Although my coworker Eleanor is the baker of our group, I decided to write about some helpful tips when it comes to baking in a healthy way. Everyone loves a warm soft chocolate chip cookie or a steamy fresh muffin, but after you see the amount of butter and sugar that goes into them, you start to think twice when dipping your hands into the cookie jar.  This is not a post about cutting corners in order to cut the calorie count in sweets, I want to give healthy eaters a healthy alternative for some common ingredients.

Generally, when the recipe calls for butter you can cut the amount in half and use an alternative of unsweetened apple sauce or Greek yogurt. That will decrease the fat content and add some healthy protein! This is true for most recipes but when it comes to things like muffins and breads I would suggest using mashed up avocados or green bananas, green because that is when they are most nutritous and the flavors won’t over power everything else. Some people like using pureed veggies like cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and even beans.  Don’t forget to keep things organic:)

Another rule of thumb is that for every egg you can substitute it for two egg whites, this will also cut down on the unwanted fat and add some more protein:)

If cane sugar bothers you than I would suggest using something more natural. My favorite is agave nectar but you can also use honey!

When it comes to adding milk, try using fat-free or even milk substitutes. I live on almond milk and it normally has just as much calcium with less fat.

Looking around the web I found a super yummy recipe for pumpkin cheesebake brownies made the healthy way (they use yogurt) on Sally’s Baking Addiction blog. They look heavenly! I highly recommend you checking this blog out.

-Grace, Rudi’s Organic Bakery