I like to view healthy eating as a bit of a game. See, I’m a foodie and absolutely love a well-crafted, delicious meal. But I also love how I feel when I eat a healthful meal.
It becomes a fun challenge to try to combine the two into a truly great meal.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as finding a tasty and good-for-you recipe. Other times, it’s about making creative substitutions.
The best kind of substitution is one in which you can swap out a Really Bad Food™ with a Really Good Food™ and find that it tastes just as good — if not better!
As you likely know, mayonnaise is one of the most fat-laden, calorie dense foods out there.
Case in point: A good friend of mine once told me that his college roommate used to eat mayonnaise right out of the jar; he was a broke rock climber, you see, and found that mayo gave him the most calories for his buck. Yuck!
Personally, I think that low-fat mayonnaise tastes downright awful, even when it’s “hidden” in other foods. Instead, I’ve been enjoying Greek Yogurt as a spectacular substitute for mayo. It’s much thicker than regular yogurt — almost like a custard or a mascarpone cheese — and is much higher in protein.
One of my favorites is Fage Fat-Free Greek Yogurt, though unfortunately it’s not certified Organic. (It’s pronounced “Fa-Yeh,” by the way). Trader Joe’s also sells good 0% Greek Style Yogurts (both Organic and Not), but I find they’re a bit tarter than the Fage. There are a few other brands out there as well, of course, so go with whatever you find and/or prefer.
I should point out that I’m not telling you to never eat mayo. I’m just saying that when you do, make it count — don’t use it as an ingredient where it “disappears” into the recipe.
So here’s my “Hooray, it’s the weekend!” gift to you: Two recipes in which the yogurt sub works particularly well. You’ll never miss the mayo.
Wild Alaskan Salmon Salad
Most tuna salad is drowning in mayonnaise, so try this substitution — the creaminess of the yogurt is darn close to that of Mayo, and you’ll save literally hundreds of artery-clogging calories. I prefer Wild Alaskan Salmon over Tuna, because it’s higher in healthy Omega-3 oils, lower in mercury, and, most of all, sustainable. (Avoid farmed salmon.)
1 can (6 ounces) Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon
(Although it’s found in pretty much any well-stocked grocery store, it can be pricey. Costco sells a good one in packs of six; you can also get it at Trader Joe’s. Make sure it’s packed in water, not oil. Even better: Get it with no-salt-added*.)
1 stalk Celery, chopped
1/3 cup Fat Free Greek-Style Yogurt
1/2 tsp. Mustard
1/4 tsp. Dill
Pinch of Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
Other items you can throw in for some crunch, color, and nutrients: Chopped Red Bell Pepper, Onion, Cucumber, Jalapeño… you get the idea.
Serve half the mixture rolled up in a 100% Whole Wheat Tortilla with a leaf of lettuce and some diced tomato (or however else you like).
* Trader Joe’s charges twenty cents more for the salt-free variety. Seems kind of backwards if you ask me, but, well, drop the two extra dimes and keep your blood pressure a bit lower.
Spinach Artichoke Dip
A great dish to bring to parties; they’ll never know it’s not got mayo!
1 can Artichoke Hearts, rinsed, drained, and chopped
1/2 cup chopped, cooked frozen Spinach (thawed)
1/2 cup Fat Free Greek-Style Yogurt
1/4 cup low-fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan, Romano, and/or Asiago Cheese
1 tsp. Garlic Powder (not garlic salt)
Pinch of Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients and heat in the microwave until bubbling. Heat it in 30-45 second increments, stirring each time to be sure it heats evenly. You can also double the recipe and bake in a casserole dish at 350° for 30 minutes, covered. Sprinkle a little more mozzarella on top and bake uncovered at 450° for about 8 more minutes, until the cheese is browned.
Serve with 100% Whole Wheat Bread, Ak-Mak Crackers, or even a few Reduced-Fat Triscuit Crackers.
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Do you have a great yogurt-for-mayonnaise idea? Please share it in the comments or email it to me at andrew@eatingrules.com.
Fage Photo by nikaboyce.
Update 5-12-10: Added the Salmon Salad photo from my friend Dana, who made this salad for lunch, even though she still thinks mayo and fries is the ultimate combination.
Hi. My name is Andrew Wilder, and I think Eating Rules! I write about three of them, and everything in between.
April 30, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Mmmm spinach artichoke dip. I love this recipe!!! Thanks for sharing.
April 30, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Sounds good!! I buy the the Costco salmon too, it’s pretty good!! Will try both recipes soon!!
May 5, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Sounds good. Here’s a question for ya – generally speaking, when making the yogurt/mayo substitution, is it a one-to-one swap out?
Also, as on board as I am with this, sometimes you can’t beat french fries with REAL mayo (MAJOR CHEAT MEAL).
