neat way to cut cals.....

Just thought I'd share a tidbit I learned today.

When baking, you can cut the amount of sugar the recipe calls for in HALF without losing flavor or texture.

Eliminating 1 cup from a recipe eliminates 775 calories from the recipe!!!! (holy cow!!)

Just make sure you have at least 1/4 cup of sugar for every 1 cup flour to keep moisture levels up. Other than that, who needs the extra calories???

Wed. Apr 18, 2:37pm

Yes, and cutting 1 cup of flour cuts 650 calories!!!
(not quite as bad as sugar, but eerily similar)

I don't want to spoil this thread with a lecture on empty carbs, but the more research I do on nutritional data, the more I simply cannot justify having more than very small levels of sugar and/or white flour in my diet.

Your post was a terrific illustrator on the sheer overwhelming amount of calories in sugar and it does very little to meet your body's needs for nutrition.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 3:34 PM

and you can substitute plum puree for the fat in most baking recipes (like carrot cake, for instance.)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 3:38 PM

neat way to cut cals

never heard of adding plum puree.........would applesauce work as well??

Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 5:58 PM

yes applesauce would work just as well

Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 7:34 PM

Applesauce is great! But, if you substitute applesauce for all of the fat, brownies and cookies, for example, end up a kind of spongey texture. Not bad, just not the same. People who aren't dieting tend to not appreciate it. If you are cooking for many, I'd suggest substituting half the fat with applesauce or plum puree, etc., and keeping half the fat as is. It'll still drastically reduce calories.

Another great thing for adding moisture to cakes, etc., is chopped dates. Sounds weird, but, my grandma makes the most awesome chocolate chip date cake, and it's always so moist and gooey, and that's from the dates.

Thursday, April 19, 2007, 9:57 AM

Another way to cut calories...I scoop out the center of my hamburger buns or french bread or rolls. You can save almost half of your calories that way and it doesn't change a thing. I like the texture of the crust but not the calories.

Saturday, June 09, 2007, 3:43 PM

Thanks for that reminder 3:34! I had a hamburger today and the bun had more calories than the beef - I could've easily scooped away 100 calories and not missed a thing.

9:57 - how do you substitue using dates? Same measurement, just switching out the oil/butter? Your grandma's cake DOES sound awesome!

I save 100 calories by just using egg whites for omelets.

Saturday, June 09, 2007, 5:04 PM

I do A LOT of baking....too much seeing as how I'm trying to lose at least 20 pounds. I always substitute applesauce for all of the vegetable oil in a recipe and have never had a problem with the texture. Non dieters and dieters love the stuff I make. You can also substitute the fat free cream cheese for the real stuff.

I also use cottage cheese or low fat yogurt or no fat sour cream in place of recipes that call for mayo or ricotta cheese. You just have to be careful with it and try it out. I also use tofu when I make dishes that require cheese like baked ziti or alfredo sauce. Putting the tofu in the food processor first just turns it into a nice creamy protein mixture without a ton of calories. Mix in some real cheese too and no one will know the difference!

Now if only I could manage to just eat less of the lower calorie food...that's the real trick.

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 1:25 AM

I, too use applesauce--it makes the cakes and brownies extra moist....

FF Greek or Mediterranean yogurt (but the kind made WITHOUT) pectin can be used instead of sour cream. All of the good flavor without the extra fat.

I have a friend who uses grated apple (in place of apple sauce) for fat as well and it does taste great without any added sugar.

I don't however, use the fat free cream cheese, but the lowfat "neufchatel" cream cheese--the FF kind has a weird taste/texture for me... but I so rarely use cream cheese that the Neufchatel cream cheese is absolutely fine without adding the extra fat calories.

Sunday, June 10, 2007, 5:25 PM

applesauce for oil

I once baked some pumpkin cookies for a 4-H gathering and substituted applesauce for all of the oil. Everyone loved the cookies, not because they tasted good but because they bounced! Next time I made a plum-applesauce puree and the cookies tasted great. However, they didn't bounce. A big disappointment.

Friday, August 03, 2012, 4:18 PM

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