Learning to Love Substitutes
The most popular articles so far on this blog seem to be the frugal food posts, particularly the post on emergency pantry meals. I know this stems from so many people trying to contain their grocery budgets and trying to avoid extra trips to the grocery store. With most people completely overscheduled, both extra time and extra money are hard to find.
One of the major steps that has helped me to evolve into a more practical everyday cook and to reduce grocery bills is to learn to substitute ingredients. When I first started cooking, I would pull out a cookbook, find a recipe that sounded good, and proceed to go to the store to get each ingredient. This sometimes entailed stopping at more than one store and sometimes to the expensive place to buy exotic spices or other ingredients.
These days, after years of accumulating a spice rack of almost never used spices, I’ve discovered the internet which often gives multiple interpretations of one recipe and I’ve also learned substitions. I’ve also found that a number of substitutions help to lighten a dish and can make it healthier.
–I keep only two types of vinegar Balsamic and red wine vinegar and use those in almost all recipes and and as salad dressings
–Same with sweeteners, I tend to use honey in most recipes
–I often add a can of black beans instead of other beans in recipes
–I use carrots, butternut squash and pumpkin interchangeably
–I will often substitute other greens with spinach
–I use a combination of lemon juice and brown sugar to make up for exotic sweet and sour combination in tamarind, and I use red wine vinegar and brown sugar (and tomato paste) to make a sweet and sour sauce
–For heat in a recipe, I tend to use crushed red pepper, which I put in Cajun, Thai, Italian and Mexican dishes alike
To make recipes healthier, I try the following:
–I use applesauce for part of the butter
–I add extra vinegar or lemon juice in place of salt
–I stir plain kefir into mashed potatoes, enchilada sauce, and macaroni and cheese to make things tangy and zesty
Don’t tell your foodie friends, they might not know the difference, but it works for me.
see more hints at Works for Me Wednesday
I’m ging to try your kefir in mashed potatoes trick. Adds extra protein too! Thanks!
I hadn’t thought about swapping out carrots, butternut squash and pumpkin. I’ll have to try that out. I’m known for never following a recipe exactly. To me recipes are more of a guide then a must do this.
Animator’s Wife, I am relatively new to kefir, but I love the pourability and flexibility. I find I stir it in to more things than yogurt. You’re right about the protein!
Buffie, I forgot peeled diced sweet potatoes too. Especially for soups and stews, I tend to be pretty creative.
Those are some great tips! I would never think of adding kefir to recipes.
Great tips! It kind of goes along with my post, too!
Wow, there are some great ideas here. I wish I had the knowledge to experiment and win like you do … or else I’m just going to copy you! Thanks.
Hi Angela, liked your post. I think we were visited by the same muse.
Hi Andy, welcome. It took me a few years of experimenting in the kitchen to be more comfortable as an intuitive cook and learning about substitutes that work in recipes, both on taste and texture (like does this make a recipe wetter or drier, or do I increase cooking time as a result). Good luck.
ran across your blog while i was surfin’ around some others. and you have some great content here. there’s lots to check out and i’m really enjoying my stay. i’d like to invite you for a pop on over to my blog if you’d like. i’d love to have you.
i’ve subscribed to your feed so i’ll be coming back for sure.