How to Substitute Traditional Ingredients to Best Suit Your Bakes

(Based on substitutions I’ve used, will try more in the future)

Before this year, I had never really been drawn to sweets. I prefer salty, savory, or spicy foods over sweets. The reason for this was that I simply thought baked goods were always too sweet or they would make me feel lethargic, sleepy, or with a headache. Everyone knows that baked goods often contain a lot of sugar, dairy, or refined flours.

Sub the Sugar

For me personally, sugar is what was making me feel sick. When eating a sweet from a store or a bakery, you don’t really think about what you’re consuming. When you start baking for yourself, you see just how much sugar really goes into most recipes. When I first started searching for recipes for my first bake, Banana Walnut Bread, most recipes included over 1 cup of sugar. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, I’ll tell you this: 1 cup of sugar is 200 grams, and the average recommended sugar intake for men is no more than 36 grams and for women, 25 grams. This means that one slice of banana bread contains twice as much sugar than the recommended daily amount. Additionally, sugar causes what’s called a “sugar hangover“. This feeling is caused by the “rapid changes in blood glucose levels” after eating too much sugar is too short of a time, according to Healthline.

Honey, Honey!

Now, while honey is not considered a “health food”, it is a healthier substitution for refined sugar. The good thing about honey for me, is that it is sweeter than sugar because it is higher in fructose (which is sweeter) than glucose. This allows for a lesser amount of honey needed to sweeten your teas or baked goods. Additionally, honey provides health benefits that sugar does not. For example, honey contains vitamins and minerals such as the B vitamins, Vitamin C, amino acids, enzymes, and more. The caveat with honey, however, is that is is quite high in calories. This can be combated by using a smaller amount in your bakes or by using it sparingly. Luckily, as mentioned earlier, you will need half as much (or less) honey to sweeten your teas and bakes than you will need sugar.

NUTS for Coconut Sugar

Another substitution for refined sugar is coconut sugar. This one is not my favorite substitution but it is still a better ingredient than refined sugar. It has a lower glycemic index (which is a measure of how quickly a food will raise blood sugar levels) and trace amounts of minerals such as zinc, iron, calcium, and potassium. While this is by no means the best substitution of sugar, it is still, in my opinion, a good alternative.

Sub the Dairy

Whether you are vegan or just looking to make your bakes dairy free, you’ll need a few dairy subs! The ones I used over the last few weeks are substitutes for milk and butter. I personally have always loved cow’s milk as I grew up drinking it since I was a baby, which I know in this day-and-age is a controversial statement. I have never had any issues with dairy, but after doing my research I have found that a non-dairy diet is a lot healthier for your heart, digestive system, and bones (surprisingly). With dairy being a top source of saturated fat in the average American diet, it is no surprise it has been linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and even to an increased chance of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Unfortunately, most sweets contain a large quantity of both milk and butter.

This Will Make You Soy Happy!

Arguably the most popular substitution for traditional cow’s milk is soy milk. Some of the recipes I found and tried called for regular whole milk, but I played around and found that I got very similar results when using soy milk. Soy milk is a great alternative to cow’s milk for cook and baking (and in general) as it is stable at high temperatures and is high in protein. While it has a slightly nuttier, sweeter taste than regular milk, it is definitely the closest to whole milk than most nut or oat milks. Additionally, it can be found almost anywhere you can find regular milk!

All the Applesauce!

Who would have thought that APPLESAUCE would be a great sub for butter?! With my bakes, I would try a few different recipes and play around with substitutes, amounts, etc. I initially thought I had found the holy grail substitute for butter in coconut oil, which is a great vegan, keto, multipurpose option. However, I found that there were tastier, healthier, and cheaper options out there. One of those being applesauce. The benefits of apple sauce are three-fold. They add sweetness, reduce the calorie and fat content, and make great snacks while waiting for your sweets to bake!

You’ve Guac to be Joking…

Another alternative to butter is avocados! This may seem like a strange ingredient to put into your sweet bakes, but it provides a lot of nutritional value while also lowering the calorie content of your bakes. Avocados provide a slew of vitamins and minerals including Vitamins K, C, B5, B6, and E, folate, and potassium. Better yet, the taste of the avocado when used in baking is indistinguishable. This is by far one of the coolest and best subs for butter that I can’t picture ever using butter in baking again.

Sub the Flour

Health Nut

One of the best substitutes for flour and a great paleo, gluten-free alternative to regular flour is almond flour! If you don’t have any nut allergies, this is a great low-carb substitution for flour. While it is on the pricier side, the good news is that you will need far less almond flour than you would traditional white flour as it is much denser.

The Whole Difference

By far my favorite substitution for white flour is whole wheat flour. Not only is it comparable in price and easy to find, it is also a healthier substitution in that it has the natural fiber of the wheat that was otherwise removed during the refining process of white flour. Fiber is an important part of our everyday diet as it helps control blood sugar, aids in prevention of heart disease, and more. Additionally, whole wheat flour provides a lot more vitamins and has a higher nutritional value than white flour. Those vitamins include the B vitamins in addition to riboflavin, folate, iron, calcium, and protein.

Summary

Overall, there are substitutes for practically any ingredient in any recipe to best suit your health needs. These are the ones that I have tried myself, and I will continue to test new recipes and subs to create the healthiest sweets possible. I know healthy sweets and baked goods sometimes get a bad rep, but I don’t believe that one has to sacrifice flavor for health. Some of these alternatives have actually resulted in tastier baked goods than what I made with traditional ingredients. In the end, these are just suggestions for those looking to either change it up in the kitchen or those looking to eat the good stuff without the guilt that sometimes follows (at least for me).