Simple Substitutions

Almost any recipe, even some of the most horrificly high calorie/high fat ones, can be slimmed down just by using a few simple substitutions. Calling all Paula Dean lovers!!! Don’t crack that egg... just use ¼ cup Egg Beaters. Don’t start cutting pats of butter... scoop out a little I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Fat Free Spread. Don’t settle for regular sour cream or cream cheese... use the reduced or fat free version instead. Granted, if you are just having cream cheese on a bagel, if you are not used to the fat free stuff I wouldn’t go slathering it on. But, if you are incorporating these lower calorie and lower fat ingredients into recipes with other delicious ingredients you will never even notice the difference! 

Try this: take any recipe, and swap out a few of the not so good for you ingredients for the more figure friendly options. It’s that easy!!! I’ll show you how using Rachael Ray’s recipe for Everything Salmon Burgers. This recipe is a take on salmon and cream cheese on an everything bagel. Simply swap out the heavier ingredients for lighter options. For this recipe, I substituted fat free sour cream and cream cheese for the regular versions and choose a lighter 100-calorie bun instead of a carb packed kaiser roll. I also added more dill and lemon juice, just because I love those flavors. The result, a lip-smacking nutrient packed salmon burger, full of heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. (Note, I halved the recipe for 2 burgers instead of 4)

Ingredients:

¾ lb skinless salmon fillets, cut into chunks

½ tablespoon grill seasoning

½ tablespoon poppy seeds

½ tablespoon sesame seeds

3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

¼ cup fat free cream cheese, room temperature

¼ cup fat free sour cream

2 scallions, chopped

½ tablespoon lemon juice

A few romaine leaves, tomato slices, and sliced red onion

2 100-Calorie Buns (I used Thomas Multi-Grain Light English Muffins)

Method:

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, scallions, lemon juice, and 1 tbsp dill in a bowl. Set aside.

Preheat a skillet to medium-high heat.

Place salmon chunks in a food processor and pulse a few times until it is in a coarse grind. Transfer to a large bowl and season with grill seasoning, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and the remaining 2 tbsp dill. Split the salmon mixture into two even amounts and form each into a patty.

Spray the preheated skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cook burgers for 3 minutes on each side for rare salmon, a little longer if you like it cooked all the way through. Remove from heat.

If you would like, you can toast your bun or English muffin. Top with the burger, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a generous slathering of cream cheese mixture. 

Have some leftover cream cheese mixture like I did? Mix it up with some egg beaters and maybe add some more dill if you’d like, and voilà you have some gourmet scrambled eggs the next morning!

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 484

Total Fat: 17.1 g (Salmon is a naturally fatty fish, but as you have probably heard, these are the “good” heart-healthy omega-3 fats)

Saturated Fat: 1.8 g

Cholesterol 127.8 mg

Sodium 629.4 mg

Carbohydrates: 31.5 g

Fiber: 8.7 g

Sugars: 5.4 g

Protein: 54 g

Had you had made it according to the original recipe, with regular sour cream, regular cream cheese, oil, and Kaiser rolls these burgers would have racked up an extra 238 calories and 23.1 g of fat, totaling 722 calories, 40.2 g total fat, and 11.1g saturated fat. That is equivalent to eating my slimmed down version + a McDonald’s Hamburger + 14g EXTRA fat!! Why do that to yourself when my version tastes just as delicious?

This recipe is Guy Approved!