There are many other substitutions that chefs use. First Magazine's December 2007 issue included an article titled, "Professional Chefs' Slimming Tweaks for Holiday Favorites." It suggested such ingenious techniques as switching pureed white beans for butter. Chef Julie Van Rosendaal suggests substituting cannellini or white kidney beans for 1/2 of the butter when you make cookies so that they are low-fat.

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Chef Nancy Fox dips her pastry brush in water before she dips it in butter when she makes strudel, cutting the fat by almost 30%! Don't forget to squeeze it out between the water and butter immersions so that it doesn't become over-saturated.

Chef Missy Chase Lapine uses baby food instead of vegetable oil when baking cakes. They retain their moisture and then come with the added benefit of a serving of either fruit or vegetable, depending on what was added. Baby food purées can take the place of half of the oil. She suggests pureed prunes for chocolate desserts and pureed carrots for white and yellow cakes.