There are many healthy baking substitutions you can use to lighten up your favorite recipe. A quick Google search will give you table after table of healthy alternatives in recipes. When you are armed with the knowledge of how to substitute not so healthy items for healthy items in a recipe, you can clean up just about any that you come across.
Here are my top five, most used substitutions.
1.) Oats/Oat Flour: If a recipe calls for flour, I almost always substitute it with oat flour. Oats are a natural source of fiber, vitamins and minerals. They are also higher in protein than whole wheat and high in iron which is something I tend to run a little low on! Oat flour does produce a thicker product so if you’re using it to make a cake, it may be a little more muffin like. You may prefer to use whole wheat pastry flour when making cakes!
2.) Plain Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt always substitutes sour cream for me. So whether it is a recipe that calls for sour cream or just the topping on a taco, its Greek yogurt for me! Plain yogurt is fine too, but the Greek variety has more protein! It also replaces cup for cup, mayonnaise and cream cheese in most recipes. I also use Greek yogurt in place of oil for many baked goods, but you will only need 3/4 cup for every cup of oil the recipe calls for. Don’t worry, it does not make your muffins taste like sour cream, it makes them more moist!
3.) Peanut Butter: I use peanut butter the most to substitute oil in cookie recipes. Although it is clean, it is still high in fat (of the good nature) so if you’re trying to cut fat, you can also substitute with applesauce cup for cup.
4.) Stevia: It is no secret I use stevia in place of sugar a lot! Stevia is a natural plant that is so sweet, it only requires the tiniest amount to make something sweet, which is why it is essentially calorie free. The stevia we buy in the store is processed a little, so some would say this isn’t a ‘clean’ product. I however, feel perfectly fine with stevia and use it often. I will warn, stevia can be bitter if you use too much, so I personally wouldn’t use it cup for cup with sugar in a recipe. I tend to stick to 1/4 cup max in recipes. Anything over that I find is bitter. When making anything that is single serving keep the stevia level low, 1-2 tbsp.
5.) Almond milk: Any recipe that calls for milk or cream is always replaced with almond milk for me! It is dairy free, sugar-free (if you buy unsweetened) and higher in protein and calcium in comparison with dairy milk. I use this cup for cup in any recipe.
So, that’s my top five! I love taking recipes that would be deemed unhealthy and changing up a few ingredients to create a healthy dish! I hope this helps you too get creative in the kitchen!
Love, Brooke
