20 ingredients for healthy baking and food making
Inspired to try some healthy dessert-making/baking? Stocking up on the ingredients below will prepare you with all the tools you need to smash out a sugar-free treat recipe.
1. Nuts (super nutritious bursts of long-lasting energy, nuts have great health benefits and add a delicious flavour to recipes. They can also be used as toppings. Try almonds, pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, etc.)
2. Nut meal (fantastic- gluten free and low-carb)
3. Nut butter
(great ones are peanut (sugar-free), almond or cashew. People allergic to nuts can use normal butter)
4. Gluten-free flour or wholemeal flour
(Can be oat flour, quinoa flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, etc.)
5. Oats
6. Olive oil
(I love the flavour of olive oil)
7. Plain or greek yoghurt
8. Coconut flour
(make sure you do not use this in 1:1 quantities to wheat flour, coconut flour is much more absorbent and recipes need much less of it)
9. Coconut oil
10. Coconut milk/cream
11. Cacao powder
(NOT cocoa powder which most varieties contain sugar, cacao powder is a 'superfood' and adds a rich chocolate flavour)
12. Sweetener of choice
(This is important for any healthy desserts, try to avoid agave syrup and opt instead for rice malt syrup or stevia)
13. Eggs
(basic but a must-have, vegans can use flax eggs or chia eggs)
14. Cream
(included in recipes but mostly a fantastic serving suggestion, especially to counter any bitterness from cacao powder)
15. Sugar-free vanilla
(most vanilla extracts or essence contain sneaky sugar, check the ingredients list on the packaging)
16. Sea salt
(a much healthier alternative to refined salt)
17. Spices
(great ones include cinnamon, allspice, ginger, etc.)
18. Chia seeds
(a 'superfood' that can be made into chia pudding or added to thicken recipes)
19. Frozen berries
(frozen berries last for longer and are really handy to have in the freezer, they can be added to batters, made into a healthy jam or another serving suggestion)
20. Baking soda/powder
(this will give gluten free flour a rising boost in the oven)
matterofthyme xx
This post was written by Dusk.