Unsweetened Applesauce
While most cookies and muffins call for a heaping cup of sugar per batch or dozen, you’re sprinkling in approximately 600 extra calories in refined sweetness alone. However if you substitute the refined white sugar for unsweetened applesauce, you’ll lower the need for added liquids, like vegetable oil or melted margarine, needed in your recipe as well—lowering both empty calories and fat in one fruity cup.
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Mashed Avocado
The creamy consistency and taste of mashed avocado mixes subtly with chocolate recipes and offers a heart-healthier substitute for butter in cookie, brownie, and dessert squares. Substitute each cup of butter with a pureed cup of avocado in your recipes for a lower calorie, omega 3-rich boost. Just refrain from coating pans with avocado in place of butter as the fruit doesn’t melt quite as effectively and may stick and burn.
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Black Beans
When you think about incorporating black beans into your brownie recipe, it might not sound very appetizing. However, pureed in your food processor and used in place of white refined flour, black beans blend smooth and make your brownie base, fluffy, moist, lower calorie, higher in fiber, and completely gluten-free!
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Mashed Bananas
When it comes to a potassium-rich, lower calorie, and higher-fiber loaf of dessert bread, mashed and over-ripe bananas make a much healthier substitute for margarine, vegetable oil, or lard in banana bread or muffins. With the mashed banana, you’ll also get an added vitamin B6 boost.