Stay Healthier With Butter Substitutes!
Everyone loves baked goods; bring muffins into the office and you’re everyone’s favorite person. All that buttery goodness can pack on the pounds though. So if you’re trying make healthier baked goods, try to switch out all or part of the butter to greatly reduce the calories, fat, and cholesterol. Try out these substitutes and let me know how they work out!
- Applesauce: Applesauce is a great replacement for oil, but it can also be used in as a butter alternative. Replace half the amount of butter in your recipe with an equal amount of applesauce. This alternative works best in dense, cake-like desserts.
- Avocado: Substitute half the amount of butter in your recipe for mashed avocado. If you substitute the whole amount, you’ll end up with a flatter dessert. To figure out how much you’ll need, it’ll help to know that one avocado yields about three-quarters of a cup. Not only will switching out butter for avocado lower the calories, but you’ll get a softer, chewier baked good. This fruit also offers more protein, added fiber, and it’s rich in B vitamins, as well as folate, potassium, vitamin E, and vitamin K. You can’t say that about butter. I don’t recommend this substitution for use in sugar cookies, however, unless you like green cookies.
- Smart Balance/Earth Balance: Use an equal amount of Smart Balance in place of butter to reduce saturated fat and cholesterol.
- Canola Oil: Use canola oil if the recipe calls for melted butter. Although slightly higher in calories, canola is much lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.
- Greek Yogurt: Replace half the butter in your recipe with half the amount of Greek yogurt. For example, if the recipe calls for one cup of butter, use half a cup of butter and one quarter cup of yogurt. You’ll end up with less calories and saturated fat.
- Prune Puree: Replace whatever amount of butter the recipe calls for with store-bought bay food prune puree. It’s a low-cal and low-fat alternative that might help you stay regular! This works best in recipes involving cinnamon and chocolate.