kitchen substitutes

Sometimes we might not have ingredients or essential cookware in the kitchen. Be smart and use substitutes for the ingredient that you are looking for. If you know which substitute you are looking for, keep some of the ingredients handy in your pantry shelves.

Planning on making cutlet and you are out of bread crumbs?  Look for oat meal, unsweetened cereal or crumble few crackers – use one of them instead place of bread crumbs.

Ran out of lemon? If you have Citric acid powder use it, or use white vinegar (same amount as lemon juice)

No cake pan? Don’t worry. Use an ovenproof ceramic bowl instead. Place them on baking tray and use hot pads to lift after your work done.

Easy way to marinate vegetables: Use Ziploc bags. Place vegetables and marinating ingredients. Seal and shake the contents. Refrigerate for few hours. In between shake marinade contents.

Adding spice and salt to popcorn: Spray vegetable oil on hot popcorn and sprinkle salt and spice. This retains popcorn flavor. If you use olive oil or butter, popcorn will lose its flavor.

 Looking for sour cream: Take one cup cottage cheese, 1 Tbsp lemon juice and ½ cup buttermilk. Blend the mix. Lemon juice will bring sourness to the content.

No corn syrup? If you are looking for one cup corn syrup – then dissolve 1 and ¼ cup brown sugar in 1/3 cup water. OR, use 7/8 cup honey!

Cocoa powder: No cocoa powder available? Use unsweetened chocolate

Evaporated milk: Recipe called for evaporated milk and you don’t have? Use one cup light cream.

Gelatin: Use agar agar powder. If recipe calls for 1 Tbsp gelatin, add 2 tsp agar agar instead

Lemon grass: No lemon grass for recipe. Use lemon zest

Saffron: Saffron is costly. Use turmeric powder. Color might vary slightly. But you are adding another good ingredient!

Vinegar: Instead add same amount of lemon juice

Corn starch not available? Use All purpose flour (for 1 tsp cornstarch replace with 2 tsp flour)

Recipe calls for red wine? You don’t drink wine? No worries, pick up grape juice and use same amount of grape juice as wine that the recipe calls for.

Ketchup replacement: For one cup tomato sauce add 1 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp sugar

No butter for cooking? Instead use 7/8 cup vegetable oil and ½ tsp salt (for 1 cup butter)

Mashed potato? Don’t want to eat potato, then use mashed cauliflower.

For pasta – substitute with healthy vegetable noodles

White rice – Substitute with cauliflower rice. Using food processor pulse cauliflower with coconut oil and get cauliflower rice.

Paleo substitutes:

• Instead of soy sauce use coconut
• For bread crumbs use flaxseeds
• Instead of cow’s milk – use almond or coconut milk
• Substitute vegetable oil with coconut oil
• Heavy cream substitute with coconut cream

Egg substitutes:

• In cookies, use ¼ cup vegetable oil instead of 1 egg
• In brownies – use ¼ cup yogurt instead of an egg
• For vegan cooking – Instead of an egg replace it with ¼ cup pureed tofu and 1 tbsp flour

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