“How can I make this cookie recipe healthier?” What happens when healthy holiday baking doesn’t work?
I used to spend hours reading diet-related cookbooks, trying to figure out healthy holiday baking. I spent even more hours experimenting by swapping out ingredients, convincing myself that the outcome was delicious (it wasn’t).
Baking is the one area of cooking that takes the biggest hit from diet culture. During my disordered eating days, I had piles of recipes with scratched-out ingredients. I replaced the “unhealthy” ingredients with ones that earned a healthy halo based on the current fad diet.
After MANY batches of crumbly, brick-like cranberry bread and sad, soggy pumpkin pie, I realized that trying to make holiday baking healthier doesn’t work. Here’s why.
Ami Karnosh returns to the podcast to talk about the science of baking and how demonizing sugar only leads to hockey puck cookies and runny Creme Brule.
She explains what sugar is and how to understand the new nutrition facts label when it comes to total sugar versus added sugars.
We discuss the difference between granulated and syrup-like sugars and give examples of how to use both for desired texture effects. More importantly, Ami also gives examples of when NOT to swap sugars in recipes.
If you’re curious about sugar substitutes and sweeteners like the popular monk fruit, Ami gives you a behind-the-scenes view of these sugar alternatives and how they affect your baked goods and health.
We debunk the myth that some sweeteners are healthier than others by explaining what healthy halos are and why they get put over whole-food sweeteners
Finally, if you feel like experimenting this holiday baking season, Ami shares how to replace white sugar with a whole food sweetener and what texture changes you can expect. Is it worth it?
Ami Karnosh is a Nutritionist with a Master of Science degree from Bastyr University. After closing her private nutrition practice, Ami published Let’s Eat, A Book About Food, to introduce eating the rainbow to kids of all ages.
Ami later co-founded the Yummy Mummy Cookie Company – nutrition you need in the cookies you want. Since retiring from the business, she has helped companies create and adapt recipes for specialty foods. Ami is also a culinary instructor, teaching people how to easily cook nourishing meals in their own homes.
You can learn more about Ami’s work by visiting her on Instagram.
Resources
On Food and Cooking
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
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