Baking and Cooking Substitutes
Baking and Cooking
Baking Substiutes
Healthful Cooking - I’m sure many of you girls love to cook good, healthy meals for your families, meals packed full of nutrition, not full of empty carbs and sugars. I have some simple tips to make your cooking more nutritious or if you run out of an important staple while baking or cooking.
Sugar Substitutes - Instead of using the processed beet sugar you can use rapadura (measure for measure), honey (use 1/2 the measure of the sugar called for), crushed fruit (measure for measure), or stevia. (I got this info from http://www.livrite.com/sweeten.htm)
Butter Substitutes - You can use oil although this might make it a bit denser. (measure for measure or less if it makes too dense) You can also use mashed bananas (at least 3/4 of the butter asked for) or applesauce (measure for measure). (Reference: Google)
Egg Substitutes - You can use bananas, applesauce, or tofu(You’ll have to get creative and estimate amounts needed to substitute). However these only work in baking recipes. You can also use the Egg-Citing Flaxseed Mixture from “From the Kitchen of Two Sisters” cookbook by Danielle and Lindsay Voeller. Put 1/2 c. flaxseeds and 2 cups water in blender and blend till thick consistency. A 1/4 of a cup equals 1 egg while 1 cup equals 4 eggs. I tried using this as a substitution for eggs in macaroni and cheese and it worked wonderfully, although the flavor was a bit nuttier. Source: vegetarian.about.com, “From The Kitchen Of Two Sisters cookbook”
Flour Substitute - You can use wheat flour, a healthier alternative, or use rice or potato flours for a gluten-free flour.
Olive oil - While cooking, instead of using other types of oil that have a lot of saturated fat, use olive oil. Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat, something that has been said to reduce the chances of coronary heart disease. It is also beneficial to the heart in several other ways.
NOTE: Never reuse polyunsaturated vegetable oils (such as canola oil, flax seed oil, soy oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, etc.), if you must use them at all. Reusing such oils has been proven to lead to numerous serious illnesses. (Reference: Google)