Simple and healthy everyday ingredient substitutions

If you lead a busy lifestyle, it can be extremely hard to find the time to cook. Even when you do, the temptation to cook something that might not be the healthiest will often win out. With that said, you don’t have to choose between cooking something delicious and preparing something healthy. In fact, there’s a whole world of little known recipe substitutions that can take your favorite recipes from guilty pleasures to healthy indulgences. Take a look at these ideas and try swapping out a few ingredients in your next cooking session:

Black bean brownies
Ok, this one definitely sounds a little bit odd, but it really does work. According to Greatist, the flour that you use to make chocolate brownies can be replaced with one can of black beans. This can help to rid the brownies of a fair amount of calories and gluten, as well as give the final product more protein. It’s important that if you choose to use this substitution you remember to drain and rinse the beans thoroughly first. Otherwise you may be dealing with saltier brownies than you’d like to be.

Getting the most out of milk
Many of your favorite recipes are bound to use whole milk. This makes sense, considering the delicious, creamy flavor of whole milk is accountable for many of the textures and flavors that we’ve come to love. Still, it has a higher calorie count and more fat than skim or two percent . The American Heart Association has reported that most recipes calling for whole milk can instead use a cup of lowfat or fat free milk mixed with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Try this with the next recipe from your online chef courses.

Beating bread crumbs
Many roasts, casseroles and other popular dinnertime dishes will call for the use of bread crumbs. These are incredibly useful as they not only stretch a meal a great deal farther, but also offer the ability to create varied textures. If you’re looking for a lower carb option, try substituting the bread crumbs with rolled oats. You’ll find that the oats deliver a similar effect across the board with a fraction of the total carbohydrates.