Ingredient Substitutions For Healthier Recipes

Replacing Butter

Just about every recipe for baked goods contains some butter in it, as do recipes for savory pastries and many loaves of bread. Unfortunately, butter has a lot of fat, and there is very little individuals get out of it when it comes to health. The good news, however, is there are many different ways to replace butter in a wide variety of recipes. For every cup of butter that needs replacing in cakes, breads, muffins, and similar, bakers have a variety of choices when it comes to substitution.

For every cup of butter try one cup of mashed banana, one cup pureed avocado, ¾ cup of prunes and ¼ cup of boiling water, two tablespoons of chia seeds and one cup of water, or three tablespoons of ground flaxseed and one tablespoon of water. It should be noted, however, to avoid substituting both eggs and butter for chia seeds in the same recipe, and it is also advisable to only replace half the butter with chia seeds and go from there.

Reducing Sugar

Sugar is often what packs in the most calories without any nutritional benefit in recipes like muffins, cupcakes, cakes, and more. In fact, it can make even beneficial drinks like tea not incredibly healthy if individuals pour in a lot of sugar. Thankfully, there are many ways to dramatically reduce the amount of sugar in favorite recipes. Tea drinkers, for instance, can use natural sweeteners, such as honey, agave, or even skim milk or milk alternatives to help flavor their tea instead of sugar. Of course, the best solution is to gradually reduce all sweeteners until they can drink it without any.

When it comes to baked goods and others, ingredient substitutions to make the recipes healthier include vanilla extract, unsweetened applesauce, or spices such as nutmeg, cardamom, and cinnamon. Start with half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom for every two tablespoons of sugar that needs replacing. One cup of unsweetened applesauce can be used for every cup of sugar, as long as the other liquids in the recipe are reduced by ¼ cup per cup of applesauce.