It’s here! That time of year that’s packed with parties, cheer, and So.Many. Calories. But you don’t have to let the holidays ruin your diet. And you certainly shouldn’t let your diet ruin the holidays! Just look for ways to lighten up your favorite holiday treats.
12 tasty swaps to keep holiday goodies from derailing your diet
1. Replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour
(Works best with brownies and cookies)
Substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour for ½ cup whole wheat flour and ½ cup all-purpose flour. This simple switch adds fiber to the treat, which can help us feel full, possibly cutting down on the amount of cookies or brownies we eat.
2. Replace sugar with unsweetened applesauce
(Works best with cakes and breads)
This swap is great for keeping the sweetness while cutting the sugar. To keep treats tasting great, make sure you follow the substitution rules. You can’t eliminate the sugar all together. Instead, you can replace half the amount of sugar in the recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, use 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 of cup applesauce. You should also reduce the recipe’s main liquid by about 1/4 for every cup of applesauce added. A little tricky, but worth it!
3. Replace butter with mashed avocados
(Works best with cakes, cookies and breads)
Avocados are a great source of healthy fat and fiber. Simply replace half of the butter with mashed avocado. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of mashed avocado instead. Keep in mind, avocados will cause a green tint — easy enough to work into a holiday theme!
*Hint: For cakes, reduce oven temperature by 25 percent and increase baking time for best results.
4. Replace cream with evaporated milk
(Works best with whipped cream and dessert beverages)
You can completely replace cream with evaporated milk to slash calories. Consider adding some vanilla extract to the evaporated milk for even better flavor.
5. Replace butter with banana
(Works best with cakes, muffins, cookies and breads)
Banana not only cuts out fat and calories, it also adds a yummy, dense texture to baked goods. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use ½ cup of butter and ½ cup of mashed banana instead.
*Hint: You may need to reduce cooking time with this swap.
6. Replace sugar with vanilla extract
(Works best with cakes, muffins, cookies and breads)
Cutting sugar means cutting lots of calories! With many baking recipes, you can cut out half the sugar and replace it with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It doesn’t get simpler than that!
7. Replace chocolate chips with cacao nibs
Cacao is unprocessed chocolate — it contains no sugar, very little fat and lots of antioxidants. Cacao nibs can completely replace chocolate chips in any recipe!
8. Replace chocolate chips with mini chocolate chips
(Works best in chocolate chip cookies and muffins)
Switching to cacao nibs sound like too big of a step for you? Well, here’s another way to slash mega calories and fat in your beloved chocolate chip cookies. Use 1 cup of mini morsels instead of 2 cups of regular-sized chips. You’ll still get lots of chocolaty goodness in every bite, but you’ll be cutting out hundreds of calories. What’s not to love?
9. Replace sugar with stevia
(Works best with all kinds of baked goods)
Stevia is an all-natural sweetener made from the stevia plant, and — get this — it has no calories, no carbs and a zero glycemic index! It’s sold in several different forms. Stevia is over 200 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way. Because of this, the substitution is a little more complex. Instead of 1 cup of sugar, you can use 1 teaspoon liquid stevia, 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract powder, or 1 tablespoon concentrated stevia liquid. Use an online conversion calculator to make sure you’re using the right amount for your recipe.
*Hint: Since you use so much less stevia than sugar, you’ll need to add the bulk back to your recipe. Ingredients that can add bulk include fruit juice, fruit puree, applesauce, yogurt, canned pumpkin, egg whites and water — choose the ingredient that goes best with what you’re baking. Add 1/3 cup of “bulk” for every cup of sugar you removed.
10. Replace canola oil with greek yogurt
(Works best with cake, bread and cookies)
For super moist treats with way less fat, swap in plain, non-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt. Cut the amount of oil in half, and add 3/4 cup of yogurt for every cup of oil that you remove. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of oil, use 1 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt instead.
11. Replace wheat flour with gluten-free flour
(Works best with muffins and cakes)
Trying to reduce or eliminate gluten in your diet? You can still enjoy baked goods with this simple switch. Completely substitute gluten-free flour for the other, and add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum for every cup of flour used to help the food bind.
12. Replace reduced-fat peanut butter with natural peanut butter
Reduced-fat peanut butter sounds virtuous, but it often contains more sugar than the original versions. Frustrating, right? Swap in natural, peanut butter, with or without the added salt, instead. It doesn’t have the sugar or artificial additives that you’ll find in the other brands.
