make them over into low fat “creamy” recipes.

Click on the links for each recipe to see the nutrition analysis and possible modifications of these 5 “creamy” stroganoff recipes.

Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff by Dean Ornish, MD

Mushroom Stroganoff by NutritionMD – Neal Barnard, MD

Beef Stroganoff by Whole Foods Market

Beef Stroganoff by Rachal Ray - Food Network

Beef Stroganoff by Paula Dean – Food Network

Brief comparisons of the pre and post modification nutrition statistics for these recipes are shown after the jump.

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Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff by Dean Ornish
Original Recipe: Total calories = 654;
Fat = 6% (4 g), Protein = 25% (40 g); Carbohydrates = 70% (113 g)

There is no need to modify this recipe. Its fat content conforms to Dr. Ornish’s Reversal Diet guidelines.


Mushroom Stroganoff by NutritionMD – Neal Barnard, MD
Original Recipe: Total calories = 465;
Fat = 6% (3.5 g), Protein = 17% (21 g); Carbohydrates = 76% (93 g)

This fat content of this original recipe also conforms to the Dr. Ornish’s Reversal Diet guidelines. There is no need to modify it.


Beef Stroganoff by Whole Foods Market
Original recipe: Total calories = 658;
Fat = 36% (26 g), Protein = 31% (50 g); Carbohydrates = 34% (55 g)

This original recipe resembles the typical American diet statistics. Its fat content is too high to be a Prevention Diet. By modifying it, the fat can be greatly reduced bringing it much closer to the healthy end of Dr. Ornish’s nutrition Spectrum.

Modified recipe: Total calories = 417;
Fat = 13% (5.9 g), Protein = 33% (33 g); Carbohydrates = 54% (54 g)


Beef Stroganoff by Rachal Ray - Food Network
Original recipe; Total calories = 467;
Fat = 56% (52 g), Protein = 21% (43 g); Carbohydrates = 23% (49 g)

This original recipe exceeds the typical American diet statistics of 30% - 40% Fat. With Total Fat = 52 grams or 56% of total calories, its fat content is very high. But, it can be modified, reducing Fat content to 6 grams of 11% of Total Calories, bringing it to the healthy end of Ornish’s nutrition Spectrum, in the Reversal Diet range.

Modified recipe: Total calories = 459;
Fat = 11% (6 g), Protein = 37% (41 g); Carbohydrates = 51% (56 g)


Beef Stroganoff by Paula Dean – Food Network
Original recipe: Total calories = 989;
Fat = 55% (61 g), Protein = 24% (61 g); Carbohydrates = 21% (52 g)

This original recipe had the highest calorie content of all 5 recipes. The fat content is very high at 55% of calories. By modifying it, the fat can be greatly reduced into the Prevention Diet range.

Modified recipe: Total calories = 462;
Fat = 16% (8 g), Protein = 38% (42 g); Carbohydrates = 46% (52 g)

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For a 2000 calorie diet, the target number of grams for daily fat intake is;

Reversal Diet guidelines; very close to or below 10% at 22 grams.
Prevention Diet Guidelines; below 20% at 44 grams
The average daily fat intake for the Asian diet is about 15%, or about 33 grams.


For a 2500 calorie diet, the target number of grams for daily fat intake is;

Reversal Diet guidelines; very close to or below 10% at 28 grams.
Prevention Diet Guidelines; below 20% at 56 grams
The average daily fat intake for the Asian diet is about 15%, or about 42 grams.

For daily meal planning for a 2000 calorie diet, a target of about 30 – 45 grams of daily fat intake would conform to the Prevention Diet guidelines. Closer to 30 grams of daily fat intake would conform to Asian diet guidelines. See the Nutrition by the Numbers post. These diet nutrition guidelines have been shown by numerous epidemiologic and scientific studies to be very healthy diet guidelines. See the Nutrition and Health section.