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How to Adapt a Recipe to Make it Healthier

July 11, 2014 by Laura 130 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

How to Adapt a Recipe to Make it Healthier

I’m often asked how much Sucanat to substitute for white sugar, or if whole wheat flour can be substituted one for one with white flour. I decided to share a little bit about how I adapt “regular recipes” to make them healthier! Please know that when I say “healthier”…I’m not talking low fat. To me, healthier means real, whole food. Click on the following links so read about how I feed my family and why I love real, whole foods!! Be sure to also check out this entire series on Simple Steps Toward Healthy Eating.

Fats


  • If a recipe calls for vegetable or canola oil I switch it out one for one with melted coconut oil or melted palm shortening. It’s a little bit tough to measure out solid coconut oil to an exact needed amount. I just kind of “eyeball it”. If a recipe calls for 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, I make my best guess at how much 1/4 cup of coconut oil (or palm shortening) is while I’m scooping it out…then I melt it down in a small saucepan on the stove. If you are new to cooking/baking…you may prefer to melt it, then pour it into a measuring cup to be sure you  have the correct amount.
  • If a recipe calls for margarine (I gag and then) I switch it out one for one with real butter. This means that if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup margarine, I use 1/2 cup of butter.
  • Usually butter and coconut oil can be used interchangeably. For instance, when I make muffins…sometimes I use coconut oil and sometimes I use butter. It depends on what I have on hand and what sounds good at the moment (coconuty goodness, or rich buttery flavor). If you are unable to eat dairy, you can substititute coconut oil for butter in most recipes.
  • I almost always use melted palm shortening to fry foods (like french fries, onion rings, homemade corn dogs, etc.). Palm shortening does NOT create the same freaky effects from frying that vegetable or canola oils create. This means that foods fried in palm shortening (or coconut oil) are NOT unhealthy!
  • I use olive oil if a recipe calls for just a few teaspoons or Tablespoons of vegetable oil.
  • You can read more about the fats I prefer and why I prefer them here!!

Sugars


  • Sucanat (or Rapadura, which is the same thing…just under a different name) can be substituted one for one with white or brown sugar. This means that if a recipe calls for one cup of white sugar…you can instead use one cup of Sucanat. However, I generally cut the Sucanat down just a hair because the flavor is stronger…and because it is more expensive…and because wow…do we really need that much sugar? :)  Sucanat, by the way, is dehydrated cane sugar juice and the healthiest form of cane sugar I’ve found. You can read more about it  here.
  • Honey can be substituted for white or brown sugar, but I usually use 1/2 to 2/3 the amount the recipe calls for. This means that if a recipe calls for one cup of white or brown sugar, I only use 1/2 to 2/3 cup of honey. Honey has a rich flavor and is sweeter than sugar. I have not found that substituting honey causes much difference in the consistency of a recipe, even though honey is a liquid and sugar is not. If anything, I find that honey makes quick breads, muffins and cookies more moist…and that’s never a bad thing if you ask me!
  • Real Grade B Maple Syrup can be substituted for white or brown sugar, but I don’t often bake with it (ooh, except for Coconut Macaroons!). I use maple syrup for liquid treats like Chocolate Milk and Smoothies and Ice Cream. If a recipe calls for corn syrup, I use Grade B Maple Syrup instead, substituting it one for one.
  • You can read more about the sweeteners I prefer and why I prefer them here!!

Flours

  • I substitute my freshly ground whole wheat flour (made from hard white wheat) one for one in recipes that call for white flour. However, freshly ground whole wheat flour is often lighter in texture, making a one to one substitution possible.
  • If you are using store-bought whole wheat flour, I find that this seems to be a heavier flour. Therefore, I recommend using a lesser amount than the white flour that is called for in a recipe. You may find that this is even true with my recipes that call for whole wheat flour, since I am using freshly ground flour. I receive quite a few comments, particularly on my Honey Whole Wheat Bread from people using King Arthur’s whole wheat flour or another store bought flour that they didn’t need to add in all of the flour the recipe called for. I suggest just adding flour until the dough is the correct consistency…then stop.
  • You can read more about grains and grain mills in this series of posts!!

To make things a little bit easier…I created a free printable “Healthy Recipe Substitutions” download. Click the following link, print it off and keep it in your kitchen as a handy reference!

Healthy Recipe Substitutions

How do you feel about adapting recipes? Are you good at making substitutions…or do you prefer to follow a recipe exactly?

This post was originally published March 9, 2011.

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Sucanat Powdered Sugar Frosting

December 20, 2010 by Laura 106 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Let’s first do a quick sucanat/sugar review for those of you who are new to these ingredients:

Sucanat:  Organic dehydrated cane sugar juice – my favorite form of natural, unrefined sugar to use in cookies and cakes. Recently I learned that you can use sucanat to make your own powdered sugar. It’s very cool! You can substitute sucanat one for one when a recipe calls for brown or white sugar. Rapadura is the same thing as sucanat…just with a fancier name. Rapadura is usually a little more expensive.

