Healthy Baking Substitutions Nutrition Pros Swear By

It’s officially fall, and that means the baking season has begun. To me, there’s nothing better on a brisk day than fresh-from-the-oven apple cakes, cranberry spice muffins or pumpkin scones with a hot cup of tea. I love baked goods, but can’t afford all of their calories, sugar and fat, so I make smart substitutions to lighten them up. Here are five healthy baking substitutions to try:

Fruit Purees Instead for Butter or Oil

You can create deliciously rich and moist baked goods while cutting calories and saturated fat by using a fruit puree instead of butter or oil in many recipes. Fruit purees provide fiber, antioxidants and other essential nutrients. Banana or prune purees have 15 and 45 calories, respectively, per tablespoon and are fat-free and potassium-rich. In comparison, a tablespoon of oil packs in 120 calories and 13.5 grams of fat.

How to use: Replace every 1cup of oil with ¾ cup fruit puree. Best for: Prune puree works perfectly to make rich brownies and chocolate cakes. Pureed bananas are a great option for coffee cakes, quick breads, spice cakes and most cookies. If you’re looking to make a guilt-free brownie, try this recipe. 

Vanilla Extract for Sugar According to national data, Americans consume about 20 teaspoons (equal to 320 calories!) every day. A cup of sugar has about 775 calories, so it’s a good idea to cut down on the sweet stuff. While most baked goods require some sugar, you can cut back the amount you use by replacing some of the sugar with vanilla extract.

How to use: Replace ¼ cup sugar with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can replace up to a quarter of the sugar your recipe calls for with vanilla. Best for: Scones, muffins, and chocolate dessert recipes. Stevia Blends for Sugar Another easy way to slash calories and added sugar is to use the natural sweetener stevia in lieu of some of the sugar in your recipes. Stevia is made from the extract of leaves of the stevia plant, which is native to South America. Baked goods do require some real sugar to get the right taste and texture, so you need to use a combination of stevia with sugar. An easy way to do this is with Truvia Cane Sugar Blend, which combines Truvia Natural Sweetener with regular sugar. It has 75 percent fewer calories per serving than table sugar.

How to use: Use ½ cup of Truvia Cane Sugar Blend for every 1 cup of table sugar in your recipe. Best for: Any type of baking including pie, cookies, cake and quick breads.

Cocoa Nibs for Chocolate Chips

Whether you’re baking chocolate chip cookies or a fiber-rich breakfast cookie, you can lighten your recipe by swapping cocoa (or cacao) nibs for chocolate chips. A cup of regular semi-sweet chocolate chips packs in about 850 calories and 25 teaspoons of sugar. A cup of cacao nibs, on the other hand, have about 700 calories and no sugar. Minimally processed cacao nibs are referred to as nature’s chocolate and they provide antioxidants, fiber, magnesium and iron.

How to use: Cocoa nibs can be used as a 1:1 replacement for all of the chocolate chips in any baked good. Best for: Cookies, cakes, quick breads, or muffins. Try this delicious Dark Chocolate Banana Bread.

Oat Bran for White Flour Making bread or muffins? Boost the nutrition, taste and texture of your baked goods by swapping out some regular flour for oat bran. Oat bran is rich in fiber (nearly 4 grams per quarter-cup) and protein (four grams per quarter-cup). The protein and fiber will help you feel more satisfied and can lower harmful total and LDL cholesterol levels.

How to use: Oat bran can replace up to a quarter of the all-purpose flour. For example, if a recipe has 3 cups all-purpose flour, use ¾ cup oat bran and 2¼ cups all-purpose flour. Best for: Muffins, carrot cake, scones and bread.