Healthy Holiday Baking Tips

As heard on the Fat To Fit Radio Show...

HEALTHY HOLIDAY BAKING TIPS

         Reduce Sugar Intake

• Reducing the amount of sugar in a baking recipe can be easy. Replace half of the amount of sugar with an artificial sweetener like Splenda, Equal, etc.

          Substitute Ingredients & Cut Fat

• If you are wanting to cut the amount of fat in a recipe first use an egg substitute to replace half of the eggs in the recipe. For one large egg, ¼  cup egg substitute can be used. This egg substitute will cut the amount of calories by 45 and the amount of fat by 5 grams. The amount of butter or margarine that the recipe calls for can also be cut in half by using a moist and healthy ingredient like fat free sour cream, low fat yogurt, orange juice, or apple sauce to substitute for half. Remember to make sure the substitute complements the flavors you are baking with.

         Use Light Products

• Cutting down fat and sugar in a recipe can be done by using light products, like low fat and low sugar items. If a recipe calls for sour cream use light or low fat instead. Other examples include low fat cream cheese, fat free half and half, and light Cool Whip. Reducing the amount of additions a recipe calls for can really help too. For example, if a recipe calls for chocolate chips, half of the amount could be added in. You can also try using only half of the amount of frosting a cake recipe calls for.

         Use Healthy Flavor Alternatives

• To prevent affecting the recipes flavor by reducing the amount of fat and sugar in a recipe use the zest of a citrus fruit, like an orange or a lemon. Using these ingredients is a healthy substitute and can add a lot of flavor to low fat batters and dough. Fruit can be used as an outer layer which can enhance the flavor without adding calories. Cocoa is another good option to add flavor without the calories as a replacement in a recipe that calls for chocolate chips or squares. The replacement formula is to use 6 tablespoons of cocoa with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of fat free sour cream to replace 2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate. This also cuts your calories by 9 and grams of fat by 14.

          Portion Control & Fiber 

• Portion control is the most definite way to cut calories. Eating smaller servings is key. Adding fiber to a baking recipe is a very good way to be satisfied by a smaller serving. Whole wheat flour in most recipes can be substituted for half of the white flour that the recipe calls for. ¼ cup of whole wheat flour will add 3.5 grams of fiber.