Top 5 Healthy Holiday Baking Tips

How to make holiday baking healthier

By Nutritionist: Kelly Carter BASc (Hons), CNP

You don’t have to deprive yourself of delicious baked goodies during the holidays. There are simple ways to increase nutrition in your baking but without sacrificing flavor.

Follow these 5 healthy holiday baking tips to help you stay on track:

1. Make Mini’s

Invest in a mini muffin tin and make bite-sized cookies. This will help with portion control and can prevent the over consumption of your delicious treats. Studies have shown that people will consume 1/3 less dessert when portion sizes are smaller!

2. Add Beans and Chickpeas

You’ve probably heard, or are aware of black bean brownies or chickpea blondies! Adding black beans or chickpeas to your recipe will increase the amount of protein and fibre in the baked goods. It will also help replace some of the white flours traditionally used.

3. Go Grain Free

Baked goods are usually very high in carbohydrate grains due to the flour content. Switching over to a bean or nut flours, such as coconut, almond or chickpea will lower the carbohydrate count and increase the fibre and protein content.

4. Add Chia or Flaxseeds for a Binder

Instead of using eggs to bind your doughs together, try mixing 1 tablespoon of ground chia/flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water. Letting this mixture sit for 5-10 minute will allow the chia and flax to gelatinize, mimicking an egg. By switching to this method and using a ‘seed egg’, it can change the recipe to plant based; increasing the omega 3 healthy fats and making them cholesterol free.

5. Eliminate Artificial Ingredients

Steer clear of ingredients that contain partially hydrogenated oil (or trans fats), like margarine and most vegetable shortenings. Consider limiting other artificial ingredients such as food dyes. One of the benefits of homemade baked goods is their simple list of ingredients. By making your own cookies, you can use whole ingredients and avoid most or all processed ingredients that are found in many packaged cookies. 

Read more on Staying Lean over the Holidays and be sure to check out our Nutrition Corner Facebook post when Kelly visited the popular Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District for more healthy holiday tips.