I love baking. I love eating. I love working out. I do not love eating baked goods and ruining my hard work at the gym. I mindfully work toward staying committed to my healthy lifestyle. I come from the school of thought that we are all human and we are all going to enjoy a treat every once in a while; however, when baking in your own home, those treats may be more of a temptation than one would like. If I make a batch of cookies it can be hard to only eat one or two when the temptation is always staring you in the face.
In an effort to bake healthier foods, I have often found myself on Pinterest and browsing the web looking for healthy recipes and healthy substitutions. There are a lot of substitutions listed, from some that I have tried, like substituting apple sauce for sugar, to others that seem more unconventional, like using black beans in place of flour. I have done my fair share of experimenting with healthy substitutions and learned a lot from trail an error. When you put too many substitutions into a recipe, it can often come out the wrong consistency or tasting unusual. I would personally recommend only making two- three healthy substitutions at most in your baking.
Here are some healthy substitutions that have worked well in my kitchen:
| Ingredient | Substitution |
|---|---|
| Sugar | Apple Sauce |
| Butter/Oil | Plain Low-Fat Yogurt |
| Butter | Banana |
| Oil | Apple Sauce |
| Sour Cream | Plain Low-Fat Greek Yogurt |
| Flour | 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 all purpose flour |
Low-Fat, Low-Sugar Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12 Muffins
(each muffin approximately 165 calories, 29 grams of carbohydrate, 4 grams of protein, and 4 grams of fat)
Ingredients:
1 egg
½ cup skim milk
½ cup vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups unbleached flour
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400oF.
2. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg, milk, yogurt, and oil.
4. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the liquids all at once. Stir the batter just to blend. Do not overbeat.
5. Fold in blueberries. Scoop the mixture into the prepared pan.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
What are your favorite healthy substitutions?
Enjoy,
Michelle Ostran
Drexel University Graduate Student, MS in Human Nutrition
Notes from Lori: The work week can be a very busy time for all! Making some foods ahead and freezing can be a lifesaver. Double the recipe and then freeze some of these muffins to take out when you need them!
Some other baking substitutions to try can be found here from greatist.com. If you are gluten free like I am, there are many gluten free flour mixes available in grocery stores and specialty stores. If you want try to make your own, see these tips from glutenfreegirl.com! As Michelle said sometimes making too many recipe substitutions can end up in disaster, but don’t be afraid to experiment!