May 5, 2010 at 10:05 pm
Yup, I find a one-to-one substitution works pretty well. Sometimes I’ll also add a little more yogurt than I would mayo, just ’cause it makes it even creamier.
French fries with real mayo is cheat meal worthy, indeed!
June 18, 2010 at 6:28 am
Hey Andrew, have you tried using Greek yogurt to make aiolis as a mayo sub? Was thinking about this today, as I’m craving a burger with a nice aioli on it.
June 18, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Hey John,
I haven’t tried it, but I’d imagine it would be pretty easy to do. Maybe try adding a little bit of freshly chopped garlic to your yogurt? That might do it!
July 1, 2010 at 10:54 am
Andrew,
Tried making an aioli with the yogurt today… worked great. As its a bit thinner than the mayo you need to use a bit less olive oil, or it gets too watery, but once I got that resolved came out tasting no different than a mayo-based aioli!
July 7, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Awesome! So was it just yogurt, olive oil, and garlic? What’s the recipe?
October 9, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Help! I hate mayo and recently discovered that I could substitute greek yogurt in it’s place, which I love. My question is, can I use the yogurt in a dish that is baked in the oven. I’m concerned because it’s a dairy product.
October 11, 2010 at 9:16 am
Hi Donna,
I’ve tried Greek Yogurt in a couple of baked things — and I have found it does tend to curdle slightly, getting a little bit mealy.
But, depending on the dish, and how much you use, you may be able to “get away” with it.
I also tried it recently when we made Caramelized Figs with Crème Fraiche and Orange Flower Water (I’m hoping to share the recipe sometime in November…). The recipe calls for Crème Fraiche or Heavy Cream, to be added to the hot pan after caramelizing the figs. (It dissolves and mixes with the caramelized sugars leftover in the pan, creating a beautiful, sweet cream sauce). I tried it with Greek Yogurt, and found that it liquefied (great!) and then a few moments later curdled into tough balls of sour yogurt cheese (umm, not so great). They can’t all be winners, right?
So my advice is to give it a shot — as long as it’s not a huge component of the dish, it may work out great. Let us know what you find!
May 14, 2012 at 2:35 pm
h,i saw a recipe on t.v usng half avacado and half plain greek yogurt
October 23, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I skip the yogurt all together. Add a bit of extra virgin olive oil and squirt of lemon juice and a bit of onion chopped fine rinsed then add to salmon. Toast the bread and add a bit of goat cheese. Yum!!
November 3, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Hi Andrea,
That sounds great! I’ve actually started doing something even more basic — just making a simple salad and scooping half a can of (wild) salmon right on top for a bit of protein. Drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic on top, and I’m good to go.
- a.
[...] is a recipe for a salad that has also exchanged tuna for salmon for maximum Omega-3′s. Compare: 1tsp mayo [...]
October 30, 2011 at 8:45 am
Anyone used greek yogurt as a substitute for mayo in quiche?
October 31, 2011 at 3:24 pm
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work? Give it a try and let us know how it turns out!
October 31, 2011 at 6:22 pm
I went ahead and tried it with the Faje plain non-fat yogurt, and was told that it was as good as any quiche I had previously made. I don’t know if I would go that far, but it certainly worked as a healthy substitute. Thumbs up!
November 1, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Nice!
November 19, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Hello has anyone tried to use fage instead of mayo to make tuna fish with albacore tuna?
November 19, 2011 at 2:08 pm
For health and environmental reasons, I think it’s better to use Wild Alaskan Salmon instead of Tuna (due primarily to mercury and overfishing concerns) — but in terms of taste, yep, the Fage will work great.
January 12, 2012 at 4:35 pm
I make my tuna with yogurt instead of mayo and it is wonderful!
January 20, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Came upon these conversations from a google search. “Can I substitute yogurt for mayonnaise”. Southerner here and mayo is it’s own food group. I’m going to try greek yogurt in Chicken Salad with pecans and tarragon tomorrow. Glad to read it should work well!
April 4, 2012 at 9:57 pm
Thanks for the tips. I used greek yogurt in a southwestern chicken salad tonight, and loved it: chicken, avacado, corn, black beans, cilantro, flowered pepper, lime. It’s awesome alone or with spinach in a whole wheat wrap.
April 11, 2012 at 11:59 am
I use Fage Greek Yogurt as well ~ in a variety of things. My husband (an underweight diabetic!) loves tuna salad. Replace the mayo with the Fage yogurt, add a bit of smashed avocado -a terrific tuna salad! I also make a terrific tartar sauce for fish with the yogurt, some relish, a dash of mustard and garlic pepper – awesome! I used to use mayo in just about everything ~ but have replaced it with Greek yogurt for better health (and lost a few pounds as well!). It works great in pasta salads and so much more. I highly recommend the switch ~ you won’t miss the fat in mayo!!