Baked Goods that are Good for You

Since we all love a good treat now and then, it's good to have a few go-to healthy recipes to indulge your craving. As a general rule, though, when I'm losing weight (as I am right now with my final 10 post-partum pounds) I do not eat baked goods or sugar. Also, I am niether a gluten free or vegan consumer of foods. However, I just found out that my talented teenage cousin, Madeline, is sensative to glueten and lactose, and this was my first blogger request so here is what I know.

For gluten free baking, you can use a combination of rice flour and tapioca starch, with a ratio of 2 to 1.

To substitute butter in baking (if you do not want to use coconut or canola oil), use the same amount of apple sauce that recipe calls for in fat.

To substitute egg in baking, use ground flax seed mixed with water. To replace 1 egg, you'll need to mix 1 T (tablespoon) of ground flax seed with 3 T of water.

To substitute sugar in baking, you can soak some date pieces and mince them finely and add some maple syrup or honey.

I'm not going to lie, your baked goods will not taste like their fattening, glutenous counterparts; however, once your expectations and palett shift, you will be pleasantly surprized at the delicious, healthy goodness that you can create.

Here are two recipes that I created a few years ago, and if you use gluten free oats and follow my substitution guidelines, they are naturally gluten free.

These cookies are dense, but they are really yummy:

OATMEAL COOKIES
About 10 cookies
2 cups oats (Irish oats)
½ cup brown sugar
2 T ground flax
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup chopped walnuts
2 T raisins
1 Egg, beaten
4 T vegetable oil
2 T maple Syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, add oats, sugar, ground flax, cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins. Mix well, breaking up and clumps in the sugar. Next add egg, oil, and syrup. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes.

Use a spoon to place the mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Press each mound into a
2 ½ inch round with your finger.

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool for a few minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack or a plate using a spatula. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

APPLE CRISP
Apple Crisp
5 Granny Smith Apples, pared, cored, and sliced to ¼” slices
1 cup Spelt Flour
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
¼ vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange apple slices in an ungreased 8 x 8 baking dish. In small bowl, combine flour, sugar, syrup or honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts, and oil. Mix well until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over apple slices. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.

This next recipe is compliments of Amber. I have not had the chance to try them yet, but she says they are so good:

APRICOT OATMEAL BARS

1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup agave

Apricot filling- in saucepan combine 1 cup of snipped dried apricots and 3/4 cup of water, bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup agave adn 1 tbsp flour- cook 1 min more til thickened and bubbly.

Combine flour, oats, agave, applesauce and baking soda- reserve 1/2 cup or so to put on top. Press mixture into bottom of baking dish- spread filling and add remaining mixture on top. Bake 350 for 30-35 min.

You can also do a cranberry apple filling- 1 cup of chunky applesauce, 2/3 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a dash of cloves.

I hope these tips help to expand your baking repitiore and quench your cravings!