I am a big fan of cream. Full cream, full fat cream, all-purpose cream…I love it. Be it as my carbonara base or with fruits in season, cream just makes the dish so much better. But while it tastes delicious, it is terrible for my waistline. Plus if I’m not mistaken, cream is bad for the heart too because of it’s high fat content.

Recently, I saw this when I was in the grocery:

Nestlé D’Lite cream is a healthier alternative to the usually heavier and fattier creams available. Do not be fooled, however, because this is SOYA CREAM meaning it is not made of milk, like most creams are usually made of. Given that it is soy based, it tastes VERY different. It doesn’t taste bad, but it can throw you off a bit at first. I used this to make my carbonara recipe and at first, it was really hard to enjoy the dish, mainly because the cream has a different kind of sweetness to it. However, after adding a buillon cube and some fresh mushrooms, it came close to what my usual fatty carbonara tastes like.

I haven’t tried this yet as a substitute for fruit salads or other desserts that require cream, though. I’m not sure how different that one would be mainly because the cream plays such a big role in dessert dishes. As a base, however, I think it is a good enough substitute, as long as you make the necessary adjustments because of the vastly different flavor it has. However, if you really are serious about wanting to make healthier choices, that is a sacrifice you can make right? That’s what I’m trying to do.