Diet Analysis Project: Recipe Modification

Many of the recipes you find in cookbooks have more saturated fats, trans fats or sugar than they need to for good taste, or don't provide much in the way of fiber, vitamins & minerals. For the most part, it's not incredibly difficult to adjust the recipes so that they reflect a more reasonable amount of fat/sat fat, sugar, fiber, and nutrients in general.

In my on-campus classes in the past, I have required students to find a recipe and modify it themselves. However, I have found that folks who don't cook or experiment with cooking on a regular basis have a hard time modifying recipes in a way that will produce a good-tasting, good-textured food. For example, if you make pastries you can understand this: one of my students modified a pie crust recipe by doubling the flour and halving the fat. If you don't make pastries, I'll let you know: that pie crust would have the texture of a hockey puck. Therefore, I am going to provide you with some of my own modified recipes. You are required to make the recipe you choose, and I would like you to have a reasonably good-tasting recipe.

So, you will have two options:

1) you can use one of my recipes which I will provide.

OR

2) you can modify your own recipe if you feel comfortable with it. Read the recipes I provide, though, to get some ideas. You can also email me for ideas.

A. Option 1 Instructions: using one of my recipes

  1. Choose one of the recipes I have provided. When you open the document, you will find 2 recipes: one labeled “modified” and one labeled “original.” The modified version is the “healthified” one, and this is the one you should cook. At the bottom of the page is the “original” version, and I did not include cooking instructions, only ingredients, because you do not need to cook the original recipe.
  2. Enter the ingredients of the “modified” recipe into the Diet Analysis Program as one day’s worth of intake.
  3. Choose another date on the Diet Analysis program. Enter the ingredients of the “original” recipe into the Diet Analysis Program as one day’s worth of intake. This means, each recipe gets its own day, and you will be comparing recipes by comparing days.
  4. Cook the modified recipe.
  5. Answer the questions on the assignment page (see part C, below).

OR

B. Option 2 Instructions: using your own recipe

  1. Find a recipe that you think could be “healthified” by using less fat, healthier fat, more fruits and/or veggies, substituting whole grains, etc.
  2. You must make AT LEAST 3 changes to the original recipe to make it healthier. You must keep the total amount of food produced approximately the same. For example, you could substitute whole wheat pasta for white pasta, but you could not reduce the amount of pasta used (unless you add something else, like spaghetti squash, to keep the total amount similar).
  3. Be prepared to explain why you made the changes you made.
  4. Enter the ingredients of the “modified” recipe into the Diet Analysis Program as one day’s worth of intake.
  5. Choose another date on the Diet Analysis program. Enter the ingredients of the “original” recipe into the Diet Analysis Program as one day’s worth of intake. This means, each recipe gets its own day, and you will be comparing recipes by comparing days.
  6. Cook the modified recipe.
  7. Answer the questions on the assignment page (see part C, below).

C. Questions to answer (to be turned in on the assignment/activity form, as always)

  1. What changes were made to modify the original recipe?
  2. Choose 3 of the changes that were made. Why was EACH change made, in terms of adding health value? (For example, 1)sugar was reduced, decreasing empty kcals, 2)avocado replaced some butter, increasing good fats, fiber and vitamins, etc).

For the following, use the “Intake vs Goals” option in the Diet Analysis program, unless otherwise noted.

  1. How many kcals does the original recipe provide? How many kcals does the modified recipe provide?
  2. What percent of total kcals come from saturated fat in the original recipe? In the modified recipe? Use the “fat breakdown” option to view this.
  3. How much fiber does the original recipe provide? How much fiber does the modified recipe provide?
  4. How many omega-3 fatty acids does the original recipe provide? How many omega-3 fatty acids does the modified recipe provide?
  5. Did the original recipe contain trans-fat? If so, what ingredient/s was the source?
  6. List all vitamins that are more abundant in the modified recipe than in the original recipe.
  7. Choose one of the most abundant vitamins in the modified recipe. What ingredient provides the most of that vitamin, and how much of that ingredient is called for in the recipe? (For example, ½ cup cocoa)
  8. Choose another of the most abundant vitamins in the modified recipe. What ingredient provides the most of that vitamin, and how much of that ingredient is called for in the recipe? (For example, ½ cup cocoa)
  9. List all minerals that are more abundant in the modified recipe than in the original recipe.
  10. Choose one of the most abundant minerals in the modified recipe. What ingredient provides the most of that mineral, and how much of that ingredient is called for in the recipe? (For example, ½ cup cocoa)
  11. Choose another of the most abundant minerals in the modified recipe. What ingredient provides the most of that mineral, and how much of that ingredient is called for in the recipe? (For example, ½ cup cocoa)
  12. List all vitamins AND minerals that are LESS abundant in the modified recipe than in the original.
  13. Choose one vitamin OR mineral that is LESS abundant in the modified recipe. What ingredient from the ORIGINAL recipe provides the most of that vitamin or mineral?
  14. Choose one vitamin or mineral that is LESS abundant in the modified recipe. What is one food you could eat during the day to obtain that vitamin or mineral?
  15. Which recipe do you think contains more phytochemicals/antioxidants? Explain why you think so. What is one specific health advantage of a diet filled with phytochemicals/antioxidants?
  16. Is EVERYTHING about the modified version healthier/more nutritious than the original recipe? If not, explain… what is not healthier, and why not (which ingredients/amounts account for this)? Overall, do you think the modifications are worth it in terms of health value?
  17. Did you like the modified recipe when you cooked it?