Comments on: Freezer Cooking Day #2: Pepper Steak and Healthified Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

By: kriswithmany

kriswithmany — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:21:40 +0000

In our pumpkin bread, I add more pumpkin in place of some of the oil. In a banana bread recipe I have, it just has lots of banana – and no oil. Both work great for me.

By: jennie

jennie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:14:18 +0000

This may sound really strange but you can substitute beans for oil or butter in baked goods recipes. You just pick a cooked bean that has about the same color as what you’re baking so the color doesn’t look strange in your recipe and mash them up before putting in. I seriously do this a lot and my family can’t tell the difference. It makes things a lot fluffier and has the added fiber benefit. You do need to make sure you grease your pans well though because you are taking the butter or oil out. The substitution ratio is the same.

By: elaine

elaine — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:46:56 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree with Caroline about fats being good for us. Coconut oil is a wonderful fat and I have been substituting it for almost all the oils in my baking. I look for ways to incorporate coconut into my diet (and I don’t even really like it – but you don’t taste the difference in baked goods).
Heavenly Homemaker has a great recipe for making your own healthy chocolate chips.
These sound yummy – can’t wait to try them.
Thanks!

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:36:26 +0000

I get lighter whole wheat results with pastry wheat – it mills up nice and light. You can also use some applesauce to replace part of the oil – usually half, and that will cut the fat and increase the fiber a bit without sacrificing taste and texture too much.

I always cut the amount of chocolate chips, and no one notices. Also, if you use the mini chips, the flavor is more spread out!

http://www.tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:26:37 +0000

I made these yesterday and made these changes: of the flour called for I used white whole wheat flour for 2/3 of it and reg. flour for the remaining 1/3, cut the sugar in half and used 3/4 cup of plain (whole fat) yogurt and 1/2 cup oil. I also used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips and threw some freshly ground flax seeds in as well. They were really great! Perfectly moist and light. I’ll be making these again soon. Thanks for sharing!

By: stephanie

stephanie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:22:35 +0000

I don’t know if anyone else mentioned this or if you are already doing this, but when you replace the white flour in a recipe with whole wheat flour you don’t want to do it cup for cup. IThat may be why your muffins turned out dry. Whole wheat flour weighs more than white flour and really flour is best when added by weight. So when I sub whole wheat for white I always use less whole wheat – like take about 2 tablespoons out of each cup of wheat flour. Does that make sense? For example, my favorite recipe for rolls calls for 3 1/2 cups of flour. I do it with whole wheat flour and only use 3 cups. Comes out perfect. If I use more than that they are dry.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:25:00 +0000

I was intimidated at the thought of making my own pumpkin puree–until this year. It was so easy and it turned out great in some pumpkin cookies. My dad is a farmer and I always hated to see those extra pumpkins go to waste. Thank you for inspiring me with your cooking posts!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:53:00 +0000

I've started replacing vegetable oil with coconut oil as well (or organic/natural applesauce). I am eliminating vegetable oils (such as corn, canola, etc not olive) from my family's diet...they are highly processed with lots of chemicals (and are toxic when heated), and aren't as healthy as once thought. Here's some good (but lengthy) reading on the topic: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/oiling.html

By: Shiela

Shiela — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:44:35 +0000

Hey everyone!
I am new to the baking realm. My hubby is buying me a grain grinder and some wheat berries for Christmas.
I’d like to know what wheat berries to get and if there is anything else I will need to hit the ground running once the time comes. We’re looking forward to making our own breads, pizza crust, tortillas, pita pockets, muffins and pancakes and waffles. Sooo, could anyone recommend the things I need to get started? What wheat has worked best for you? Feel free to email me: shiela.horton@yahoo.com.
Thanks all!!!

By: 2boysmom

2boysmom — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:14:44 +0000

You might want to upping your wet ingredients if you aren’t using sugar. Sugar is often considered a “wet ingredient” especially in baking.

