Clever Tricks-Kitchen Substitutions

There's 2 things I hate when I am in the kitchen. 1) Going to make something and realizing I am out of one of the ingredients and 2)Planning to make something and realizing I need to buy something that I am not going to use in anything else. Enter kitchen substitutions, which you may be surprised at things you can substitute. Check out these substitutions, which are only the tip of the iceberg:

• Oil in Baking- Substitute equal amount of applesauce
• 1 tsp Baking powder- substitute 1/4 tsp. baking soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 c. Broth (chicken or beef)- substitute 1 boullion cube dissolved in 1 c water.
• 1 c. Buttermilk- substitute 1 c yogurt or 1 c milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar (let stand 5 min)
• 1 c. Cake Flour- 1 c sifted all-purpose flour less 2 tbsp.
• 1 oz Unsweetened Chocolate- substitute 3 tbsp cocoa plus 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch- substitute 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• Sour Cream- substitute equal amount of plain (or greek) yogurt (this works in reverse too)
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice- substitute 1/2 tsp vinegar (this works in reverse as well)
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste- substitute 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp Allspice- substitute 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon plus 1/2 tsp ground cloves and pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 tbsp Instant Coffee (in baking)- substitute 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 c Confectioner's Sugar- substitute 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar plus 3/4 cornstarch finely ground in a blender or food processor

Seriously, I could list tons more of these, but some of it depends on what you are trying to make.

I found a book at the library that would make a wonderful reference to have on hand called The Food Substitutions Bible: More Than 6,500 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment and Techniques. It's a pretty handy book. I actually think I might use some of the Amazon gift cards I have from Swagbucks on it. It has tons of substitutions for all kinds of foods and for kitchen equipment. It also shows you healthier substitutions for foods as well.

If you have an awesome substitution, I'd love to hear it. Please share in the comments below!