Just like exercise, healthy baking requires a certain amount of discipline and self-control, especially if you want to make it part of your lifestyle. The good news is that there are ways of having your cake and eating it too as long as you follow certain guidelines.
Making everyday recipes more nutritious and still simply delicious is a must for a successful healthy baking program. After all, why go through all that effort if you’re going to feel miserable with what you’re eating, right?
In all honesty, baking needs some fat and sugar for the final product to taste good. These play important roles in baking, such as making your bread lighter, preventing your baked goodies from getting dry, and giving them that moist, chewy texture.
However, you can make your baking more nutritious by replacing empty calorie ingredients with unrefined alternatives. Instead of white flour, use wholewheat, and you can do away with refined sugar and use fruit syrups or cinnamon to add sweetness, among others. These ingredients provide vitamins and minerals rather than just adding empty calories.
Here are some tips to make your baking much healthier:
- Use ground almonds instead of refined flour.
- Use honey as a substitute for refined sugars.
- Add more fiber to your baked goods such as oats and nuts.
- Use silken tofu as a substitute to butter.
- Use less salt.
- Using wholegrain flour instead of white flour to increase fibrous content.
- Bake with unsaturated fat.
- Add healthier ingredients to your baking like fruits and vegetables.
- Use healthier icing such as glacé or a light sprinkle of icing sugar instead of butter icing.
- Watch your portion sizes.
As in all things worth doing, healthy baking takes just a little knowledge and a bit of effort and willpower. Here are 2 recipes that should help jump start your nutritious and simply delicious baking habits. Bon appetit!
