Baking Tips for a Healthy Holiday Season
Sugar is the most simple (and loved) carbohydrate in our diets, and it shows. Within the United States, adults are consuming far more added sugar than what is recommended. When this sugar enters our bodies, it works fast to spike blood glucose levels. Worse yet, overconsuming this food long-term can increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. But it’s not all bad!
Every cell in the human body runs on sugar. Yes, sugar. While our bodies can use a combination of energy sources, glucose is the preferred fuel source for the nervous system, and the only source red blood cells will touch. In other words, we need sugar. What makes a difference is where we get most of this sugar and how we balance it within our diets.
Let’s introduce another type of carbohydrate. Fiber, found only in plants, can slow the digestion of foods, balance blood sugar levels, and decrease risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Because of this, adding fiber is one of the best ways to reduce the sugar and increase the health of your desserts. How can you do this? By using fruit of course! Check out these tips to discover how to use fruit in your holiday baking:
Add it Up: Try
out a recipe that relies on added fruit instead of added sugar. Fresh fruit
pies, fruit tarts and fruit crisps make for tasty treats. Instead of baking
a super sweet pie for Thanksgiving, you can bake one filled with real, fresh
fruits. Or, serve that traditional pie with a dish of fruit on the side. With natural sweetness and aromatic spices, it is painless
to cut down on sugar through the addition of whole fruit.
Chop it Up: Have
you ever tried dried fruit? If so, you know that it is often super sweet and tasty. When
baking cookies, cakes or brownies, try chopping up dried fruit and cutting down
on the simple sugar. Dried raisins, dates, and cherries act as great alternatives.
Puree it Up: Bananas
are a fantastic fiber-filled fruit. Let them ripen a few days more and their
sweetness increases tremendously. In your holiday baking, you can easily swap out
some of the added sugar content for mashed bananas or applesauce. Feeling creative? Try out a strawberry or pear puree in your next baking adventure.
Eating healthy during the holiday season can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there are a variety of simple tricks to increase fiber and reduce added sugar while baking classic treats. At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that any effort at healthy eating will go a long way for your well-being. And there is no harm in indulging in your favorite treats from time to time. As long as your diet doesn’t stick to an elf’s four main food groups, you’re doing a great job. Happy holidays!
-RP
These are great ideas for how to make holiday treats a little more healthy. A lot of recipes that use fruit for sugar rather than added sugar taste very similar to the versions with the higher sugar content. This topic is very timely and something that everyone is always interested in. Great job!
ReplyDelete-BC
This is a great article for the holiday season. Making desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas is a tradition in our house, so it's hard to not over indulge during this time. I never thought to add dried fruit to a dessert and we might have to try that this year. I also will be sharing these tips with my family!
ReplyDelete-MT