Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Healthy Baking: How to Make Substitutions

We all love good baked goods, right?
But, sometimes these sugary sweets can be holding us back from our goals - alot further than we think. So, that said, here's the plan!

Why don't we use our brains to think up healthy substitutes for diet not-so-friendly ingredients?
Here are a few suggestions for you to try! The bad ingredient is listed first, followed by a healthier alternative.

  1. Sour Cream - You can completely substitute this by using low-fat buttermilk or plain yogurt. Both have fewer calories and less fat.
  2. Butter - You can substitute for half margarine, and half fruit puree. Anything like low-cal applesauce or mashed up bananas or prunes will work wonders. Canola oil or mild olive oil is also a choice here. For the best results, use a mixture of these ingredients.
  3. All-Purpose Flour - Whole Wheat baking flour. Whole wheat is always better for you than plain white.
  4. Chocolate - For chocolate batters, switch melted or chopped up baking chocolate for cocoa powder. 1 ounce of chocolate for 3 tablespoons of cocoa should do the trick. Cocoa is zero fat.
  5. Eggs - If you're using more than one egg, one of them can be switched for just the egg white to reduce calories and cholesterol. You can also find egg substitute in some grocery stores.
  6. Milk/Cream - Substitute for skim milk. Lower fat, carbs and calories.
  7. Whipped Cream - Chilled, whipped evaporated skim milk will have almost the exact same flavor, with a quarter of the calories and almost no fat.
  8. Butter (to grease pans): You probably haven't considered this, but the butter you use to grease your pans melts into the things you're baking and adds fat and calories. Try using Pam instead.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Low-Fat Apple Brownies

Low-Fat Apple Brownies

Ingredients:
2/3 cup canned apple or unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup sugar
½ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
2 egg whites
¼ cup cocoa powder

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray a square non-stick baking pan (8 inch x 8 inch) with non-stick cooking spray.
Whisk the egg whites and then combine the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, blend well. Pour batter into pan and bake 20-30 minutes until cooked. To test if batter is cooked, insert a toothpick. If it comes out clean, brownie is cooked. Remove from oven and let cool for five minutes in pan. Gently remove from pan; place on wire rack and when cool, sprinkle with icing sugar if desired. Cut into eight squares. Enjoy!

Nutritional Facts


Per batch: 954 cals, 324 carbs, 0 fat
Per serving (1/8): 119 cals, 40 carbs, 0 fat
Per serving (1/10): 95 cals, 32 carbs, 0 fat

My Review

I love these brownies. They're not too sweet, but they have a great , natural taste to them. They're unique and very addictive, and the best part of them is that they are low-cal AND fat-free. Pretty sure they have a few carbs, but in the end, I would say these brownies are pretty forgiving. :)