Baking with Alternative Ingredients

With so many folks working hard to cut back on calories and stay healthy, making a few adjustments to your family recipes may help you stick to your health goals this season. Now-a-days, there is more to consider in the kitchen as more folks are turning to special diets that include Keto friendly foods, nut-free, and vegan. When making substitutions in the kitchen, be sure to follow the science behind baking. It’s important to maintain the right proportion of wet to dry ingredients. Too much flour or too little liquid or fat, can cause a cookie to crumble or a cake to flatten. My personal favorite is using applesauce instead of vegetable oil. Applesauce works well in brownie, cake, and muffin recipes, and it saves about 50 calories and 11 grams of fat. Whichever recipe satisfies your sweet tooth, be sure to use the correct substitutions. Check out some primary baking ingredients and their alternative counterparts below. Have fun baking everyone! Till next time, stay healthy and be well. 

Lower the Fat with Fruit and Fat-Free Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of Butter or Margarine → 1 tablespoon of Applesauce
• 2 tablespoons of Oil →2 tablespoons of unsweetened Applesauce 
• 1 Whole Egg → ¼ cup Egg whites or egg substitute
• 1 cup Whole Milk →1 cup Fat-free Milk or 1 cup Plant-based Milk  
• 1/3 cup Sour Cream → 1/3 cup Fat-Free Sour Cream
• 1 cup Sour cream → 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt 



Sugar and Sugar Substitutes 

• 1 cup white sugar → ¾ cup honey 
• Additional substitutions: ¾ cup Maple Syrup, 2/3 cup Agave Nectar, or 1 cup Coconut Sugar 
• 1 tablespoon white sugar → 2 tablespoons of fresh Banana
• 1 cup white sugar → 1 teaspoon Stevia 
• 1 teaspoon white sugar → ½ teaspoon Splenda for Baking (Sucralose) 

Flours Suitable for Nut Allergies and Gluten Free Diets

Note: Each flour has its own unique taste, texture, and nutritional differences   

Health Conscious: 

• 1 cup All-purpose White Flour → 1 cup 100% Whole Grain Flour 
• 1 cup All-purpose White Flour → 1 cup Almond flour + added stabilizer as needed 
• Other flours: Sorgum, Qunioa, Amaranth, Potato, and Brown rice

Nut allergy:

• 1 cup Almond Flour → 1 cup Coconut Flour + added moisture as needed 
• Other Nut-Free Flours: Buckwheat, Sorgum, Amaranth, Teff, Arrowroot, potato, and Brown rice

Gluten Free: 

• 1 cup All-purpose Wheat Flour → 1 cup Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour 
• 1 cup All-purpose Wheat Flour → 1 cup Almond flour (naturally gluten free)
• Other Gluten Free Flours: Buckwheat, Sorgum, Amaranth, Teff, arrowroot, potato, and Brown rice