As you begin to look through your holiday recipes, you may be thinking about reducing the fat to try to save calories and make them healthier. To avoid a recipe disaster, there are some things you need to consider before you change your recipe.

Functions of fat in foods

There is no way around the fact that fat makes food taste good. It enhances flavor and gives an appealing texture. Fat makes baked goods tender, moist or flaky.

It helps hold air when batter is beaten, which produces a light texture.

Candies and frostings have a smooth texture, thanks to the fat content. Frying foods in fat makes them crispy. Reducing or eliminating fat in recipes may affect the taste or texture in an undesirable way.

Good ways to cut fat

• Replace some of the shortening or margarine in cakes, quick breads and bar cookies with apple sauce or plain yogurt

• Use reduced fat cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese in spreads, frostings, and cheesecake

• Skim the fat from gravy or use a gravy separator

• Substitute evaporated skim milk for cream in soups and sauces

• Use reduced fat or fat free sour cream for dips

• Reduce the amount of nuts or chocolate chips in cookies

• Use less oil in salad dressings or sprinkle balsamic or rice vinegar on salad

• Combine mayonnaise with fat free plain yogurt or use reduced fat mayonnaise

• When browning meat, use cooking spray or lightly brush the pan with oil

• Reduce or eliminate margarine in stuffing (broth adds flavor and moistness)

• Flavor mashed potatoes with roasted garlic or reduced sodium broth instead of butter

When to keep the fat

Eliminating or reducing the fat in pie crusts and chewy cookies will affect the texture, making then dry or tough. Substituting oil for shortening does not reduce the calories and will make a greasy product.

The water in light or diet margarines reduces the volume of baked goods. It is better to use less butter or stick margarine than to use light margarine in cookie recipes.

Special foods for special occasions

During the holidays, the nutrition educators at Cornell Cooperative Extension will be talking with participants in the Eat Smart NY program and in community outreach programs about holiday eating.

Our message to consumers is that it is not necessary to change tried-and-true family recipes that are served only for holiday meals. Prepare and enjoy those special foods but pay attention to fat and calories the rest of the time.

Christine Gutelius, MA, RD, CDN, is a nutrition resource educator for the Eat Smart NY program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Makes 8 servings

4 medium sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons and 1/3 cup flour (white or whole wheat)

1/3 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pierce the skin of the sweet potatoes. Bake (about 1 hour) or microwave (about 10 minutes) until fork tender. Remove skin and beat sweet potatoes with electric mixer. Stir in sugar. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with mixer until foamy. Stir in vanilla and 2 teaspoons of flour. Add to sweet potatoes. Mix well and pour into a greased casserole dish. Combine 1/3 cup flour, pecans, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

- Source: Recipe courtesy of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County