Healthy Baking Swaps: Pump Up the Fiber

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Baking season is arguably the best part of these cool weather days. Filling your home with warmth, spicy smells, and celebration is such a nice comfort. The alchemy of turning a pile of ingredients into something delicious can give you lots of pride - knowing that you created something that will bring joy and nourishment to you and your loved ones! 

Even if your baked goods don't turn out perfectly, they're still miles better than anything store-bought! Warm and fresh win every time. 

Every Tuesday in November, we'll go over a few ideas to make your homemade baked goods also HEALTHIER than store bought!

Week One: Pump up the fiber

Fiber is great for digestion and can help regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol, reduce risk of certain
types of cancers, and increase satiety to help you stay full between meals. 

1. Add fruits and vegetables

Choose recipes for produce -packed baked treats. Banana bread, zucchini bread, and pumpkin bread all fit this bill!  

Every fruit and vegetable is a good source of fiber- even better if you leave the peels on fruits like apples, peaches, and pears! 

2. Use some whole wheat flour

  • For most baked goods, you can replace up to HALF the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. This works well in yeast breads, pizza crust, muffins, and quick breads (though doesn't work well in breads that need to be stretchy, like challah or anything else braided). 
  • In some muffins or quick-breads (banana bread, zucchini bread), you can replace 100% of the flour with whole wheat and not notice the difference. 
  • For flaky pastry like biscuits, pie crust, or scones, you can use up to half whole-wheat pastry flour. 
  • It is not recommended to use whole wheat flour in delicate baked goods, such as light and fluffy cakes. 

3. Add nuts and seeds

 For additional flavor and crunch, sprinkle on or mix in: 

  • walnuts
  • pecans
  • slivered or sliced almonds
  • chia or flax seeds (soaked or ground work best in baked goods)
  • sesame seeds
  • sunflower seeds
  • natural peanut butter or almond butter 

4. Use oatmeal

Choose recipes that include oatmeal! Oatmeal is a great source of fiber and adds awesome flavor and texture to baked goods. Oatmeal cookies, apple crisp, oat muffins, and granola all include oats.

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