White Sugar and Brown Sugar:  Refined sugars that have been stripped of most their nutrients. 

You can read more about natural sugars and sweeteners I recommend (and don’t recommend) here!

Well…I wish this frosting was a little less…tan. But, what can we expect when we make frosting from our homemade sucanat powdered sugar? The darkness of the sucanat is easily disguised in this Chocolate Fudge Frosting, but there’s no way to make “white frosting” unless you use regular  powdered sugar.

Oh, except that Baking Mama mentioned in my Cream Cheese Frosting post that you use honey granules to make powdered sugar, which makes an unrefined, but whiter frosting. I’ll have to look into honey granules.

I did find that this Sucanat Powdered Sugar Frosting worked great for Gingerbread Men. I’ll share a recipe for those fellas later! I think this frosting would also be good on just about any cake you make…it has a very rich flavor.

Sucanat Powdered Sugar FrostingYum

1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-4 1/2 cups sucanat powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients together with beaters, adding your sucanat powdered sugar a bit at a time until your frosting is the consistency you would like it to be.

Be sure to check out our other recipes using Sucanat Powdered Sugar: 

  • Healthier Caramel Frosting
  • Chocolate Fudge Frosting

I hope you’re having a lovely time at our brunch. If you haven’t had a piece of Easy Breakfast Casserole, go ahead and help yourself. Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win one of our Christmas Brunch Presents! Coming up next on the menu:  It’s Gratituesday time…which will hopefully offer you a little Christmas Brunch encouragment during this busy time of the year!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

The Most Nutritious Sweeteners

April 12, 2010 by Laura 201 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

honey

Raise your hand if you ever feel overwhelmed and confused about which sweeteners/sugars are the best to use in your treats?

Uh-huh…me too. There are dozens of different sweeteners out there and all kinds of  arguments trying to convince you to eat one over the other.

While I’m certainly no sweetener expert (although I do consider myself an expert taste tester of all things sweet and sweeter), I will share with you what I’ve learned through the past few years of researching.

Better Sweeteners (in no particular order)

Sucanat/Rapadura – “Dehydrated Cane Sugar Juice”

This is by far my favorite sugar to bake with. It is processed in the traditional way that people of India have used for thousands of years and leaves most of the minerals intact. It substitutes one for one in recipes that call for sugar and has a delicious, rich flavor.

Rapadura is a brand name for Sucanat, so in general I find that Sucanat costs a bit less. Be very careful to buy Organic Sucanat however, as some ‘regular sucanat’ brands I’ve seen are NOT dehydrated cane sugar juice…but some form of processed sugar with molasses added back in making it MUCH less nutritious.

Raw Honey

If you can find raw honey from a local bee keeper, go for it! Raw honey (honey that has not been heated over 117° to kill healthy bacteria) contains many nutrients and digestive enzymes.

Raw honey is a wonderful addition to buttered toast or granola. Honey is also wonderful to bake with (although then of course, it won’t be raw anymore). If a recipe calls for one cup of sugar, I usually substitute 1/2-2/3 cup of honey.

Real Maple Syrup, Grade B

Mmm…I love maple syrup! I never bake with it, but find it works wonderfully in liquid recipes like Strawberry Milkshakes, Smoothies, Warm Vanilla Soother, Creamy Orange Cooler, etc. Oh, and it’s great on Pancakes and Waffles too!

Because real maple syrup is kinda pricey, I am the designated syrup pourer on pancakes…otherwise we’d have a lot of this “Liquid Gold” wasted all over our pancake plates.

Organic Grade B Maple Syrup is better than Grade A as more nutrients are present. Plus, non-organic maple syrups may contain formaldehyde or other synthetic defoamers.

“Mom, can I please have some more formaldehyde on my pancake?” I don’t think so.

Molasses

Molasses is the “waste product” that comes from the production of refined sugar. It is rich in many minerals. I don’t use molasses much for baking, except in recipes such as Molasses Cookies. Mmm!

————————————————
This is by no means an exhaustive list of “healthy sugars”…these are simply my favorites and the sugars I’m most familiar with. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments section if you have researched and know of a great sugar to try!
————————————————

Sweeteners to Avoid

Refined Sugars

Unfortunately even many organic sugars (turbinado, raw, natural) are quite refined and contain very few nutrients. I use these occasionally because AT LEAST they are (unbleached, organic, a little less refined) and better than…

White Sugar

This sugar is so refined that there are no nutrients left in it whatsoever. It is also usually bleached to make it prettier. Because it is not sugar in its whole form…it has a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels in the body. I can actually feel the effect white sugar has on my body (can you?!).

