Thursday, March 5, 2009

How to save points when baking


My sweet tooth is tiny, but ever since my household has grown by 3 I have been in the mood to bake cupcakes, pies, and other sweet treats. I rarely use my kitchen aid mixer, and this weekend I will be dusting it off to make a cake for mom’s birthday. I started searching for healthy baking ideas to help reduce your calorie intake. Did you know if you cut out just 500 calories a day, you will loose one pound a week. Hope these idea’s are helpful.

1. Replace 1 cup all-purpose flour by using 1 cup whole-wheat flour or 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or 7/8 cup all-purpose flour + 2 Tbsp. soy flour.

2. Replace butter milk by using an equal amount of nonfat or low fat yogurt.

3. Replace 1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate by using 3-4 Tbsp. cocoa powder + 1 Tbsp. oil + 1 Tbsp. sugar (for frosting or sauces) or 1/4 cup cocoa (for cakes or cookies)

4. Replace 1 cup chocolate chips by using chopped dried fruit such as cranberries, raisins, apricots, cherries (for quick bread and muffins) or chopped nuts.

5. Replace frosting by using sliced fresh fruit or pureed fruit or light dusting of powdered sugar.

6. Replace 1/2 cup of butter/margarine by using 1/4 cup of applesauce + 1/4 cup of canola oil, butter or margarine.

7. Replace 1 egg by using 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup liquid egg substitute.

8. Replace sweetened condensed milk by using low fat/nonfat sweetened condensed milk.
9. Replace evaporated milk by using evaporated skim milk.
By: Ryan K