Help! I need healthy shortening substitutes...

[ehirsch83]

Ghee!!!

[warneral]

palm oil is better for the heart and is supposed to be a great substitute for crisco. it doesn't have the coconut taste. I have some but haven't had a chance to try it. I believe it is medium chain fatty acids. Definitely better than trans fat

http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/whole-wheat-pie-crust

[shootingstar]

Reading this whole thread reminds me how long ago I have baked with butter. Of course for shortening that was...3 decades ago.

Have a great holiday luncheon party.

[channlluv]

I have a tremendous sweet tooth and love anything made of fat and sugar....but at an office lunch, I'm overjoyed when dessert consists of something light and healthy. Otherwise, I get a food coma and I'm worthless the rest of the day. Of course I could just decline dessert, but you know how that goes.

So, while I know it doesn't seem as festive, why not just serve fruit for dessert? You could provide a heathy yogurt based dip if people really feel like they need something uber sweet to go along with it. Or how 'bout some small pieces of dark chocolate?

Especially around the holidays, I just think there's a lot we can do as hostesses to encourage and offer healthier choices.

Golly, Indy. I'm a little embarrassed to say I didn't even think of fruit for dessert, shy of a fruit topping for cheesecake.

I don't have any fruit worthy of serving to 25 people, though, and I'm done for the day as far as shopping goes. I may go to TJ's and pick up a fruit tray tomorrow, though. That's a great suggestion.

And as for lighter and healthier, I'm going to make some oatmeal-almond flour cookies with dark chocolate chips, with coconut oil. That I've got.

I really appreciate the suggestions here, everyone. Thank you!

Roxy

[NbyNW]

If you do ever try out those family recipes with some of the substitutes that everyone suggested, let us know how they turn out!

[Susan]

Ghee!!!

As much as I like Ghee for cooking, it's not a good alternative for baking. Ghee works good to roast sth. because the protein part of butter has been removed and thus can not be dangerously altered by the high heat. It also doesn't spray at high heat.

Still, Ghee consists of nothing else than Butter, just without most of the protein and water that is in butter.
For baking it's better to use Butter because of the consistency that Ghee can't provide. You don't bake cake or cookies at very high temperature, so it's not a problem to use just plain butter. Used at moderate temperatures, Butter is healthier and lower in calories than Ghee.

[crazycanuck]

Sorry to hijack the thread but i want to ask..

How bad is Ghee for you???

[Susan]

I'm not sure if I understand your question

I didn't intend to say that Ghee is bad for you, only that it's not well suited for baking. It's intended to be used in small amounts for cooking at higher temperatures that would destroy polyunsaturated fats and proteins contained in seed-oils or Butter.

[ehirsch83]

yeah.. I have never baked with Ghee actually, i use it for everything else though(I am just not a baker..) I do know that the container says you can bake with it! So that was a very uneducated answer on my part.

Ghee, coconut oil and olive oil are the 3 that I use religiously... I don't own anything else.

If i do try to bake in the future, I will now know not to try to use ghee. thx! (I don't bake b/c I have a huge sweet tooth and problems with self control... so I opt just not to make anything that can get me into trouble)

[Owlie]

I wonder if there are Indian baked sweets that use ghee. Most of the sweets that I can think of are either kulfi,fudge-type or deep-fried. (They're like heart attacks or diabetes waiting to happen--they're all very sweet too. But they're sooo good!) I think some of the Goan ones may use coconut oil, though. I don't really remember.

[Becky]

And as for lighter and healthier, I'm going to make some oatmeal-almond flour cookies with dark chocolate chips, with coconut oil. That I've got.

Could you please share your recipe? I have a bag of almond flour that's just begging for me to use it....

(also, any ideas for coconut flour?)

Thanks!

[indysteel]

Golly, Indy. I'm a little embarrassed to say I didn't even think of fruit for dessert, shy of a fruit topping for cheesecake.

I don't have any fruit worthy of serving to 25 people, though, and I'm done for the day as far as shopping goes. I may go to TJ's and pick up a fruit tray tomorrow, though. That's a great suggestion.

And as for lighter and healthier, I'm going to make some oatmeal-almond flour cookies with dark chocolate chips, with coconut oil. That I've got.

I really appreciate the suggestions here, everyone. Thank you!

Roxy

Sounds good! Can I come to your lunch btw?

[Susan]

yeah.. I have never baked with Ghee actually, i use it for everything else though(I am just not a baker..) I do know that the container says you can bake with it! So that was a very uneducated answer on my part.

Ghee, coconut oil and olive oil are the 3 that I use religiously... I don't own anything else.

If i do try to bake in the future, I will now know not to try to use ghee. thx! (I don't bake b/c I have a huge sweet tooth and problems with self control... so I opt just not to make anything that can get me into trouble)

Oh yes, I know where you're coming from, if I bake, I have to give it away to friends/family immediately because I cannot stop myself if "it's there". A reason why I try not to bake regularly
And I like to cook with Ghee too, I like the rich flavor it gives.

[cygnia]

The grass fed butter and virgin coconut oil suggestions are solid. If those don't appeal to you, you may want to try "Melt" - its a new butter substitute that just came out and its super yummy delicious. Its organic, high in omega 3s and medium chain fatty acids (the good stuff), and I have had good success baking with it. I made my mom's thin flaky pie crust with Melt and my husband couldn't tell the difference between the Melt crust and my butter crust. Melt makes a softer dough, but it bakes up nicely. I didn't have to tweak any recipes either - it is a straight conversion.

[nscrbug]

The grass fed butter and virgin coconut oil suggestions are solid. If those don't appeal to you, you may want to try "Melt" - its a new butter substitute that just came out and its super yummy delicious. Its organic, high in omega 3s and medium chain fatty acids (the good stuff), and I have had good success baking with it. I made my mom's thin flaky pie crust with Melt and my husband couldn't tell the difference between the Melt crust and my butter crust. Melt makes a softer dough, but it bakes up nicely. I didn't have to tweak any recipes either - it is a straight conversion.

Where would one find this "Melt" product? I've not seen it in my neck of the woods yet.