Since almost the whole world is in lockdown and people are spending their time in different ways to kill boredom, foodies and those who love cooking have started baking and trying out different baked items. For all of you experimenting different dishes with your baking skills, it is time to move on towards food items that are delicious and also healthy at the same time.

Most of you would have spent these first two to three months in baking flapjacks, peanut-butter cookies and sugar-laden banana bread; it is time to swap these items with healthy ones.

Delicious swaps for healthiest baking
Delicious swaps for healthiest baking (Image: Unsplash)

Kim Pearson is a nutritionist and weight loss expert and he has explained on how you can get rid of the baking that is getting out of hand and making you fat, and how to move towards baking that includes healthy ingredients. Here are some of the swaps in ingredients to make your baked products healthier.

1. Swap Flour for Almond Flour

If you normally use flour for your baking, but now you are looking for a healthier alternative or if your baking aisle is bare, you can always go for ‘almond flour’. Almond flour is not only protein richer than flour, but it is also very low in carbohydrates. It provides healthy fats and it will likely keep you full for a longer period of time than that of flour. Almond flour is also a source of antioxidant vitamin E. If you want to use something even lower in fat than almond flour, oat flour is the answer. It not only provides lesser fat, but it has some important nutrients and elements in it as well such as fibre, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and zinc. By popping whole rolled oats in a blender, you can prepare your own ground oats as well.

Almond flour is low carb
Almond flour is low carb (Image: Unsplash)

2. Swap Sugar for Apple Puree

There is usually a large sugar content in cakes and even if you are new to baking, you would definitely have discovered it by now. Sugar can be replaced by maple syrup or honey and a healthy makeover will be given to your cakes, but it is also known that honey and maple syrup are also rich in sugar. To tackle this issue, you can make apple sauce in your homes and use it in your moist cakes preparation instead. Not only will it make the cake sweet, but it will also do it with way less sugar.

3. Swap Butter for Coconut Oil

Along with its health benefits, coconut oil can also provide coconut flavour to the cakes as in pineapple cakes. For its health benefits, there are many. Coconut oil has medium-chain fatty acids, and the human body easily absorbs and converts it into ketones which are then used as energy by our brain. But again, don’t get too excited as it does not mean that you can eat the whole cake made up of coconut oil all by yourself. You certainly need to be moderate in that matter even with coconut oil. Avocado is another fat swap option and it also provides a creamy texture. This can be especially useful in chocolate bakes.

Avocado is a great creamy substitute  for chocolate
Avocado is a great creamy substitute for chocolate (Image: Unsplash)

4. Swap Chocolate for Cacao Nibs

We know telling you to swap chocolate for anything might not convince you as there are a lot of chocolate lovers out there but most of the chocolates and chocolate products in the supermarkets have a lot of sugar and dairy content in them. So it would be a better idea to swap them for cacao nibs as they have a crunchy texture and it makes them a great alternative in flapjacks and cookies. But if you still want to go for chocolate, just try to go for the one having the highest percentage of cocoa solids.

5. Swap Eggs for Flaxseed

This option of swapping eggs is only for vegans or the people who are allergic to eggs because swapping eggs would not be suggested otherwise. Eggs are considered to be one of the healthiest items in baked cakes. They are also essential for energy production, provide vitamin B and are also a major source of proteins. You can swap these eggs for flaxseeds, which also provide some healthy elements and nutrients to the body. Flaxseeds provide a major quantity of fibre, and they are also a source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. One egg can be replaced with mixing one tablespoon of flaxseeds and three tablespoons of water.

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