A good diet cookie recipe should contain less fat, less calories, and more protein than typical cookie recipes. These cookies can help individuals lose weight and still get to enjoy a sweet treat. Get some tips for converting your favorite cookie recipes, plus a sample recipe to taste how delicious diet cookies can truly be.
Swap Ingredients for Healthier Cookies
All cookie recipes generally includes flour, a sweetener, and some type of oil or fat. This helps create a moist, chewy, and delicious cookie. However, diet cookie recipes have to take this idea and flip it on its head. Here are a few easy ways to make substitutions that cut calories and fat in your favorite cookie recipe.
- Replace the white flour. Today, there are many flour choices on the market. Soy flour, brown rice flour, and gluten-free flours are just some of the vast flour selections at your disposal. Soy flour, for example, contains more protein and therefore ups the overall protein found in your cookies. This is an easy way to improve the nutrition of a cookie, even without changing anything else!
- Use egg whites. Instead of whole eggs, use only the egg whites or an egg replacement, like applesauce. This will significantly cut the fat in your recipe and make your cookies more heart-healthy.
- Swap out the chocolate. In place of your typical milk chocolate morsels, consider dark chocolate, raw chocolate, or forgo the chocolate altogether for a healthier option like raisins or nuts.
- Replace the granulated sugar. Turbinado sugar, raw agave, and other natural sweeteners are great replacements for regular sugar and can significantly improve the nutrition of your diet cookie recipe.
- Add fiber with oatmeal. By adding a few raw oats to a cookie recipe, you can bulk up the fiber content. This means your diet cookie will stick with you longer and help stave off hunger.
A Sample Diet Cookie Recipe
Use the following recipes to make a delicious diet cookie.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour (Try soy flour, almond flour, brown rice flour, or any replacement flour of your choosing.)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup margarine
- 1 serving egg substitute (equivalent to 1 large egg)
Directions
- Mix wet and dry ingredients separately.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl and slowly combine.
- Stir well and drop small spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 325 degree for 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.
Guilt-Free Treats
With obesity on the rise, many people are interested in cutting out the calories and shedding the weight once and for all. Diet cookies offer a great way to have a treat without breaking your diet. Some studies suggest that having reasonable treats while dieting can actually help you stick to your healthy lifestyle. Remember that nutrition is only one part of a healthy life. Regular exercise and emotional wellness are also important to helping you lose and maintain a healthy weight.
