photo 1_zpsbb9813b2.jpg

 photo 1_zps5ad8fea2.jpg photo 2_zps54a44b35.jpg photo 3_zps23279e9b.jpg photo 4_zps59cfbee5.jpg photo 5_zps9dd3ae13.jpg photo 6_zpsc6384bcf.jpg
 photo 0031_zps78715216.jpg

Monday, April 22, 2013

Ingredient Swap!

Alright, so you've heard be go on and on about how important your nutrition is, but now it's time that I back it up for you. When you cook, there are a lot of ingredients that add extra fat, calories, sugar, carbs, etc. that you can actually find much better alternatives to. Especially if you love to bake! I am a baker and I LOVE me some carbs, but I have to make these adjustments to fulfill my cravings, but not fall of the wagon. They are very simple swaps and they can really beef up the nutrition you get from your foods and cut out the "bad" in your food. So in this post I have some healthy replacements for your next home cooked meal or treat. Just an FYI, I am not a nutritionist. These are just some habits I have used and still use as apposed to some of these ingredients. They may not be to everyone's liking, but it's just some ideas to maybe help you find what works for you.

Swap oil or butter for....Unsweetend applesauce! YOU BETCHA! The applesauce actually can help make your batter more thick and fluffy and cut out the extra unwanted fat. Unsweetend is great because it really doesn't taste unsweetend, it tastes just like apples (which are already sweet) you won't need the extra sugars and sweeteners!

The applesauce won't necessarily keep your batter from sticking to the pan or cookie sheet it's in/on. So what can we use that won't add extra crap to my banana bread (or your choice of baked good)? Not all oil is created equal or represented fairly. You actually CAN have some oils because they provide good fats with less calories and MORE nutrients. Of course, extra virgin olive oil is an obvious choice. To avoid putting too much on your pans, just put some on a napkin and rub around the pan or buy and oil sprayer bottle and put your olive oil in that. Why is it so much better? Because extra virgin olive oil is more easily absorbed by the body and contains healthy vitamins like A & D. It also doesn't increase your blood pressure or negatively effects your cholesterol thanks to the antioxidants it carries.

Now, lets talk flour. Guess what? White flour provides little to NO nutrition. It has been stripped of its nutritents for appearance. Whole wheat flour provides a lot more fiber and nutrients and contains more vitamins. Well, you chefs would argue its too heavy and grainy. Fair enought, then go buy whole wheat pastry four. That stuff is lighter and fluffier than air. All my breads, pancakes/waffles, cookies, etc turn out so moist and fluffy it is crazy!

Sugar. Ha, yeah I went there. Sugar is SOOO easy to replace! I recommend first and foremost Raw stevia. It doesn't spike your blood sugar like regular sugar does. It doesn't bring you up to speed at 100mph and make you crash and crave. You don't need as much and it is zero calories. I also love raw, local honey or agave nectar. You just have to pay attention to the ingredients. You want to avoid the pasterized products and opt for more organic ones. Both of these options provide a steady affect on your blood sugar, and are very sweet and contain enzymes and is a very natural sugar and is digested like sugar from fruit or other natural foods.

Those are just a few options that I have swapped out for better options. If any of you have other questions on ingredients to swap, message me please! I'd love to help you find more options or even help me look into better options. I love to hear feedback!

1 comment:

  1. To be honest in love stevia over regular sugar you usually buy in stores ya it's more expensive but in a weight loss standpoint it keeps the sugars low.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, I'll respond ASAP.