How to Make Healthy Holiday Desserts
Use a whole wheat flour., Replace fats with tofu or coconut oil., Replace butter and fat with a fruit puree., Replace eggs with egg whites., Swap cow's milk with a different type of milk.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Use a whole wheat flour.
Whole wheat flour contains more vitamins and nutrients than its refined all-purpose counterpart.
If you want to pack your holiday desserts with more fiber, calcium, and vitamins, than you can substitute some of the all-purpose processed flour that you would usually use, with whole wheat flour.Replace 50% of your all-purpose flour with wheat flour when making your holiday desserts.Whole wheat flour will create a denser, firmer final product.
Try using a 1:1 ratio in recipes for oatmeal cookies, chocolate cake, and gingerbread.
Avoid using wheat flour for delicate dishes like angel food cake, yellow cake, or cream scones. -
Step 2: Replace fats with tofu or coconut oil.
For many recipes, you can replace butter with tofu or coconut oil.
Try using pureed soft or silken tofu in a 1:1 ratio in your recipes.When using coconut oil, you can also use a 1:1 ratio.
Tofu will impart a fluffy and lighter texture to things like brownies and will take on the taste of other sweet desserts.Tofu is high in protein but low in fat.
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature and acts similar to butter.
Coconut oil goes great in cupcakes, oatmeal cookies, and muffins., Fats like butter help bind desserts together and provide texture and moisture to your food.
You can replace these unhealthy fats with fruit purees, such as applesauce, pumpkin or squash puree, prune puree, or mashed bananas.Cut the amount of butter you'd use in half, and replace it with fruit puree.
Applesauce is a great replacement for butter in cake recipes, muffins, and gingerbread.
Prune puree works great in recipes like muffins, scones, chocolate cakes, coffee cakes, brownies, and cookies. , Replace the eggs that you would normally use in a recipe at a ratio of two egg whites per egg.Egg whites are high in potassium, riboflavin, protein, and selenium.
Unlike the egg yolk, egg whites don't contain cholesterol or saturated fat.Egg whites will give your dessert a fluffy and lighter texture. , Instead of using cow's milk, which can be high in fat, you can use other alternatives.
Some options include soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk.
These types of milk will act similar to low-fat or skim milk in most recipes, and can usually be swapped at a 1:1 ratio.
When replacing whole milk, consider using coconut milk beverage, not to be confused with coconut milk, which has 5 grams of fat per cup compared to whole milk's 8 grams of fat per cup.Almond milk is naturally sweet and should be used when making sweet desserts.
Soymilk has a beany flavor that can overpower delicate desserts. -
Step 3: Replace butter and fat with a fruit puree.
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Step 4: Replace eggs with egg whites.
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Step 5: Swap cow's milk with a different type of milk.
Detailed Guide
Whole wheat flour contains more vitamins and nutrients than its refined all-purpose counterpart.
If you want to pack your holiday desserts with more fiber, calcium, and vitamins, than you can substitute some of the all-purpose processed flour that you would usually use, with whole wheat flour.Replace 50% of your all-purpose flour with wheat flour when making your holiday desserts.Whole wheat flour will create a denser, firmer final product.
Try using a 1:1 ratio in recipes for oatmeal cookies, chocolate cake, and gingerbread.
Avoid using wheat flour for delicate dishes like angel food cake, yellow cake, or cream scones.
For many recipes, you can replace butter with tofu or coconut oil.
Try using pureed soft or silken tofu in a 1:1 ratio in your recipes.When using coconut oil, you can also use a 1:1 ratio.
Tofu will impart a fluffy and lighter texture to things like brownies and will take on the taste of other sweet desserts.Tofu is high in protein but low in fat.
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature and acts similar to butter.
Coconut oil goes great in cupcakes, oatmeal cookies, and muffins., Fats like butter help bind desserts together and provide texture and moisture to your food.
You can replace these unhealthy fats with fruit purees, such as applesauce, pumpkin or squash puree, prune puree, or mashed bananas.Cut the amount of butter you'd use in half, and replace it with fruit puree.
Applesauce is a great replacement for butter in cake recipes, muffins, and gingerbread.
Prune puree works great in recipes like muffins, scones, chocolate cakes, coffee cakes, brownies, and cookies. , Replace the eggs that you would normally use in a recipe at a ratio of two egg whites per egg.Egg whites are high in potassium, riboflavin, protein, and selenium.
Unlike the egg yolk, egg whites don't contain cholesterol or saturated fat.Egg whites will give your dessert a fluffy and lighter texture. , Instead of using cow's milk, which can be high in fat, you can use other alternatives.
Some options include soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk.
These types of milk will act similar to low-fat or skim milk in most recipes, and can usually be swapped at a 1:1 ratio.
When replacing whole milk, consider using coconut milk beverage, not to be confused with coconut milk, which has 5 grams of fat per cup compared to whole milk's 8 grams of fat per cup.Almond milk is naturally sweet and should be used when making sweet desserts.
Soymilk has a beany flavor that can overpower delicate desserts.
About the Author
Rebecca Phillips
Rebecca Phillips specializes in lifestyle and practical guides and has been creating helpful content for over 8 years. Rebecca is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
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