Healthy Subs and Adds

In my experience, using healthy ingredients in lieu of their caloric cousins is always appreciated . . . unless you can really taste it. "This tastes healthy" never seems to be a compliment.

As someone who is both well known for being a bougie connoisseur of quality ingredients/taste and relatively health-conscious, I am here to give a list of the things that make my double life easier. You'll never even know. Or, you'll know and others won't know. If you didn't' realize that cooking/baking is the same as being in a spy thriller, it is.

1. Fat Substitutions
Oil and butter are great. Especially butter. Basically, anything you put 2 sticks of butter in is guaranteed to be awesome, but also guaranteed cardiac arrest, and this is actually a huge dilemma in my life I've contemplated for a long time. My priorities are clear (*cough* butter) but I figure there's a way to be a lithe Parisian MPDG baker vs. Paula Deen and this is how it's done.
-Avocado
-Banana
-Greek yogurt
I am certain there are more, but I haven't tested them out yet.
**Some notes about these: avocado is dense and fatty and wonderful, but has a distinctive taste that needs to be masked. It's best used in chocolate cake or the like, because the deep chocolate flavor balances it out. Greek yogurt is absolutely wonderful and less finicky. Keep in mind you can use the different flavors available to complement the flavor of whatever you're baking (Lemon flavored Chobani for lemon muffins, etc.)

2. Moistness
I know, I said it. I know, it's a gross word. Just deal for a second.
Nobody wants dry and crumbly things. While fat substitutions will nip this in the bud usually, these additives won't compensate for oil and butter but when added (even to traditional butter and eggs recipes) will really make it dense and  . . .moist.
-Beets
-Shredded zucchini
-Black beans
-Applesauce (and flavored applesauce!)
 Beets add a wonderful richness to chocolate cake, shredded zucchini will completely shrivel up in baking and just lend moisture to any flavor cake (no taste detectable, ever), and black beans make brownies incredibly fudgy.

3. Creaminess
-Egg whites
-Cauliflower*
-Butternut squash*
-Pumpkin*
-Nutritional yeast*
-Silken tofu
Whip egg whites into oatmeal to make it super creamy, and pureeing silken tofu with melted dark chocolate is protein-packed low-calorie chocolate mousse. Awesome? Awesome.
*For savory dishes (especially pasta! see: Healthy Fettucine Alfredo, Ricotta Gnocchi with Pumpkin Velvet Sauce, and Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese.)

4. Sweetness
-Stevia
-Agave nectar
-Honey
-Medjool dates
-Bananas
Artificial sweeteners are really shit for you, but stevia and agave are all natural and don't taste like sugar-coated plastic. Honey has tons of health benefits and is less calories than sugar. Medjool dates are seriously the best--pulsed in the food processor and then added to anything as a binder and sweetener (especially great for raw crusts).

5. Starches
-Spaghetti squash*
-Nuts
-Kale*
-Chickpeas(*)
Pulse nuts and Medjool dates in the food processor (instead of graham crackers or Oreos) and press into a baking dish and it's a nutty, sweet crust to any filling. Pureed chickpeas are great in cookies or dips--the flavor becomes a completely blank canvas to whatever you want to impose on it.
*For savory dishes (Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce, Kale Chips, Roasted Chickpeas.)

And there you go. The newest Bond film: This Tastes Good, What's In It?

Daniel Craig is invited to my kitchen.