Kitchen Tip Tuesday

I am so thankful for the opportunity to host Kitchen Tip Tuesday (KTT) while Tammy is on vacation! Tammy's blog was one of the biggest inspirations for me to start Feel Good About Dinner. Besides her wonderful recipes, my favorite feature of TammysRecipes.com is the kitchen tips she and others share each week. I have been participating in KTT from the start of this blog, so it is so fun for me to have the opportunity to host a KTT. 

If you would like to participate by submitting a kitchen tip, see below instructions. If you are a reader, be sure to check back throughout the day on Tuesday so you don't miss any of the great ideas submitted by others.

Healthy Substitutes for Oil or Butter in Baking
Even a healthy diet includes some fat and not all fats are created equally, but most of us get more fat than our bodies need. One way to easily reduce fat in a diet is when baking. Not every recipe will work the same with the below list. Apple sauce, mashed pear, and yogurt are the mildest in taste and work in most baked goods without altering the flavor. The other options work in recipes that match their flavor.

Better-For-You Banana Bread

The great thing about these substitutes is that they not only cut down on the fat, but they boost the nutrients in your baked dish by offering an extra serving of fruit, vegetable, or cultured dairy.

Oatmeal Raisin Biscuits

Substitutions don't have to be all or nothing. Some recipes work great with a complete substitution, while others need some fat and a partial substitution is better. I have learned that a little coconut oil (about 1 T per 1/2-1 C fat called for) in conjunction with the non-fat options often works the best. Sometimes a little butter is necessary to get the desired taste, but you can use half or a quarter of what is called for and replace the rest with one of the non-fat options. Don't give up if you aren't satisfied with the results the first time. The conservative way of testing a recipe is to replace just a little and the next time a little bit more. Very rarely will a recipe be inedible so you won't be waisting ingredients. By experimenting you will hopefully be able to find the winning combination for the least amount of fat while still keeping the desired taste and texture. Recipe links in this post will hopefully lend some inspiration.

Healthier Granola Bars (updated)

Another benefit to being aware of the following options opens your choices if you run out of the ingredient you would normally use for substituting. For example, many have heard of replacing oil with apple sauce, but knowing the other options are helpful if you run out of apple sauce. I often interchange what non-fat option I use depending on what I have on hand. I have even been a little short on the bananas for better-for-you banana bread and made up the small difference with a little apple sauce.

Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

Non-Fat Options for Baking

• apple sauce
• ripe mashed pear
• unsweetened plain low fat yogurt
• ripe mashed bananas
• cooked and pureed pumpkin
• cooked and pureed sweet potato

Better-For-You Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Some Examples of How I Use Non-Fat Substitutions

• pancakes: Use any of the above options as a complete substitution depending on the flavor of pancakes you wish. Add complimentary spices to your batter if using one of the stronger flavored options. e.g. pumpkin pie spice with pureed pumpkin or sweet potato. Of course you will still be frying in a little oil, but you can eliminate it from the batter.
• muffins: Depending on the flavor of muffins any of the above work well as a complete or partial substitution for oil. Just make sure you spray your muffin papers or pan well as they will have a greater likelihood of sticking. Example: Better-For-You Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• quick breads: Quick breads are very similar to muffins and work well with a complete or partial non-fat substitution. Example: Better-For-You Banana Bread
• cakes: I don't bake a lot of cakes, but apple sauce, pear puree, or yogurt works well as a substitute for the suggested oil. There are other ways to make cakes a little healthier, but let's be honest, substituting apple sauce in a cake mix doesn't make it health food. :)
• biscuits: I think biscuits still need a little butter to make them the right flavor and texture, but I reduce the amount of butter and replace that amount with either apple sauce or yogurt. Example: Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits
• bars: Cookie bars and granola bars usually benefit from either some butter or coconut oil, but that amount can be cut in half or significantly reduced and replaced with a complimentary flavored non-fat substitute. Example: Healthier Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (I recently updated it to make it even better by adding a little coconut oil and it is a winning combination!)
• cookies: It is a little more tricky to substitute the oil in cookies with a non-fat option. If you don't mind a nontraditional cookie texture, you can experiment with some partial or complete substitutions. Example: Banana Chocolate Chip Bites. I do love substituting about 1/4 of the fat called for in cookies with coconut oil. It puts them over the top in flavor and coconut oil is a better fat than butter so that is a good thing. Although I do not consider my chocolate chip cookies health food simply because I use white whole wheat flour and part coconut oil. Not a bad occasional treat in moderation, but they are still cookies. 

Kitchen Tips From Other Great Bloggers

1. Tips for baking with home–cooked pumpkins (Tammy's Recipes)

2. Tips for packaging lunch snacks (Cooking Up a Sale)

3. Tips for using and making soft bread crumbs (The Local Cook)

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If you would like to participate in Kitchen Tip Tuesday, simply leave a comment with a link to your kitchen tip blog post (not your home page). Then link your kitchen tip entry back to this site so we can all enjoy each other's kitchen tips. I will manually add each of your kitchen tip links to the bottom of this entry. Thank you for participating! I look forward to reading all of your great tips.