Being my stubborn self, I have to try everything on my own before accepting it as fact. Whilst experimenting with healthy recipes, this attribute has lead me to make numerous mistakes and a few discoveries, most which could have been avoided if I did my research first.. and actually believed the subjective opinions of others on the internet. Anywho- I have decided to put together a quick “Tips & Tricks” list, from my personal experiences, for anyone who has a desire to give healthy baking a try 🙂
- Density Matters: When using gluten-free substitutes for flour it is important to know the difference between almond meal, gluten-free oats, coconut flour, and your typical gluten free flour blend (usually some combination of rice and tapioca flour) as each has it’s own density, which can make or break your recipe:
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend: This is probably the lightest of the bunch & most closely resembles all-purpose flour. It is great for making cookies and pastries and pretty much anything else you dream up; however, it has the least nutritional value, in my opinion.
- Gluten-Free Oats: Second to lightest, this flour substitute is great for really flavorful cookies like peanut butter or pumpkin spice cookies (i.e. not chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies), pie crusts, and pancakes/waffles. Of course, gluten free oats have somewhat of a “wholesome” taste to them so the less flavor in your recipe, the more wholesome your food will taste.
- Almond Meal / Coconut Flour: I am lumping these two together because they are both very dense flours and are, therefore, both suitable for super dense cakes. I have used almond meal for pie crusts before and found it to be quite tasty. These flours absorb a lot of moisture. So far, I have only found this attribute to be useful for the crumb topping of my apple pie…
- BEWARE BAKED PROTEIN: Especially baked casein. It tastes terrible. While it is possible to get away with adding some to pancake batter- some brands are better than others- it should, as stated, be added, not “instead off”. Otherwise just save it for your “room temp or colder” recipes.
- Identify your main ingredient: Healthy recipes are more likely to be successful if you can actually use the main ingredient or have a very close substitute. This is why you don’t see many healthy recipes for sugar cookies, butter cookies or pastries; and you are up to your ears in banana pancake & peanut butter cookie recipes.
- Coconut Sugar is not for baking: I have used coconut sugar in some of my recent baked experiments and they all have one thing in common: they are slightly tacky in texture. I don’t know what the chemical process is that causes it, but it is not cool. While I consider it tolerable in some circumstances, I’m sure others do not. I think it would be good in a gluten-free granola bar recipe though..
- THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BROWN SUGAR: I’m sorry, I said it. I don’t care what your co-worker’s super fit friend’s blog says, if your recipe depends on the amazing flavor that is brown sugar, you’re S.O.L.
- BEST BUTTER SUBSTITUTES: I find it best to go half “solid” half liquid
- Almond Butter & Coconut Oil
- Avocado & Coconut Oil
- Bake in small batches: There’s a lot of “hit and miss” when it comes to healthy baking, so naturally one would want to limit the amount of waste.. Or you’re like me and pinching pennies so you eat it no matter what. I tried to make protein cinnamon banana oatmeal this morning. Kids, refer back to #2 and do not try it at home.. And, yes, I ate it all……..ew.
- Better N’ Peanut Butter should never be baked: It ends up having the same tacky texture as coconut sugar. If you are trying to reduce fat cals for your peanut butter orgasm recipe, try PB2 first; however, refer back to #3 before deciding to use all PB2.
- When using butter substitute, press cookies down with a fork before baking : I’m not sure why this always happens, but even if I use all coconut oil as my substitute, my cookies always end up needing to be pressed down like a peanut butter cookie. What is that about ??
- Always write your recipes down: Even though you think you will still remember after you try your new creation, you won’t.
~Rummy
red_rumson 