Healthy Baking Tips

If you like baking and making sweets, we have 5 easy healthy baking tips for you! With these simple techniques, you can make any of your favorite sweets into healthier choices while maintaining the same wonderful flavor.

1. Replace refined sugar with fruit

Replace up to 12 percent of the refined sugar in your recipe with fruit. Fruits provide a boost of fiber and minerals like vitamin C, as well as natural sugars that are excellent for adding sweetness to baked products. Apple and banana are two of our favorite fruits to bake with!

In a 1:1 ratio, replace the sugar in your recipe with applesauce, shredded apple (leave the peel on for maximum nutrients), or mashed banana.

Tip: When baking, use ripe bananas. They provide the greatest amount of sweetness!

You'll need to adjust the quantity of liquid in your recipe if you use this substitution. Typically, a 14 cup reduction in liquid (milk, water, etc.) will enough. There's no need to make any adjustments if the recipe doesn't ask for any additional liquid. Loaves, muffins, and brownies are the ideal candidates for this exchange. Applesauce is used as a natural sweetener in this chocolate zucchini cake.

2. Use Greek yogurt instead of butter or oil

As a healthy and high-protein option, replace part of the oil, sour cream, or butter in your recipe with Greek yogurt. Calcium and vitamin D will be added to your dessert.

For a reduced sugar alternative, go for plain unsweetened yogurt, and don't be scared to utilize fat-rich Greek yogurt. When compared to a zero-fat yogurt, it will give your dessert a creamier consistency. This velvety chocolate pudding with Greek yogurt, banana, and avocado is a must-try!

•  1 cup sour cream equals 1 cup Greek yogurt
•  12 cup butter + 12 cup Greek yogurt Equals 1 cup butter
•  1 cup olive oil equals 34 cup Greek yogurt
•  12 cup heavy cream + 12 cup Greek yogurt Equals 1 cup heavy cream

3. Use whole wheat flour instead of white flour

To add extra fiber, B vitamins, potassium, and iron to your next dessert, use whole wheat flour. Replace up to half of the white flour in your recipe with whole wheat flour. To maintain the same excellent flavor and texture, use whole wheat flour for the berries in Bluberry Muffins5. It's recommended to start slowly when using 100 percent whole wheat flour since it may result in a thicker, heavier dessert. When half of the white flour in our lemon and blueberry cottage cheese muffins is replaced with whole wheat flour, the result is fantastic.

There are a few essential measures to ensure that your whole wheat dessert is as delicious as possible!

To make your dessert more airy, sift your whole wheat flour before adding it to the recipe. Just enough to mix the components in your dough or batter. Over-mixing may make your baked products harsh and chewy since whole wheat flour contains more gluten than white flour.

4. To naturally bind your components, use healthy eggs

Eggs are rich in protein and include vitamins A, D, B12, iron, and folate, among other minerals. Not only can eggs provide nutrition to dishes, but they also serve a variety of culinary purposes:

• When cooked, the protein in eggs firms up and solidifies, providing structural support to your dessert.
• Egg yolk contains lecithin, a natural emulsifier that aids in the creation of smooth batters and doughs.
• Eggs aid in the trapping and holding of air in your recipe, resulting in a lighter, airier dessert. Egg whites are very useful for this.

Before baking, brush pies, biscuits, breads, and buns with an egg wash. The protein in the egg provides your final product a beautiful bronzing effect, while the fat from the yolk gives it a glossy shine.

To use as an egg wash on your baked products, whisk up one egg and 1 tablespoon water or milk.

Find out more about the science of egg baking!

5. Select dark chocolate

If your recipe asks for chocolate, use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate for a more flavorful result with less sugar. Choose dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa content for the healthiest chocolate chip muffins. Flavonoids, which are found in dark chocolate, are also abundant. Flavonoids are a kind of antioxidant that has been linked to improved health. In this popular recipe for one-bowl banana chocolate chip muffins, try using dark chocolate chips.