Culinary Choices : Alternative Ingredients & Food Choices - by Shirley Sokol
Mindful eating is when we pay attention to the food and the amount of food we consume. Food is like modern fashion; you can pull recipes from different decades and try trends before making your choice. We understand about how food works with our bodies now, more so than the generations before us. It is interesting that both in food and fashion, the simple choices tend to be the long-term classics.
If you are mindful of what foods share your journey and/or would like to start paying more attention to what fuels your body, you may want to look up recipes that incorporate healthful ingredients. Please keep in mind that as adults, if you put a group of a dozen people together, they will each have their own opinions of what foods are good for you. Food really is a personal choice and unfortunately many people only have a part of the facts or over dramatize a particular food or ingredient. Food is not evil; however, it has been shown that if we pay attention and try to balance our diet, it will benefit our health and energy level.
Alternative Ingredients for Baked Goods
· Canned Pumpkin
· Walnuts
· Avocado
· Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
· Organic Wheat
· Fat-Free Milk
· Buckwheat Flour
· Berries
· Oats
Try Substituting your Standard Ingredients With
v Fresh or dried spices and herbs for flavor rather than sugar or fruit glazes for frostings
v Nut and seed butters for standard butter (almond, sunflower)
v Sub the following for butter in some recipes – hummus, extra virgin olive oil or mashed avocado
v Black beans for flour
v Whole wheat flour for white flour
v Unsweetened applesauce for sugar or for oil or butter
v Almond flour for wheat flour
v Marshmallow fluff for frosting
v Natural peanut butter for reduced-fat peanut butter
v Vanilla for sugar (extract from vanilla beans)
v Mashed bananas for fats
v Nut or Coconut flours for white enriched flour
v Meringue for frosting
v Graham crackers for cookies or piecrusts
v Evaporated skim milk for cream
v Prunes for butter
v Brown rice for white rice
v Zucchini ribbons for pasta
v Turnip or cauliflower mash for mashed potatoes
v Rolled oats for breadcrumbs
v Whole wheat pasta for regular pasta
v Spaghetti squash for pasta
v Pita for bread
v Lettuce leaves for tortilla wraps
v Corn tortilla for flour tortilla
Other Ingredient Substitutes that Offer More Fiber and Flavor or Less Sugar or Less Fat
§ Fruits
§ Molasses
§ Cane Sugar
§ Coconut Palm Sugar
§ Chicory Root Fiber
§ Monk Fruit
§ Sweet Potato Syrup
§ Tapioca Syrup
§ Fruit Juice Concentrate
§ Cinnamon
§ Cocoa Powder
§ Instant Coffee Mix
§ Matcha Powder
§ Butter Extract
Sneaking veggies into cakes, breads and muffins (zucchini chocolate cake, carrot muffins) adds fiber and moisture. Try pumpkin bread with honey and coconut oil.
Healthier Desserts
§ Maple Cinnamon Applesauce
§ Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
§ Strawberry Yogurt Parfaits (low fat or Greek yogurt)
§ Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream
§ Fresh Mango Ice Cream (tropical treat)
§ Fresh Fruit Pops – mango, kiwi, raspberries
§ Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Pudding
§ Frozen Banana Bites or Grapes
§ Roasted Honey & Cinnamon Peaches
§ Baked Cinnamon Apples
§ Popcorn with Mini Chocolate Chips or Sweet/Savory Seasonings (Cinnamon, Cayenne)
RECIPE: Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
· 1 cup instant oats (as a substitute you can use old fashioned rolled oats pulsed a few times in a food processor)
· ¾ cup whole wheat flour
· 1 ½ tsp baking powder
· 1–1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon (to taste)
· Dash of salt
· 2 tablespoons coconut oil-melted and cooled
· 1 egg
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· ½ cup honey
· 1 cup grated carrots
Instructions
1. Whisk together instant oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together egg, vanilla and coconut oil. Add honey and stir to combine.
3. Stir in dry ingredients mixture, and then fold in carrots.
4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. CHILLING IS MANDATORY!!! The oats need some time to soak some moisture, also prevent cookies from flatten completely.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 F, line large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Using ice cream scoop drop the ball of cookie dough onto baking sheet leaving two inch space apart. If you chill the dough longer and the dough is very thick flatten the cookies slightly before baking.
7. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Cool the cookies on a baking sheet for 15 minutes ( they need to finish cooking on warm baking sheet) then transfer to a rack.
https://omgchocolatedesserts.com/
RECIPE: Black Bean Brownies
Ingredients
· 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
· 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
· 3 tablespoons canola oil
· 3 large eggs
· 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
· 1/2 cup baking cocoa
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
· Place the beans, 1/4 cup chocolate chips and oil in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Add eggs, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder and salt; cover and process until smooth.
· Transfer to a parchment paper-lined 8-in. square baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
Nutrition Facts
1 brownie: 167 calories, 7g fat (2g saturated fat), 53mg cholesterol, 131mg sodium, 24g carbohydrate (16g sugars, 2g fiber), 4g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.
Originally published as Healthy Black Bean Brownies in Healthy Cooking December/January 2013
RECIPE: Zucchini Noodles Pasta Dish
§ 2 whole Zucchini
§ 1 Tablespoon Butter
§ 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
§ 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
§ 3 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
§ 1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan
§ 3 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)
§ Salt And Pepper, to taste
Use a vegetable peeler to peel long ribbons of zucchini.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and heat the butter and olive oil. Add the zucchini and toss around in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and parmesan and toss to heat everything up.
Serve within a few minutes, before the zucchini get too soft!
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/zucchini-noodles/