Your Holiday Cooking: Is it Naughty or Nice?

Milk and cookies for Santa. Sugarplums dancing in children’s heads. Sweets and treats in stockings. Dessert at Christmas dinner. Baked goodies and treats are going to be everywhere for the next few hours and the rest of the season to come. Below are some swaps for your holiday baking this season and the new year to come. Simple substitutions can really make the difference between adding on a few extra pounds, and watching your weight this holiday season.

Naughty: Shortening and lard. Nice: omega rich margarine and unsaturated oils like canola, safflower and sunflower. Both butter and margarine can substitute for shortening. Use one cup and two tablespoons for every one cup of shortening. Oils are best replaced for shortening or lard when a food is fried. When using butter or margarine as a substitute remember to use less salt. For a sweet and reduced calorie baked good, use pureed fruit in place of one quarter to one half of the fat. Peaches and pumpkin go well in muffins and spice cakes, prunes or avocado in chocolate based recipes, pears, bananas, or grated zucchini in quick breads and coffee cakes, and unsweetened applesauce goes well in almost any baked good. With any of these substitutions baking times may need to be adjusted ever so slightly.

Naughty: All-purpose white flour. Nice: fiber-rich whole wheat and whole grain flours. For a recipe that calls for all-purpose white flour, substitute one half of this with a whole wheat or whole grain flour. There is a difference between whole grain and whole wheat, but that’s another topic for another day, and either way, substituting some of this for the all-purpose white will bump up your fiber, B vitamin, and antioxidant content of muffins, cakes and cookies.

 

  

 

Naughty: Cream. Nice: Evaporated skim milk or fat-free half and half. Evaporated milk tends to have a bit more sugar but the major drop in fat and calorie content is worth the trade. Even light creams can be around 20% fat! Swap cream in a one to one ratio for a lower calorie evaporated skim milk or half and half mixture and your jeans will thank you in the new year.

Naughty: Sugar. Nice: Sweet spices, fruits, and artificial sweeteners. In most baked goods you can reduce the amount of sugar by one quarter without even noticing.  Sweetness can be intensified by adding sweet spices like vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon. Cutting sugar in half and adding a teaspoon of vanilla as a replacement can give just as much flavor with significantly fewer calories. Unsweetened applesauce can also be used in place of sugar. Swapping one cup of sugar for one cup of unsweetened applesauce can save a whopping 650 calories. Artificial sweeteners like sucralose and stevia can also be used to cut calories and replace sugar. Many of these sweeteners can be several hundred times sweeter than natural sugar, so keep in mind the amount used will depend on the sweetener you use, and likely be less.

 

 

Naughty: Unsweetened baking chocolate. Nice: Cocoa powder, carob or dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa. For a one ounce substitution use three tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, or carob, plus one tablespoon of a polyunsaturated oil like canola, or margarine. Dark chocolate can be replaced in a one to one ratio.

 

 

Eggs don’t make the naughty list, but if you’re looking to replace a whole egg there are some equally healthful substitutions. Two egg whites or one quarter cup egg substitute can be a replacement for one whole egg. Ground flax can also be used in replacement of eggs. One tablespoon of ground flax seeds whisked with three tablespoons of warm water will replace one egg. Let this sit a few minutes to gel and then add to your recipe.

As seen in The Telegram December 24, 2012