Cookies are one of the nation’s favorite guilty pleasures. When you see a plate of cookies, it’s so easy to eat more and more. It can be hard to stop yourself!
Of course, we all know that cookies aren’t always the healthiest of desserts.
So what do you do when you want to eat cookies but you’re on a diet or simply trying to eat healthier?
Easy – make healthier cookies! But how do you make healthier cookies? Read on to hear our tips for making the healthiest cookies out there.
Use Nuts
Nuts are extremely good for you, and they are totally mouth watering when added to cookies.
Adding nuts to your cookies is beneficial for your health since nuts are high in protein, which keeps you full for much longer.
Likewise, nuts contain important amino acids and they are a source of unsaturated fat that can help to reduce your LDL cholesterol levels. They’re good for your heart and for your appetite!
There are a lot of different nut options out there too. Hazelnuts can be an excellent choice.
You could also use cashews, peanuts – you’re sure to find something that will work for your cookies.
Use Oats Or Whole Grain Flour
Cookies don’t have to be made with traditional flour, you know. You can also make delicious oatmeal cookies.
This is ideal, since oats are full of fiber and all sorts of nutritional benefits that you simply won’t get by using flour.
Making cookies with oat flour is simple. Get some oats and put them into a blender.
When you remove them from the blender, you will see that they have turned into a flour-like consistency. You can also use oat flour for other recipes like pancakes.
If you don’t want to go to the effort of blending oats for the flour, it’s no problem. You can use whole grain flour instead.
Again, this is another option that’s high in fiber and full of minerals and vitamins that are good for your body.
Use A Substitute For Eggs
Eggs can be good for you, within reason. It’s always best to eat eggs in moderation.
So if you want an alternative to eggs in your cookies, you can choose to use something like applesauce or egg whites. These options are lower in fat.
Reduce The Fat
Cookies are usually full of butter, which is a source of fat. You often don’t need as much butter as the recipe calls for.
You can also switch out full fat butter with a healthier alternative such as applesauce, fruit purees or peanut butter.
Use Honey
You don’t need sugar to make sweet cookies. You can use other, healthier ingredients to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Honey and agave nectar are both great options for this. You could even use some maple syrup.
Use An Alternative Sugar
If you simply must have sugar in your cookies, you can swap the usual refined sugar for coconut sugar instead.
Coconut sugar contains plenty of nutrients that are important for your body, like sodium, magnesium and potassium.
It’s also a better choice for people that may be diabetic since the glycemic index of coconut sugar is lower than that of coconut sugar.
Coconut sugar is still quite high in calories though, so it may not be the best alternative if you are basing your decision on the number of calories in the sugar.
Make Them Smaller
It’s tempting to eat a lot of cookies when they are put in front of you.
So, if you’re looking to reduce your calories or consume less, you can simply make your cookies smaller before you even put them in the oven.
Smaller portions are often going to be better for your calorie intake, plus you’ll be eating fewer unhealthy ingredients since the cookies are smaller.
Can Homemade Cookies Be Healthy?
You may be wondering if it’s even possible for homemade cookies to be healthy. Well, it depends on how they’re made.
If they are full of high quality ingredients with plenty of nutrients and vitamins, then they can certainly be healthy.
If you fill the cookies with unhealthy ingredients though, it may be that store bought cookies may be healthier for you.
Is One Cookie A Day Going To Derail My Diet?
If you’re dieting, you may feel that you cannot eat any desserts or fast food. This simply is not true.
While constantly eating fast food and desserts isn’t going to do you any favors, there’s nothing wrong with eating your favorite foods in moderation. It’s often best just to set a limit for the amount that you eat.
In fact, you may find that allowing yourself the occasional indulgence can help you to reach your goals more easily since you may be less inclined to binge eat.
You can even give yourself a cookie as something to look forward to for your hard work. Ultimately, it’s all about making sure that you’re not eating too many cookies.
The occasional indulgence is fine – it only becomes a problem when you’re eating copious amounts of bad food.
Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some cookies every once in a while. There are so many ways to make cookies healthier, and to make them fit in with whatever diet you may be following.
It’s often just a matter of making simple food swaps. You can switch regular sugar for coconut sugar, or use honey instead. You can switch regular flour for oat flour.
The possibilities are endless.
Having a healthy lifestyle does not have to mean cutting out everything that you enjoy – it’s just a matter of making healthy swaps and eating things in moderation.
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![How Many Calories Do You Need To Maintain Your Weight? [How To Calculate?]](https://calorie-counter.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/How-Many-Calories-Do-You-Need-To-Maintain-Your-Weight-How-To-Calculate-1.jpg "How Many Calories Do You Need To Maintain Your Weight? [How To Calculate?]")
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!