Heart-Healthy Baking Essentials

These heart-healthy baking essentials will help you trim fat and sodium, plus boost fiber, antioxidants, and whole grains in favorite recipes!

Unsweetened Applesauce

Baking tip: Cut fat and boost vitamin C in baked goods by using unsweetened applesauce to replace half or more of the butter, shortening, or oil.

 

 



Cocoa, Unsweetened
Baking tip: Use 3 tablespoons of this antioxidant-rich cocoa plus 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to replace 1 ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate.

Ener-G Baking Soda
Baking tip: This baking soda substitute saves you more than 1,200 mg of sodium per teaspoon, so it's a smart swap if you bake a lot.

Oat Bran
Baking tip: Add cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber to your recipes by replacing a few tablespoons of flour with oat bran. It keeps baked goods moist, too.

Hain Featherweight Baking Powder
Baking tip: Replace your baking powder with this sodium-free version (made with potassium chloride) to save 480 mg of sodium per teaspoon. Note: Hain Featherweight Baking Powder has 70 milligrams of potassium per 1/8 teaspoon serving. Ask your doctor before using this product, as potassium can pose problems for people with kidney disease.

Organic Cold-Pressed Olive Oil
Baking tip: This oil is obtained by cold-pressing rather than chemical method. It's high in good monounsaturated fat, antioxidants, polyphenols and omega-3 fatty acids, which can promote cardiovascular health.

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Baking tips: Higher in fiber and antioxidants than refined (all-purpose) flour, whole wheat flour can replace refinded flour in recipes. White whole wheat flour bakes like traditional whole wheat flour but is light in color because it's from white wheat.

Swap Margarine [and butter] for Coconut Oil
The naturall occuring saturated fat in coconut oil is heart healthy. Nearly 50% of the fat in coconut oil is called lauric acid, which has unique health promoting properties. Your body converts lauric acid into monolaurin, which has anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-protozoa properties. Coconut oil is also nature's richest source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs.  MCTs actually boost your metabolism and help your body use fat for energy, as opposed to storing it.

Add Walnuts
Add chopped walnuts to your baking recipes to boost your intake of heart-healthy antioxidants and omega-3 fats