How to Fake Fats with Savory Substitutes

We all know that smart food choices are a major component of a life free from disease, but “eating healthy” doesn’t have to mean “eating boring.” In fact, finding savory ways to prepare healthy dishes is arguably essential to any long-term relationship with the foods your body wants and needs. Here are a few culinary ideas that hopefully look a bit beyond the obvious to help you connect with fat-free flavor in unlikely places.

As much as it is about healthy choices, this article is about taking control of what exact ingredients you eat, and doing so more than you may have thought possible. All you need is a food processor, and you can substitute an astounding array of better food choices for the ingredients you would ordinarily pull off of your refrigerator door. This is not just a useful mindset for preventing heart disease, however. It will help the lactose intolerant—which is most of us--navigate through recipes with dairy-free alternatives or pro-biotic milk products in place of traditional dairy ingredients; it will reduce sodium in prepared dishes to lower blood pressure; and it will add fiber for fullness to your meals if you are dieting. In essence, begin to see each meal as an opportunity to add healthful ingredients that taste great where a high-fat, salty store-bought product would have gone before.

Here are several ways to prepare savory substitutes for some commonly used rich foods.

Vegan Mayo

The term “vegan” can sometimes sound like it’s taking the fun out of food (think “vegan cheese”), but at just 38 calories and 1.4 grams of fat per quarter-cup, this silken tofu-based mayonnaise recipe is very savory and a great way to keep low-sodium, all-natural, and fat-free instead of reaching for the traditional oil-vinegar-eggs sandwich staple.

Makes 9 2-oz servings

16 oz silken (soft) tofu
1 Tbsp sugar or agave nectar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp cider vinegar

Drain the water off the tofu and put it in a food processor. Combine sugar, cornstarch, mustard, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl, and then transfer to the food processor.

Begin to process the tofu and dry ingredients. With the machine running, add the lemon juice and cider vinegar down the feed tube. Process until mixture is very smooth. Cover and refrigerate. If the mayo separates in the refrigerator, stir it before using.

Soy Cream

In part by virtue of its tastelessness, silken tofu is a highly versatile ingredient when creaminess is called for. It takes on the flavor of anything it’s combined with, whether tangy or sweet. This recipe for dairy-free cream is simple, healthy, and rich. There are just 107 calories and 5.3 grams of (unsaturated) fat per cup:

Makes 1 cup of “cream”

4 oz silken tofu

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

(equal parts tofu and milk)

Blend the soymilk and drained silken tofu in a food processor until it is very smooth. Refrigerate or use right away. For heavier cream, add more tofu; for thinner cream, less.

Use Yogurt

Plain, fat-free yogurt, though it is dairy, is pro-biotic and contains no saturated fat. This makes it a great option for recipes that call for anything creamy, from salad dressings to white pasta sauces. When deciding between soy-based creams and those that are yogurt-based, consider the recipe and by all means experiment. Both options have comparable protein. The yogurt is lower in fat but may lack the creaminess you need for a given dish.

When buying yogurt, be mindful of labels, particularly with international products like Greek yogurt. Not all imported “low-fat” yogurt brands are created equal. And some yogurts list cultured non-fat milk as the first ingredient but then add low-fat or even regular milk later as a separate ingredient. In the U.S., in order for a food to be legally allowed to call itself low-fat, it must have 3 grams or less of fat per serving. However, check serving sizes to be sure you are comparing apples to apples.

Fat-free Tzatziki

Makes 1 cup

1 small cucumber, grated

Bunch fresh mint, leaves finely chopped

Bunch fresh dill, leaves finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt

Salt to taste

In a food processor, puree the cucumber, mint, dill, lemon zest, and yogurt. Season with salt as desired and serve with baked (not fried!) falafel, veggie-burger gyros, or over any salad.

When recipes call for rich, fatty, or salty ingredients, we’ve seen how options abound. Here are some additional ways to substitute while sustaining savory.

When you start to think about creating sauces and dressings yourself in this way, you increase your options while maximizing the nutrients you’re getting. For example, simply combining lemon juice, the flavored vinegar of your choice, pureed oranges, and raw cashews in a blender will yield a flavorful salad dressing packed with nutrients and entirely different from the cream-based menu items already mentioned. Of course, adding black olives, nuts, kidney beans, or avocado directly to salad is a great end-around needing any dressing at all.

To your body, protein from pork chops looks and acts the same as protein from peanuts. What’s different is the protein “package” — the fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that invariably come along with protein. There is a growing body of evidence that emphasizing plant protein sources is a better bet for long-term health. High cholesterol is the conduit to scores of serious health problems, but with a little out-of-the-box cooking, you can prepare delicious, satiating meals at home while remaining entirely in control of your fat, sodium, and even lactose intake.