Monday, November 30, 2009

5 Tips for Healthier Baking over the Holidays

We all know you love cookies and holiday baking, sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad. My secret is to always make them so healthy that I don’t even want to eat them (most people don’t like this). So for holiday baking that you still want to use to impress guests, use the following tips to make them a little bit healthier and ease the guilt while heading into the New Year.

1- Butter / Oil - Substitute with an equal amount of applesauce
Ratio: 1 to 1
Note: As with eggs, you do not want to substitute the entire amount of fat in the recipe with applesauce. The applesauce will keep the baked good soft and moist, but the fat does add a nice flavour. Substitute anywhere from half to 3/4 of the amount of fat for applesauce.

2- Eggs - Substitute 1 large egg for 2 egg whites
Ratio: 1 to 2

Note: Do not substitute all of the eggs in the recipe for egg whites. If the recipe calls for 4 eggs, substitute only 2 for the whites. You'll be much more satisfied with the results.

3- Sour cream - light/non-fat sour cream or non-fat plain yogurt
Ratio: 1 to 1
Note: If using yogurt, Greek style is best for consistency purposes.

4- White Flour - Whole Wheat Flour (more fibre!)
Ratio: 1 to 1
Note: Substitute up to 3/4 of white flour for whole wheat. The consistency can be much denser if you use all whole wheat flour.

5- Nuts - reduce the amount by half and toast them.

Radio: 2 to 1

Note: By toasting the nuts it helps develop the flavour further resulting in the ability to reduce the amount the recipe indicates

*thanks to ehow for these lovely tips

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