If you are one of the many people who have made a New Years Resolution to eat healthier the task is not as daunting as it may seem at first. Even changing one ingredient in your recipes can make them much better for you and help you stick to your resolution. The trick to long terms changes is to make them reasonably sustainable. To make the process easier on yourself try not to fully cut out any particular food item – try reducing your intake. Instead of eating white bread try eating wholemeal or rye. Instead of sugar try using honey or pure maple syrup. I have listed a few substitutions below to get you started 🙂
- Eggs. Try substituting 1 tablespoon of flax seeds and 2 tablespoons of water per egg.
- White Flour. This not a substitution but a flat out swap. Instead of using white flour use wholemeal or a combination of flours (spelt, buckwheat, or rice). I prefer Jimmy’s Atta Wholemeal Flour as it is a smooth wholemeal flour.
- Oil. Substitute any oil in your cake or biscuit recipes for unsweetened apple sauce. It will give you the same moist cake or biscuit but without the fat.
- White Sugar. This one can be a bit tricky. If you flat out swap sugar for honey or maple syrup in recipes you need to halve the amount – 1 cup of sugar = 1/2 cup of honey/maple syrup. You may also need to add an extra tablespoon of flour to reach the correct consistency as sugar is a dry ingredient and honey is not. If you are baking something that you cannot swap out the sugar try using Organic Coconut Sugar. It is lower GI than white sugar and is a better choice. Once again you need to halve the amount.
- Cream & Sour Cream. For most baking recipes and also for any savory dish you can substitute cream or sour cream for Greek Yoghurt.
I hope these few tips help you to a good head start. Cheers
Lisa 🙂
