Reena’s Tips of the Week:

With bikini season looming, who isn’t trying to shed those extra pounds before everyone starts baring skin! To that end, Reena’s got a couple of belly trimming tips.

Substitute up to one-third of the total butter or oil in a cookie or cake recipe (light-coloured batters) with apple sauce, pureed pumpkin or sweet potato. And if you’re making a chocolate dessert, substitute with pureed prunes.

Substitute the mayonnaise in tuna, egg, pasta and chicken salads with pureed, seasoned tofu or plain low-fat yogurt, and seasonings. Keep in mind that although you may cringe at the thought of tofu, it really has no flavour of its own and picks up the flavour of whatever you add it to.

The difference in taste will be negligible if you apply these simple substitution solutions, but your party guests will sure see the difference in how those short shorts fit on you!

Taste is everything, so to punch up your dishes, toast your nuts to enhance their flavour: Bake them at 350°F in a shallow pan, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. And for spices and seeds, briefly toast them in a hot skillet and stir until fragrant. They make great additions to salads and casseroles.

All solutions are to be used at the risk of the user.

Reena Nerbas is the author of “Household Solutions 1 with Substitutions & Household Solutions 2 with Kitchen Secrets.”

To learn more about Reena, click here.