Amanda, that is actually the philosophy that Cooking Light has moved toward in their recipes. More and more of their recipes now are calling for butter, cream, etc. -- but all in very small amounts, and balanced out by lots of veggies and lower-cal ingredients. Of course, the biggest problem with that is that I can't BUY 2 Tbsp of heavy cream. What am I supposed to do with the rest of the carton?
That was always my question about spices. At Thanksgiving, I needed 1/2 tsp of ground cloves. A small container of it was almost $8 at the store, and then what? I use a tiny smidgen of it and the rest gets old in the cupboard? Ahh, but I made a discovery....I was walking past the Mexican foods section and there were little hanging packets of spices. I found a packet of ground cloves for 89 cents, and there were several tablespoons of spice in it. Nice! That doesn't help you with the heavy cream, but maybe someone else will find it helpful.
I actually can buy half and half in pint sized. And I do have the advantage that DH will use the rest on his cereal. Nowadays HNH is ultra-pasturized and will keep a long time, but I'm betting you'll still end up throwing it out...
As for the spices, my grocery's health food section sells a lot of spices by the ounce. They're in big jars and you measure out what you want.
When I made a hot artichoke crab dip for our brunch on Sunday, I made it "lighter" by adding more crab (2 cans instead of 1) and used a lower fat Alouette cheese instead of mayo (I find that rf or ff mayo will separate nastily when heated). The other advantage was that the cheese had garlic and herb seasoning. Made a full quiche dish full and 12 people polished it off, served with baked pita chips.
Our natural food store sells spices by the ounce as well.
I also grow many of my own and dehydrate or freeze them.
Freezing fresh spices with water in ice cube trays works great for adding them to soups and stews. Ground spices freeze pretty well, but "leaf" spices don't unless you use the ice cube approach.
Then there is always the windowsill garden If I could just keep my cat from eating them
That was always my question about spices. At Thanksgiving, I needed 1/2 tsp of ground cloves. A small container of it was almost $8 at the store, and then what? I use a tiny smidgen of it and the rest gets old in the cupboard? Ahh, but I made a discovery....I was walking past the Mexican foods section and there were little hanging packets of spices. I found a packet of ground cloves for 89 cents, and there were several tablespoons of spice in it. Nice! That doesn't help you with the heavy cream, but maybe someone else will find it helpful.
Last thanksgiving I used a 3fc posted pumpkin mousse recipe and it called for ground cloves. I looked at the price in the market and left without. I went home and ground some of the whole cloves that I had and totally scratched up the inside of my mini food processor. wish I saw those little packets! Next time I'll look for them
Just for information. You can use a pestle and mortar to grind spices. Or the end of a rolling pin on a wooden board. It's good exercise and excellent for stress-busting.
On that ground clove issue- I have found that I can find "pumpkin pie spice" on sale around the holidays. It works in most recipes calling for cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. I add extra cinnamon which I have as a staple. The pumpkin pie mix can be added to the coffee grounds before brewing or added to tea for a nice change.
As to the mock recipe issue- there are just things that make no sense calories wise and I do not use them. It has been an evolutionary process.
On that ground clove issue- I have found that I can find "pumpkin pie spice" on sale around the holidays. It works in most recipes calling for cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. I add extra cinnamon which I have as a staple. The pumpkin pie mix can be added to the coffee grounds before brewing or added to tea for a nice change.
And is delicious mixed in with pumpkin and oatmeal, or sprinkled on sweet potatoes
wish I saw those little packets! Next time I'll look for them 
