9 Healthy Baking Tips

These tips trade out some of the most basic baking ingredients for healthier alternatives!

Replace 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of chia seeds soaked in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes. You can also use 1 tablespoon of flax meal soaked in 3 tablespoons of water for 10 minutes. If it works for the recipe, you can also use mashed bananas or applesauce.

For a natural sweetener to replace your processed white sugar, why not try stevia? The stevia plant is native to South America and has zero calories. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar, so use sparingly! Just 1 teaspoon of liquid stevia or 2 tablespoons of powdered stevia is equal to 1 cup of sugar.

Another sugar alternative is applesauce using a 1:1 ratio, but remember to reduce the liquid in your recipe by ¼ cup.

Homemade applesauce is richly flavored, tart and sweet, almost like apple pie filling, and a world apart from store-bought.

It’s time to make a change, a whole-wheat change. Compared to white flour, whole-wheat has more fiber, a lower glycemic index, and more vitamins!

Did you know that you could switch out 1 cup of flour for 1 cup of black beans, rinsed, cooked, drained, and pureed? Perfect for our favorite fudgy brownies, and packed with more protein.

Rich fudge brownies that are so yummy you would never guess that they are not only fat-free and vegan, but they are made with healthy, fiber-rich black beans! Plus they come together super quickly.

You can also replace some flour with coconut flour or try nut flours as a gluten-free alternative for your favorite baked goodies. Just remember that nut flours are heavier so just add ¼ cup at a time and increase your rising agents. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

Instead of using all the butter or oil called for in the recipe, replace ½ of it with applesauce. This works great for muffins or pound cakes, as well as keeping the doctor away.

Don’t forget the fruit aisle! Ripe avocados and mashed bananas work as a great 1:1 butter replacement for brownies and cookies!

The avocados are the key to creating the texture of this quick and easy mousse. The cocoa powder, dates, and almond butter impart their flavors to the creamy avocado base, and all of these ingredients combine to make for a dessert that is filled with healthy fats and natural sweetness!

Instead of sweetened milk chocolate chips, try using cacao nibs. Cacao nibs are cacao beans that have been roasted, husked, and crushed into smaller pieces. They're filled with more antioxidants and minerals and are less sweet.