I don’t know about you, but scrolling through Pinterest or recipes online used to depress me. There’s all these AMAZING looking recipes, with the junkiest of ingredients that I don’t DARE make, because I will eat the entire pan, without even telling my family I made anything. So for the past few years, I’ve been on a mission...cleaning up one recipe at a time. I love finding recipes that are bad for you and cleaning them up into a delicious and nutritious treat. Many times I’ve heard people say how hard clean eating is. That it’s so bland. People hear “clean eating” and think egg whites, chicken breast and brown rice. I’m here to tell you, that it is sooooo much more than that. You can have your cake and eat it too, friends (as long as you clean it up)…
You may already use some of these alternatives now, but, I’ll share some of my favorite, tried and true healthy recipe substitutions, just in case!
Use STEVIA instead of SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, POWDERED SUGAR. I personally use exactly what the recipe calls for. If it calls for 1 cup of sugar, I use 1 cup of Stevia, although some people prefer to cut it in half and use 1/2 cup of stevia! Research has shown that stevia does not trigger the same insulin response that sugar and artificial sweeteners do, and may actually improve insulin sensitivity. It’s also much nicer on the ol’ waste line.
Use OATS instead of WHITE FLOUR, WHEAT FLOUR (ANY KIND OF FLOUR). I keep a large ziplock bag of homemade oat flour in my pantry. To make it, I simply fill up my NUTRI-BULLET with whole oats, and turn it on until the oats are flour consistency. I do that a few times until my bag is full. Then when a recipe calls for any kind of flour, I scoop out my oat flour and measure it just the same, cup for cup.
Use COCONUT OIL instead of BUTTER, MARGARINE or SHORTENING. I could list a million reasons why I LOVE coconut oil, but I’ll save that for another day. One of the reasons why I prefer coconut oil in recipes is because the medium chain fatty acids actually boost your metabolism and don’t end up as stored body fat like the longer chain fatty acids do. It’s a healthy fat that I use A LOT.
Use HIMALAYAN PINK SALT instead of SEA SALT, TABLE SALT, ANY KIND OF SALT SALT. This pretty, pink, salty goodness contains over 80 vitamins and minerals with tons of health benefits. It tastes great and has become my family's favorite, both in recipes and to season our meals!!
Use MASHED BANANAS instead of VEGETABLE OIL. I love the creamy, consistency that bananas give in place of vegetable oil. It adds a hint of sweetness, as well as extra nutrients such as potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of oil, I prefer 1 cup of mashed bananas instead.
Use UNSWEETENED ALMOND or COCONUT MILK instead of MILK. Although it’s not quite as thick as regular milk, I really love using almond and coconut milks in my recipes. It cuts the calories by more than half of regular milk. It also has lots of added health benefits, and is dairy free which I know is important to a lot of people. We switched to almond & coconut milk when we started eating clean in 2011. We love it and use it for everything!
Use GRAIN SWEETENED CHOCOLATE CHIPS instead of CHOCOLATE CHIPS. My friend, Janelle, introduced these to me a few years ago and I absolutely love them!! It’s all I use when a recipe calls for chocolate chips! Just a few ingredients (all of which are pronounceable) and no added sugar!! 🙂 Win win!!
So there are some of my favorite, healthy recipe substitutions, mostly when it comes to baking. There’s just something about finding a delicious looking recipe and making it my own by swapping out the bad ingredients for the good ones without sacrificing flavor. I hope you’ll try too, just find any recipe and clean it up, just like I do. It’s really a lot of fun, and a whole lot more rewarding when I watch my family inhale the goodies that are good for them.