"How can I make this cookie recipe healthier?"
I used to spend hours reading diet-related cookbooks trying to answer this question. I spent even more hours experimenting with baking recipes, swapping out ingredients, and convincing myself that the outcome was delicious (it wasn't).
Baking is the one area of cooking that takes the biggest hit from diet culture. During my disordered eating days, I had piles of recipes with scratched-out ingredients. I replaced the "unhealthy" ingredients with ones that earned a health halo based on the current diet fads.
After MANY batches of hockey puck cookies, crumbly brick-like cranberry bread, and sad, soggy pumpkin pie, I realized that diet culture recommendations don't work with baking science. Here's why.
Ami Karnosh, culinary instructor and nutrition expert, returns to the podcast to talk about the science of baking and how demonizing sugar will only lead to hockey puck cookies and runny Creme Brule.
We start our conversation by explaining what sugar is and the difference between the amount of sugar listed on a food label versus added or refined sugars.
Ami talks about the difference between granulated and runny (more viscous) sugars and gives examples of how to use both for desired texture effects.
If you're curious about sugar substitutes and sweeteners like the popular monk fruit, Ami gives you a behind-the-scenes view of these sugar alternatives and how they affect your baked goods and health.
We debunk the myth that some sweeteners are healthier than others by explaining what healthy halos are and why they get put over whole-food sweeteners. Plus Ami gives examples of when NOT to swap sugars in recipes.
Finally, if you feel like experimenting this holiday baking season, Ami shares how to replace white sugar with a whole food sweetener, and what texture changes you can expect.
Ami Karnosh is a Nutritionist with a Masters of Science degree from
Bastyr University. After closing her private nutrition practice, Ami published
Let’s Eat, A Book About Food to introduce eating the rainbow to kids of all ages.
Ami later co-founded the Yummy Mummy Cookie Company – nutrition you need in the cookies you want. Since retiring from the business, she currently helps companies create and adapt recipes for specialty foods and teaches people how to easily cook nourishing meals in their own homes.
You can learn more about Ami’s work by visiting Cancer Lifeline and connect with Ami socially by visiting her on Instagram.
Get show notes and resources at www.alpinenutrition.org/blog
How's your relationship with sugar and other food? Take the quiz to find out!
Subscribe to the show so you don't miss an episode, and please rate, review, and share! This kindness help
Get additional blog posts and resources for intuitive eating during menopause on my website www.alpinenutrition.org
Be you go, subscribe to the show, leave a review, and share the episode with a friend!
