Tips for Healthier Baking

I have been baking ever since I was a little girl. As soon as I was old enough to read and follow a recipe on my own, my mother let me loose in the kitchen because she saw how much joy I got out of baking treats for the family. I grew up in the kitchen, basically-most of my free time was spent creating special cookies, breads, cakes, and other desserts.

No recipe was too time-consuming or complicated back then; in fact, the more difficult recipes were the ones from which I got the most satisfaction. The simple and quick desserts didn't hold much interest to me-I wanted to be challenged. So, through these complex recipes I learned all kinds of baking tricks and skills. Because I challenged myself then, baking anything is far from a challenge now-I'm a self-taught expert, I suppose you could say.

Now as you could imagine, doing all of this baking as I was growing up really brought out my sweet tooth. Oh, my sweet tooth was there from the beginning, but it really became prominent after learning how to bake! If I wanted something chocolaty, I didn't have to search the cupboards to see if my Mom had gotten anything at the grocery store-I could just go in the kitchen and make a batch of brownies. Or if I had a craving for something gooey and sweet, I could whip up some cinnamon rolls.

I still have this wicked sweet tooth as an adult, but now I have learned that I must try to eat more healthfully. And, since my kids have inherited my penchant for sweets, I really have to be careful about what I bake. So, I used my knowledge of baking and did some research on nutrition to come up with some ways to make the foods that I bake more nutritious. Of course, most baked goods do need to be eaten in moderation, but by making a few changes I can still indulge in my love of baking without expanding my waistline.

Whole wheat flour instead of white flour

I generally try to use whole wheat flour for about half of the white flour called for in most of my baking recipes now. If I use more than that, the baked good does not taste quite right, but by substituting just half of the white flour for whole wheat flour I rarely even notice a taste difference. I do this with muffins, cookies, cakes, pancakes, waffles, and breads.

No more sour cream or buttermilk

If I have a recipe that calls for sour cream or buttermilk, I use non-fat plain yogurt instead, in an equal amount. I have never had a problem by doing this, and my family does not even notice the difference. Not only does this remove fat from the baked good, but it also adds nutrition.

Replace the butter or shortening

In many recipes, I substitute either unsweetened applesauce or pureed prunes (from a baby food jar) for the butter or shortening that is called for-this works especially well in muffin, cake, and pancake or waffle recipes. For recipes where this type of substitution would not go well with the rest of the recipe (such as in some cookie recipes), I try using canola oil instead of some of the butter or shortening. Sometimes I have to experiment to see which of these substitutions will work best.

Toast the nuts

For any recipe that calls for nuts, I have found that I can decrease the amount of nuts that I use if I toast the nuts first. Why? Well, by toasting the nuts, they develop a stronger flavor, so I can use less and still have the same nutty flavor. This works for pecans, almonds, walnuts-pretty much any type of nut.

Splenda is my friend

I like to use Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking in a lot of my baked goods. I usually use it for about a third or a half of the sugar called for in the recipe. I don't substitute it for all of the sugar in the recipe because I prefer the taste of real sugar-but, I have found that I can substitute it for part of the sugar and not notice a difference in the final result.

One egg = two egg whites

To try to keep my cholesterol in check, I try to use egg whites instead of whole eggs when I can. I generally use two egg whites in exchange for each egg in the recipe, though sometimes I try to experiment with a little less than that.

Other than these healthy substitutions, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve to save on calories, fat, and cholesterol:

Buy low-fat or non-fat products whenever possible.

Usually I try the non-fat version of a product first and then, if I do not like it well enough, I move on to the low-fat version. Most of the time the non-fat version is fine, but in some cases (such as for cheese, in my opinion), it is just not adequate.

Use less of certain products when baking.

Quite often, you can use a lesser amount of certain ingredients when baking and still end up with a tasty baked good when you are finished. For example, instead of using a full bag of chocolate chips in your cookies, why not try using half of the bag next time? Your cookies will still turn out just as delicious. Or, if your recipe calls for a half a cup of coconut, try using a fourth of a cup. This idea generally works for ingredients that are not integral to the mixing of the recipe-do not try this with the dry or liquid ingredients called for in the recipe.

Make it in miniature.

I make my cookies a little smaller than most people, and I use miniature muffin tins when making muffins. By making them smaller, I can have two instead of one, without ingesting more calories. And for some reason, it makes me feel more satisfied to have two of something than one of something-plus, my kids like it when they can have two cookies instead of just one.

Skimp on the frosting.

Instead of slathering frosting on cupcakes or cake, I use a much smaller amount. The frosting is really sweet, so it isn't necessary to layer it on as thick as I used to-just a thin layer is sufficient. The same idea applies to glazes that a drizzled over coffee cakes and breads-I use about half the amount of glaze that the recipe calls for, and no one notices any difference.

All of these tips have helped me to be able to indulge my love of baking (and my love of eating baked goods) without sacrificing my health. Try these substitutions and tricks out-you will be able to enjoy your baked goods without any of the guilt.