In our family it is a tradition to bake Christmas cookies in the beginning of December. But as delicious as the cookies can be, we all know that they are quite unhealthy with the high sugar, butter, etc ingredients. As I don’t want to give up on this family tradition…..and yummy treats, I am always on the lookout for healthier options. Below I am sharing some of my favorite healthy substitutes for your baking recipe:  

• instead of flour, you can use almond flour, any nut flour, coconut flour, or black beans (I personally have never used the last one!). For all flours check out the labels for exact substitute ratio
• instead of sugar, you can use either unsweetened applesauce (ratio is 1 cup to 1 cup), or dates. Some also suggest stevia, but I recently read that it is not that healthy after all……so I am not sure!
• instead of chocolate chips, you can use cacao nibs (ratio is 1 cup to 1 cup), or a mix of chocolate chips and cacao nibs for the beginning, and then increase the amount of cacao nibs each time you make a recipe
• instead of eggs, you can use either chia seeds (for 1 egg, use 1 Tbs & 1 cup water) or flex meal (for 1 egg, use 1 Tbs with 3 tbs water)
• instead of butter, you can use avocado (ratio is 1 cup to 1 cup), banana (ratio is 1 cup to 1 cup), chia seeds (for  1 cup use 3 Tbs & 1 cup water), or flax meal  (for 1 Tbs, use 3 Tbs with 1 tbs water)

Of course there are many different options, and possibilities……you just have to try what works best for you and your taste.

Enjoy and stay healthy

Anna