10 Simple Swaps to Make Your Baking and Cooking Healthier

Looking for a lighter way to add cheesy flavour to your pastas, salads and more? Nutritional yeast is a complete protein that’s loaded with B vitamins as well as an excellent flavour enhancer. If you’re craving a savoury snack, sprinkle some over popcorn or use it to make a mouthwatering vegan mac and cheese.

For a perfect pie or cheesecake crust, look beyond the cookie crumbs and add your favourite cereal to a food processor along with butter (or melted coconut oil) and warm spices like cinnamon and ginger. It adds a ton of flavour while cutting some of the sugar and fat. Anywhere a press-in crust is required, cereal will work, like this no-bake ice cream pie.

Take your favourite gooey, fudgy brownie recipe and swap the flour for sweet potato. It’s a stealthy way to make the irresistible dessert gluten-free while keeping that rich texture and deep-chocolate taste.

For a healthier alternative, replace granulated sugar with coconut sugar in your baked goods. Coconut sugar is less refined, lower on the glycemic index and contains potassium, magnesium and sodium that help regulate your body’s water content. You can also grind coconut sugar in a food processor to use in place of confectioner’s sugar.

To cut the fat and increase the protein in your favourite creamy dishes, give Greek yogurt a try instead of using sour cream or mayonnaise. It’s perfect in everything from dips to pasta salads or even on top of a baked potato.

Whether you’ve run out of breadcrumbs during meal prep or looking for a nutritious alternative, oats are the answer. In a food processor, blend the oats to a fine crumb and add 1:1 in place of the breadcrumbs in your burger, meatball or meatloaf recipes without changing the texture.

Silken tofu is an excellent dairy substitute because it has a creamy texture that blends seamlessly into most recipes. Use it in delicious dairy-free breakfasts by replacing the milk or yogurt in smoothies or instead of eggs in your pancake recipes. You can even make a rich vegan cheesecake with smooth, silky tofu.

With chillier temperatures comes the cravings for hearty, satisfying soups. Cooked, pureed potatoes are a great way to add thick and creamy texture to your soups without using fat or cream. For an even healthier touch, use pureed sweet potato which adds vitamins A and C along with fibre and potassium.

Dates are an excellent replacement for refined sugar in baked goods. They’re sweet, but they’re also rich in potassium, antioxidants and fibre. Make them into a paste and add them to cakes, pies or even cookies.

Using cacao nibs instead of chocolate chips is a healthier way to add chocolate flavour to your baked goods while reducing overall sugar content and adding antioxidants. It may take a bit of experimenting at first since cacao nibs are bitter, so begin by replacing some of the chocolate chips until you find the perfect balance for your palate. Try this swap out in muffins, pancakes or one of our top chocolate chip cookie recipes.