TAKE THE FAT OUT OF BAKING

Lesli — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:07:12 +0000

You didn’t seriously think I could lose over 150 pounds without enjoying sweet treats did you? I hate to say it, but much of my fat was brought to you by Hostess and Hershey’s! Give up sweets? No thank you. Exchange the life-sucking, soul-destroying sweets for … healthy alternatives that taste even better… now we’re talking!

Creating low-fat baked treats that still have great taste and mouth appeal is easier than you might think. I’m a simple girl with basic talents, but there are culinary geniuses out there who have put their talents to great use in figuring out these exchanges.

The following are simply guidelines, not rules. I’m not one who loves rules, so use this list as a jumping off place and get creative with your own favorite recipes.

Baking:

*FAT SUBSTITUTES*	*Use:*	*How:*
Fruit puree: Applesauce, banana, prune, pear, peach Nonfat buttermilk, nonfat yogurt, skim milk Fruit juice Apple butter	In complimentary recipes, such as baked goods with no flavor changes wanted: applesauce, nonfat buttermilk, nonfat yogurt, and skim milk For biscuits, muffins, chocolate: fruit juices and prune purees For spicy cakes, breads, and muffins: apple butter	Replace part or all solid fat in muffins, breads, biscuits, scones and cakes with half as much fat substitute. Replace part or all oil with three-fourths as much fat substitute. If batter seems dry after mixing, add more fat substitute. Replace each whole egg with two egg whites. Reduce oven temperature by 25^oF. Check for doneness before end of usual baking time.
Liquid sweeteners: Honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, chocolate syrup Fruit: jams, spreads, fruit juice concentrates	Honey or fruit jam in muffins. Maple syrup in spice cakes and muffins. Fruit juice concentrate in muffins, breads. Corn syrup in white cakes and other baked items for no flavor change. Chocolate syrup in chocolate cake and other chocolate treats.	Replace part or all solid fat in muffins, breads, biscuits, scones and cakes with three fourths as much fat substitute. Replace part or all oil with an equal amount of fat substitute. If batter seems dry after mixing, add more fat substitute. Reduce sugar by amount of fat substitute added. Replace each whole egg with two egg whites. Reduce oven temperature by 25^oF. Check for doneness before end of usual baking time.
Prune Butter: 8 ounces pitted prunes (about 1 and 1/3 cup) + 6 Tablespoons water or fruit juice Process together in food processor until forms a smooth paste. (Too thick for blender.) Use immediately or store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.	In chocolate cakes, fruit or spicy muffins, breads and cakes.	Replace part or all solid fat in muffins, breads, biscuits, scones and cakes with an equal amount of Prune Butter. Reduce sugar by one-half to two-thirds the amount of Prune Butter added. Replace each whole egg with two egg whites. Reduce oven temperature by 25^oF. Check for doneness before end of usual baking time.
Prune Puree: 3 ounces pitted prunes (about 1/2 cup) + 1 cup water or fruit juice + 2 teaspoons lecithin granules Process in food processor or blender until smooth. Use immediately or store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.	In all recipes. Has mild flavor.	Replace part or all solid fat in muffins, breads, biscuits, scones and cakes with half the amount of Prune Puree. Replace part or all oil with three-fourths the amount of Prune Puree. If batter seems dry after mixing, add more fat substitute. Replace each whole egg with two egg whites. Reduce oven temperature by 25^oF. Check for doneness before end of usual baking time.
Starchy fat substitutes: Mashed cooked or canned pumpkin, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes	In citrus and pineapple flavored biscuits, muffins, breads, and spice cakes.	Replace part or all solid fat in muffins, breads, biscuits, scones and cakes with three fourths as much fat substitute. Replace part or all oil with an equal amount of fat substitute. If batter seems dry after mixing, add more fat substitute. Replace each whole egg with two egg whites. Reduce oven temperature by 25^oF. Check for doneness before end of usual baking time.

*INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTES*	*Use:*	*How:*
Cake flour	In quick breads and cakes.	Replace one cup of regular flour with 1 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour.
Egg whites	In recipes calling for whole eggs.	Replace four whole eggs with two whole eggs and four egg whites. Moisture ingredient may need to be increased slightly.
Toasted nuts	In recipes calling for nuts.	Toast to intensify flavor. As a topping mix with crunchy toasted nonfat cereal, such as Grape-Nuts. Use half the recipe amount when used as an ingredient inside cakes, cookies, or crusts if recipe is not already calling for toasted nuts.
Phylo pastry	In flaky or puff pastry of both savory and sweet pastries.	Moisten with mixture of canola oil and egg white, and layer together. Place in cupcake tins for filled pastries or cut into squares, fill with sweet filling, fold crimp and bake.

TAKE THE FAT OUT OF BAKING is a post from: A Healthy Kitchen
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FRESH HERBS vs DRIED HERBS

Lesli — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:24:26 +0000

I love fresh herbs and there’s nothing better than wandering out to my kitchen garden to pick my own, but let’s face it… most of us don’t have fresh herbs all year long, so here’s an easy to remember substitution solution.

If you want to substitute dried herbs in a recipe that calls for fresh, the conversion is simple. Reduce tablespoons to teaspoons; two Tablespoons of fresh oregano equals two teaspoons dried. Just keep in mind that essential oils are more concentrated in dried herbs so you use less.

Ginger is an exception to this interchangeable rule. If a recipe calls for fresh ginger, you cannot substitute ground. The flavors are completely different.

Here’s a clever tip…

You can perk up the flavor of a dried herb by combining it with common fresh parsley. Pick the parsley leaves from the stems, sprinkle with the required amount of dried herbs and chop the parsley fine. This breathes life into the dried product and adding parsley couldn’t hurt any dish.

Identifying your herbs…

Epicurious.com has a great visual guide to herbs. I admit it, from time to time; I’ve planted an herb in the garden and forgotten exactly what it is. Epicurious to the rescue.

Buon Appetit!

FRESH HERBS vs DRIED HERBS is a post from: A Healthy Kitchen
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A Healthy Kitchen » substitution solution

TAKE THE FAT OUT OF BAKING

FRESH HERBS vs DRIED HERBS

Here’s a clever tip…

Identifying your herbs…