Today, I'm going to give some tips for making your own healthier recipes. There are some great substitutions to help make just about anything healthier. There might be some minor variance in taste or texture-but it's worth it!

Whole milk: Substitute fat free, 1/2 percent or 1 percent milk for evaporated fat free milk.

A whole egg: Substitute with two egg whites, 1/4 c of egg substitute, or my personal favorite, 1 T flax seed and 3 T water

Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 oz): Substitute with 3 t of cocoa powder and 1 T of canola oil

Shortening, lard or butter: Substitute with canola or olive oil reducing the amount by 1/4. For example; use 3/4 c of oil to replace 1 c of shortening, lard, or butter.

Cream or whipping cream: Substitute with an equal amount of fat free evaporated milk or either 1/2 c low-fat yogurt or 1/2 c low-fat cottage cheese.

Vegetable oil: Substitute with an equal amount of applesauce.

Butter: Substitute with an equal amount of polyunsaturated margarine. For baking, switch to applesauce. Make sure the margarine is trans-fat free.

Mayonnaise: Substitute with "light" or equal amounts of plain yogurt.

Cream Cheese: Neufchatel or 4 T margarine mixed with 1 c dry, low-fat cottage cheese.

Ricotta cheese: Substitute with low-fat cottage cheese.

Once we have a grandson spend the night, the others quickly follow. Our third grandson stayed tonight. He loves chicken, so that's what we had. Not wanting to take time from him, I made this quick and easy chicken dish (ten minutes to prepare) that's also appealing to children.

NEVER FAIL CHICKEN

1/4 c canola oil
2 t pepper
2 c instant mashed potato flakes or buds
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Stir pepper in oil. Put potato flakes on wax paper.
Brush oil mixture over chicken then dredge in potato flakes, coating completely. Place in a well greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan, or on a non-stick cookie sheet.

Bake in a moderate 375 degree oven, or until golden brown.

I love pork tenderloin. It's a very lean, lowfat meat with so much flavor. And as it's name says, it is very tender. Even better, it's the easiest meal to make with so many variations. Serve with a baked potato or whole wheat roll. Add Sunday Glazed Carrots (recipe below) and you have a great meal.

ROSEMARY AND THYME PORK TENDERLOIN

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, 1/2-pound each
2 T Dijon mustard
1 T honey
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/8 t pepper
1/4 tsp pepper Thyme sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim fat from pork; place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Combine mustard, honey, rosemary, thyme and pepper in a bowl; brush over pork. Insert meat thermometer into the thickest part of the pork. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until thermometer registers 165 degrees F, basting frequently with mustard mixture. Garnish with thyme, if desired.

SUNDAY GLAZED CARROTS

Clean and peel 3 or 4 carrots. Cut in 1/2-inch diagonal slices. (Alternate: you can use baby carrots and leave whole if you'd rather). Place in a casserole dish. Add 1 T butter and 1/8 c brown sugar. Cover and cook on high for 9-11 minutes. Mix 1 T cold water and 3/4 t cornstarch till smooth and stir into carrots. Cover. Cook on high 2-4 minutes until thick. Stir before serving.

Our oldest grandson spent the night last night. We had my special oatmeal for breakfast. He loves it. Another favorite is this Apple Coffeecake. We often have brunch on Sundays.

Ingredients:
5 c tart apples, cored, peeled, chopped
1 c sugar
1 cup raisins (optional)-use 1 extra apple
1/2 c pecans, chopped
1/4 c canola oil
2 t vanilla
1 egg substitute-equivalent of one egg
1 c flour
1 c sifted whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 c wheat germ
1-1/2 t baking soda
2 t ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 13x9x2-inch pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine apples with sugar, raisins (if used) and pecans. Mix well. Let stand 30 minutes.
Stir in oil, vanilla and egg. Sift together flour, soda and cinnamon. Stir into apple mixture about 1/3 at a time - just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Pour batter into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake slightly before serving.

This Chicken Parmesan is made lower in fat by not frying. Tomato sauce is really good for you, too, so this makes a nice heart healthy dish. Serve over whole-wheat noodles with a side salad.

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 c tomato or spaghetti sauce
1/2 c reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
Garlic powder
1/4 c freshly chopped basil or 2 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Pour 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan and layer the chicken on top. Pour the other cup of sauce over the chicken and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and parmesan evenly over the top.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly. Sprinkle with garlic powder and garnish with basil.

This is another recipe that one of my daughter's gave me. It's so good and makes you feel like you're eating at a fancy restaurant. Serve with tossed salad and baked potato.

DILL SALMON WITH CHIVE SAUCE

½ c reduced fat salad dressing
¼ c chopped chives
2 t thyme leaves
2 t dill
¼ t salt
1/8 t pepper
¼ c dry white wine or chicken broth

Mix all ingredients together, except for wine or chicken broth. Reserve 1/3 cup of mixture and set aside for salmon topping or dip. Add the wine or chicken broth to the remaining 2/3 cup of spice mixture; stir, and brush on one pound piece of salmon. Bake in a 350 º oven for about 30 minutes or until salmon flakes easily when tested with a fork.

This takes a little time, but is worth the effort; and you've got everything you need in one dish. I just add sliced french bread rubbed with a garlic clove and warmed in the microwave or toasted in the oven. I like mine toasted!

BEEF AND SPINACH LASAGNA

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 package (16 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1/3 c flour
3 c skim milk
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce, divided
12 lasagna noodles, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion until browned, stirring occasionally. Add ground beef and cook until beef is no longer pink. Stir in garlic and spinach. Reduce heat, cover and cook 3 minutes or until spinach is tender. Set aside.

Combine flour, milk, salt, black pepper and red pepper in a small saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 2 cups milk mixture to spinach mixture. Cover remaining milk mixture and set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce; top with half of spinach mixture. Top with 3 lasagna noodles, 1 cup spaghetti sauce and 3/4 cup cheese. Layer 3 more lasagna noodles, remaining spinach mixture and remaining 3 lasagna noodles. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Pour reserved milk mixture over the top and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
Bake for 50 minutes or until lasagna is browned on top.