By: Frugal, Freebies and Deals

Frugal, Freebies and Deals — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:51:20 +0000

This idea may sound weird to most people- but because I try to eat little to no refined sugar (I use some agave syrup) I don’t miss the sweetened chocolate. When I put “chocolate chips” in anything I just grind a few cubes of baking chocolate in a little hand nut grinder- it makes the pieces tiny- and add that to my baked goods. I think it tastes good and my family doesn’t even notice the difference since the cookie or muffin it is in is already sweet.

Another tip for nutrition bumping is use “almond flour or meal” for part of the flour. You can buy it or grind it yourself.

And I would not worry about replacing all of the oil, health wise. Some fat is actually good for you and helps balance out the carbs in your body. If the recipe calls for a lot of oil and you still want to reduce it some- try taking it down an 1/8 or 1/4 cup at a time and see how much it affects the recipe.

By: Angie Newell

Angie Newell — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:48:30 +0000

I tried this recipe this week and it was awesome! Only problem was I didn’t have enough choc. chips. I substituted 1/2 caramel chips and they were heavenly. They make it a little more dessert like than muffin like.

By: Bethany DiLullo

Bethany DiLullo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:43:50 +0000

I use unsweetened applesauce as well instead of oil except for cookies .. nobody has ever tasted the difference. I use a 1:1 ratio — not sure that that is the right way to do it but I’ve had no complaints ! Good job

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:40:11 +0000

I made these muffins using whole wheat flour and replaced the oil with applesauce and they tasted great!

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:32:54 +0000

I substitute applesauce for oil in a ratio of 1:1 in muffins. In the fall while apples are cheap I make my own applesauce by just boiling peeled and cored apples until they are soft enough to mash. Then I freeze the applesauce to use for baking throughout the year. This is cheaper than buying applesauce. Also, there is a kitchen gadget that will allow me to boil the apples whole and just press them to squeeze out the sauce and discard the skins and cores. I plan to buy it this fall because it will be a HUGE timesaver!

By: An All American Family

An All American Family — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:24:56 +0000

Apple sauce works great in place of oil. I use apple sauce in place of oil when I make banana bread, it tastes really good and keeps it very moist. I am picking about substituting though….I wouldn’t do it in something like brownies, might comprimise the taste. Worth a try though if you really want to eliminate the oil.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:20:10 +0000

Emily,
I’ve never noticed too much sticking to pans when subst. applesauce, but i always spray the pan with non-stick spray.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:54:47 +0000

we don’t use the oil- the pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin is our oil substitute- you just use it instead of applesauce or oil…just made soem pumpkin bread today

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:49:01 +0000

Crystal, I’m not exactly sure where you live, but look for an amish community near you. Often they sell their milk for less than 3 bucks per gallon. Also in getting the raw milk, you can make your own butter, whipping cream, and so much more…

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:47:49 +0000

I love substituting the whole grains – can’t wait to try that. If you’re using vegetable oil, why would you worry about fat? Our bodies need it. Fats were given a lot of unjust bad publicity in the late 80′s and early 90′s. We now know that trans fats are the only fats that should be eliminated from our diets, and I don’t think the recipe called for shortening.

Fat is the basic building block our bodies use for brain and neurological development – critical if you’re cooking for young children with growing brains. When I was diagnosed with high cholesterol in my 20′s, my doctor advised me to eliminate trans fats and incorporate as much vegetable fat (HDL fat) as possible into my diet. Vegetable fats actually remove saturated fat from your bloodstream – it’s consumption of manmade trans fats that interupts this process and causes LDL cholesterol to increase. Having high levels of HDL cholesterol actually puts one at negative risk for heart disease. I was able to drop my LDL cholesterol 40 points in six months by eating real butter instead of margarine and eliminating trans fats. Within two years, it was down 80 points. Twelve years later, I cook with heavy cream, butter and we eat red meat (I also use a lot of olive oil), and my overall cholesterol is still in the 160′s despite having levels in the 240′s in my mid twenties.

I understand that people have different body compositions, but when I’ve consulted with nutritionists and doctors regarding diet issues (mostly how to work around food allergies), I’ve been consistently told that young children need a good amount of fat in their diet.