Help! I Don’t Have the Ingredients for My Recipe.

Have you searched for an ingredient in a recipe then suddenly realize you are missing it? Or, at the grocery store to learn that the items needed are not on sale or available? If so, you are not alone. There are many ways for you to enjoy your favorite meals and recipes missing an ingredient. Swapping ingredients is a creative way to learn more about how to cook different foods. This also saves you from making an extra trip to the store and great for making healthy food choices. You may find yourself enjoying the recipe more with the new ingredients.

Here are healthy food swapping strategies to save your recipe when missing ingredients.

• Protein swap. A recipe may call for meats that are more than you are willing to pay. Boneless pork chops can be swapped for chicken breast for less money. Swapping higher fat content ground beef (80/20) for lean ground beef of 10% or less is another excellent choice. Selecting ground turkey is another healthy option to choosing ground meat. The next time you are at the store searching for ground meats, price compare ground turkey and beef and the quantity offered. Lastly, consider switching meat for beans that offers a healthy source of protein and a wonderful substitute. To learn creative ways on how to cook beans, visit our Cooking Beans 5 Ways

• Fruit and Vegetable swap. Switching frozen and canned vegetables for fresh fruits and vegetables This is a great tip for making sure fruits and vegetables are included in meals during the winter months when the price of fresh vegetables is higher. Experiment with different recipes and meal combinations using different forms of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables.

• Herbs and spice swap. Fresh, dry, whole, or ground. Dry herbs have a stronger flavor than fresh and a longer shelf life. You will need ½ teaspoon of dry herbs for every tablespoon of fresh. Try cooking with different herbs to find what you like best.  Different herb and spice blends are great options when missing herbs and spices in a recipe.  Try some homemade seasoning mixes in place of packaged spice blends.

• Swap applesauce for butter and oil when baking.  Applesauce will give muffins, pumpkin bread, and cookie recipes a soft and moist texture when substituted for oil or butter. It is suggested to replace ½ the amount of butter for applesauce or oil in baking recipes. When baking bread, it is ok to replace all of the fat for applesauce. Experiment with applesauce using this easy Pumpkin Bread recipe.

The next time you find yourself searching for an ingredient. Try one of these helpful strategies before running to the grocery store. You can learn additional cooking tips and find more healthy recipes from Maryland SNAP-Ed at eatsmart.umd.edu.