But, if you have a choice between the two, choose regular sugar over…

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Dr. Mercola can explain why High Fructose Corn Syrup should be avoided way better than I can! Read his professional information on the subject…

Agave Nectar

While I used to believe that Agave Nectar was a healthy substitute for sugar, it seems I should have done my homework more thoroughly. Agave Nectar should usually be avoided as apparently, it is almost worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup.

By the way, I think I’ve changed any recipes I have here on my site that included agave nectar as an ingredient…but in case you find it anywhere, please let me know so I can edit it!

Artificial Sweeteners

Ooh, I can’t say enough about fake sugar!!! Please don’t make the mistake of believing that you are eating/drinking healthier if you avoid sugar but use aspertame, splenda, or whatever the latest “fake sugar” is out there. They are worse than good ol’ refined sugar and can cause so many long term health problems. I have reasons to be passionate about this subject…so if you want to picture me down on the floor grabbing your feet begging you to avoid these…that truly is what I’m doing right now. You can read more information about aspertame here. I believe these testimonials may say more than I ever could.

I’d love for you to share your experiences, thoughts on this subject, and favorite sugar choices with us!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Healthy Treat for Today: Whole Wheat Donuts

March 18, 2008 by Laura 97 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

 

My dad…whom my boys call, Papa, is famous around here for buying us donuts when he comes to town. It’s become a big deal…one that the boys won’t let Papa forget about. (“Hi Papa…did you bring us donuts?…oh, and we’re also glad you’re here…”)

One Saturday morning…I decided to make homemade (and healthier) donuts for the family. I got up early…ground wheat into flour…mixed up the dough, rolled them out, fried them up…and made a special hot fudge sauce to drizzle over them. I put them on a pretty platter…poured glasses of fresh milk…and called the boys down for breakfast.

I cheerfully and excitedly greeted them with flour on my face and my hair all frazzled from all the work of making these fresh off the stove donuts…

And my three year old lit up and said, “Oh!! Did Papa make us DONUTS?!”

Huh. I go to all this trouble…and Papa gets all the credit. 

sigh  :)

Well, they liked my donuts just as much Papa’s…and I loved that these were a pretty healthy treat!

(Papa really got a big kick out of that story, of course..)

I hope you’ll get a big kick out of this recipe!

Whole Wheat Cake Donuts (or should I call them, “Papa’s Special”?)!Yum

3 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 t. baking powder
½ t. cinnamon
¼ t. salt
¼ t. nutmeg
2/3 cup rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice) or sucanat
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
Oil for frying (I use palm shortening or coconut oil)

Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir in eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter. Knead dough a few minutes to make sure all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
On a floured surface, roll dough to ½ inch thickness. Cut with donut cutter, or biscuit cutter. Heat oil in skillet or electric skillet…enough to cover the bottom of the skillet about ¼ inch. Place donuts into the hot oil to fry for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle a mixture of rapadura and cinnamon, or sprinkle organic powdered sugar over the hot donuts. 

donutssm1.JPG

Yum! Anytime I want a special breakfast treat for my family…these donuts work for me!

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Healthy Treat for Today: Trail Mix With HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIPS

February 22, 2008 by Laura 29 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Who knew? 

You can make your very own chocolate chips!!

Okay, well, I’m actually not clever enough to make them into the shape of chocolate chips…so maybe we’d better call them chocolate chunks.

Chip…Chunk…whatever. How cool are WE to know how to make our very own Chocolate Chiunpks?

I’ve had this recipe for a while, but hadn’t really thought about making it. Then I saw it on another post and was reminded! I’m SO glad for the reminder!

The recipe comes from my FAVORITE nutrition book:  Nourishing Traditions. 

I adapted it just a bit because it had a pretty bitter chocolate taste…and you may need to adapt it more, depending on how bitter you like your chocolate. 

Also, depending on the quality of coconut oil you use, you may or may not have a
coconut-y taste in your chips. I LIKE it with the coconut taste. 

Okay…so are you ready?!?! 

Homemade Chocolate ChipsYum

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup rapadura or sucanat
1 cup coconut oil
1 T. vanilla

Mix ingredients in a glass container and set in simmering water until melted. Mix together well. 
chocchips1sm.JPG
(Anybody wanna know what I was doing at exactly 2:04 yesterday?)
(uh, see…you can see my clock there, behind the melting chocolate chip mixture.)

Spread mixture on a piece of buttered parchment paper and allow to cool in the refrigerater. 
chocchips2sm.JPG

When hardened, remove parchment paper and break into chunks. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.
chochips3sm.JPG

Aren’t they beautiful? Mmmmm-mmmm. (See a more thorough chocolate chip making tutorial here!)

Now…for the Trail Mix part…

1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
1/3 cup homemade chocolate chips

Mix it all together and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator…if it makes it that far!

Come back tomorrow for a recipe for whole wheat, rapadura Chocolate Chiumpk Cookies!

(And let me know if you can figure out how to pronounce that.)  :)

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