Alternatives to fat in sweet baking recipes

[primalclaws1974]

It seems that most recipes require oil or butter, or oil and butter. Than they want you to throw in eggs, that are 7 grams of fat each. Add in the sugar, and you are gaining weight before it reaches your stomach! I know I can use egg whites alone, which have virtually no fat, but what can I use instead of oil and butter?

 

[confettine]

Apple sauce instead of oil! Actually, there are different ways to replace eggs -- apple sauce can replace them too (yes! how versatile!) -- as well as nature yogurt (1/4 cup = egg) or a mix of flaxseed and water (1 spoon flaxseed for three spoons water, I think, makesthe equivalent of an egg, have to let sit a while)

Read more about it here: http://chefinyou.com/egg-substitutes-cooking/

I personally really like to have bananas and/or apple sauce around for baking purposes! Also, to make it more healthy, you can sneakily switch a third of the flour for whole wheat flavor and no one will ever know!

 

[primalclaws1974]

Yes, I can see applesauce and/or yogurt working for sweet baking projects, but what if it wasn't a sweet dish? What could be used to replace fat then? Sometimes I don't replace the egg at all. As far as I can tell, all eggs do is bind ingredients together. If I am not that worried about a little less consistency I just omit them. As for whole wheat, I personally add it into my diet a lot, as I am 40, and my dad and grandfather both died of heart-related issues. But the rest of the family isn't wild about it. They could probably detect one part per million in a recipe.

 

[PattyCakes]

I often substitute unsweetened apple sauce for sugar in my banana bread - I make it using a soaked grain recipe too, which gives it added nutritional value. I've also substituted coconut sugar for brown sugars in some cake recipes, and I find I need much less of it. The thing is, as baking is an exact science, you have to be careful not to alter your recipe too much or it could go wrong.

I have no qualms about eating butter - butter that is organic, and which comes from grass fed cows is good for your heart, and plays a very important role in keeping us healthy. I can appreciate that not everybody buys into that though. On the other hand, I am cautious about oils - I generally don't like to use oil in baking, but I am hearing and reading good things about coconut oil, I think it's the new olive oil!

 

[DancingLady]

Anything that has sugar needs to have fat and protein to balance it. True are good fats and bad fats, but unfortunately, low fat sweets actually spike your blood sugar much worse and are more damaging to your body, plus they will leave you feeling unsatisfied.

 

[Winterybella]

Apple sauce instead of oil! Actually, there are different ways to replace eggs -- apple sauce can replace them too (yes! how versatile!) -- as well as nature yogurt (1/4 cup = egg) or a mix of flaxseed and water (1 spoon flaxseed for three spoons water, I think, makesthe equivalent of an egg, have to let sit a while)

Read more about it here: http://chefinyou.com/egg-substitutes-cooking/

I personally really like to have bananas and/or apple sauce around for baking purposes! Also, to make it more healthy, you can sneakily switch a third of the flour for whole wheat flavor and no one will ever know!

This is useful information. I don't know how I missed this before. This is answering a lot of questions I had in my mind. Thank you so much.

 

[Trellum]

I think everyone has said it before, but yeah, apple sauce is perfect to be used in baked good. Yes, perfect for replacing oil, also used in other not baked good recipes, like for example desserts to replace sugar.

 

[Tina Nord]

Applesauce and yogurt are the best substitutions for oil and butter. You can get plain unsweetened yogurt for dishes that are not sweet. I have even substituted and used sour cream before. Sour is really tasty when you use it in mashed potatoes as opposed to butter. I have made many things before and used sour cream as a sub in when I did not want to run to the store to get butter.

 

[NThomas]

greek yougurt or fruit prurees are a good way to cut the fat in you baking recipes. I have also heard that you can use baby food in place of some of the butter and oils.