How to Convert High Carb Baked Goods to Low Carb

You shouldn't have to give up baking favorite foods just because you switch to a low carb diet.

Low carbohydrate diets limit many foods, like breads, rice, grains and sugars, which can make it difficult to find foods that both satisfy and fulfill the requirements of the diet. You don't have to subside solely on fats and proteins to follow a low carb diet, however. In fact, you can continue baking and eating the foods you enjoy -- all you have to do is make some substitutions and cut back on ingredients that are high in carbohydrates, like all-purpose flour.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Soy or nut flour
• Sugar substitute
• Olive oil
• Mini chocolate chips
• Various sweet spices

1. Substitute a flour made from soybeans or nuts for all-purpose flour in baking recipes. These flours are significantly lower in carbs than all-purpose flour. For example, almond flour contains 24 net carbs in each cup, while wheat flour contains 92 net carbs. Because these flours often have a noticeable taste, you might want to substitute them for just a quarter of the flour required in the recipe, and use all-purpose flour for the other three-quarters required.

2. Use less sugar in your baked goods. You should be able to use three-quarters of the amount of sugar required in the recipe without changing the taste of the finished product significantly. For a recipe that calls for 2 cups of sugar, you could probably use 1 1/2 cups and still retain much of the flavor. Alternatively, you can use a sugar substitute instead of using real sugar. You'll need to make sure that the substitute can be used in baking recipes, however, as many sugar substitutes cannot be used in baking.

3. Substitute olive oil for vegetable oil in baked goods. Not only is olive oil lower in carbs than vegetable oil, it also contains antioxidants. You should be aware that olive oil might change the flavor of your food, so you may decide to only substitute half of the oil required by the recipe with olive oil.

4. Use smaller chocolate chips in any recipes that call for them. When you use mini-morsels instead of chocolate chips of regular size, you can spread them out more completely and evenly, which will allow you to use less in your baking project.

5. Chop up any dried fruit required by the recipe into very small pieces. Dried fruit is high in carbs, so you should cut the fruit into smaller sizes and use about half as much as the recipe calls for. You could also use chopped nuts or fresh fruit in place of some of the dried fruit.

6. Consider using only a top or bottom crust when making fruit pies. Using one crust instead of two will drastically cut down the amount of carbs in your dessert.

7. Use larger amounts of sweet spices in your recipes. Additives like cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and ginger will add more sweet flavor to your baked goods without adding carbs or calories.

Tips & Warnings

• Since both sugar and flour contain lots of carbs, the most creative part of this recipe will be in the flour replacement.

• Use the original baking instructions. You are only changing the ingredients for sugar and flour.

• If your recipe calls for honey, syrup or molasses, be cautious. You can often get similar results by using a small amount of molasses (1 teaspoon) along with sugar substitute, but honey and syrup are very high carb, so avoid using them at all. You can get the maple flavor by using maple extract, rather than syrup.

• If you are using aspartame, the sweetness will disappear when exposed to heat.

• No claims are made here about the relative safety of any sugar substitute. that is a matter of person choice and preference.

References

• Almond Flour: Homestead
• Breadman: Low Carb Baking
• DLife: Low Carb Baking
• Low Carb Diet Recipes: Low Carb Baking & Cooking Tips
• Mayo Clinic: Low-Carb Diet