No butter, low sugar baking tips and recipes

I'm trying to watch it with the fats as my liver adjusts to life without a gallbladder.  I'm feeling pretty good and hoping this surgery was the right decision.  My sister brought over some huge mouth watering chocolate chunk cookies.  I ate one and a few hours later, it went right through me in the wrong way (if you catch my drift).  So in addition to my applesauce chocolate chip cookies, I have two great variations of popular baked goods.

**Tips for lighter baking:
1.  Replace butter and oils in recipes with equal measurement of applesauce or greek yogurt.  I prefer applesauce because it is a long term pantry storage item, less expensive, and adds sweetness to your recipe that allows you to cut sugar without losing flavor.
2.  Whatever the sugar content of the original recipe is, you can cut it in half and still have good taste.
3.  Experiment with other spices like cinnamon to enhance flavor.
4.  Use egg whites or if a recipe calls for 2 eggs, use one whole and the egg white equivalent of the other.
5.  Substitute all or half of the flour for whole wheat flour.

The following recipes have already applied the above suggestions.

Viva Mom's No Butter Banana Bread

The foundation for this recipe dates back to the 1960s.  It was my Grandma Jean's.  By cutting out a stick of butter, 1/2 of the sugar and using skim milk instead of evaporated milk, this bread packs about 140 calories per slice.  I also added a sprinkle of cinnamon to the batter.  A slice of this bread with some Smart Balance light spread is divine!

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup natural applesauce

2 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 medium sized ripe bananas mashed

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350, mix ingredients in order, pour in sprayed large loaf pan, bake 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the middle.  Cool 5 minutes in pan before turning over on rack.  You can also add some chopped walnuts or chocolate chips if you enjoy that in your bread.

Banana Oat Breakfast Muffins

Found this recipe on Pinterest.  It called for way too much sugar, so I used less.  It also called for greek yogurt.  I used a regular light yogurt (strawberry flavored) to add more flavor and moisture to the muffins.  The recipe yields a dozen, so you can double it if you want more.  I put these in sandwich bags in the freezer and pull them out to thaw in the morning or microwave 15-20 secs for breakfasts on the go.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup yogurt of choice 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 medium sized ripe bananas mashed

2 1/2 cups oats

Preheat oven to 400, spray muffin pan or line with liners.  Mix ingredients in order.  There are two options here depending on your preferences of texture.  You can blend everything in a processor so the oats are smooth or you can stir everything so that the oats stay whole.  I like to hand mix and have the hearty texture of the oats in my muffins.  Bake 15 minutes and allow to completely cool before removing from the tin.

Stay tuned for more light baking recipes and if you come across one you love, please share!!