Whether you love baking every day or wear your apron during the holiday season, you will always worry about calories. Most baked recipes are loaded with sugar, fat, and calorie-dense condiments. The apprehension is valid because you and your family end up getting more calories than you can burn. Fortunately, some simple switches in ingredients and recipes can help cut them down without compromising the taste. The good thing is that you need not be a professional to implement these ideas. Also, you do not have to worry about spending a fortune on expensive ingredients. Here are the helpful tips for avid home bakers.
Use whole-wheat flour
White flour is the biggest culprit that bakers have to deal with while mixing cakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, and bread. Luckily, you can mix half whole-wheat flour with half of the white flour to make your recipe a lot healthier. Whole wheat adds more fiber, magnesium and selenium, and various phytochemicals to the mix. The extra fiber will increase fullness and slow down digestion.
Cut down the fat
When you add a gram of fat to your baked recipe, the calorie count goes up. Cutting down the fat in your dishes is the best way to eliminate the unwanted calories. Start by understanding the minimum amount of fat you can manage with. Also, look for healthier alternatives. You can rely on moist ingredients like fat-free sour cream, light cream cheese, applesauce, or orange juice.
Substitute sugar
Another healthy choice that bakers can make is going low on sugar. You cannot give up on it completely because desserts have to be sweet. Alternatively, you can use a zero calorie brown sugar substitute to retain the taste while curbing the calorie count. You can pick one that measures the same as brown sugar, and you will not even have to struggle to tweak your recipe. A little hit and trial, and you will have a perfect-tasting sweet delight in your oven!
Choose the extras carefully
With baked dishes, the side ingredients may sometimes add more calories than the main ones. For example, loads of choco chips enhance the flavor of your cake, but they can also double the calorie count. You can be a little more careful with the choice of embellishments and add-ins to make your recipe super-healthy. Try decorating your cake with fresh fruit instead of high-sugar candies or chocolates. Eliminate frosting to avoid the extra sugar.
Get smart with your technique
If you are an avid home baker, you will probably know the techniques to lower the calorie counts of your recipes. Using non-stick dishes gives you a good start as you can minimize the use of fat for greasing. The cakes and cookies will come out lighter, and they won’t stick as well. Try cooking spray instead of a brush to grease the surface. Stick with bite-sized servings unless you have to prepare a festive cake.
A little work on your ingredients and techniques takes you a step closer to healthy baking. Follow these simple tips, and you can bake low-calorie cakes and cookies for your loved ones to relish.
No comments
We love hearing from you! Thanks for leaving us some comment love! If you're a new follower, please leave your link, so we can follow you back!