Baking a Healthier Cookie
By Donna Stark
Very few things can sum up the spirit of the holidays like cookies can. Regardless of which holiday your family chooses to celebrate, cookies can serve as a great way to bring your loved ones together. But what if you are watching what you eat? Well, don't say no to cookies just yet! With just a few simple modifications, you can still enjoy those tasty treats you remember from your childhood. Are you ready to get baking? With all your year-end celebrations at hand, there's no better time than now!
Baking a Healthier Cookie
The classic holiday cookies often include refined sugars, which pack a sweet flavor but don't include any essential nutrients. Skipping out on all the added sugars and fats does not mean you have to give up on the sweetness you have grown to love. When making cookies from home, there are plenty of simple, quick ways to swap out the ingredients you don't want your family eating. Take a look at a few tips below.
- Replacing all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour will speed up your metabolism and add nearly four times the amount of fiber
- Swapping out the butter with olive oil, applesauce, or full-fat Greek yogurt is a lot healthier for your heart
- Surprisingly, many "simple" cookie recipes can include high amounts of sodium, so try to limit each batch to half of a teaspoon of salt
- Using dark chocolate in place of milk chocolate won't change the flavor but it will provide extra health benefits
- Adding nuts to any cookie batter can unlock a new combination of flavors while adding many essential nutrients
- If removing and adding ingredients is not an option, try making the cookies a smaller, more healthy size
The Kitchen Is Getting Hot
Now that you are more aware of how to make your holiday cookies healthier, spread the knowledge! Invite your friends and family over to showcase their healthy baking skills, and don't forget to include the children. Teaching your little ones how to cook with the right ingredients at an early age is a great way to instill life-long healthy habits and a wonderful way to create a lifetime of healthy holiday memories!
Baking festive cookies with your family will surely serve as a fond memory for everyone, so pull out your favorite recipes and take the time to look them over. Find the ingredients that can easily be swapped out and turn this yearly family event into the healthiest one of the year! Happy holidays!
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