Baker’s Demise

Happy Holiday Season!

At the risk of sounding like the Grinch, I have a cautionary tale for you:

Last year my husband and I made a few teensy-tiny chocolate chip cookies. We only made 8, knowing we’d eat as many as we made. We used a banana instead of sugar and butter, used oats and oat bran instead of flour, used only the whites of the egg, and added only a few chocolate chips. While gobbling them up, we congratulated ourselves on our healthy choices.

Then we decided to calculate the calories.

Our 8 tiny cookies had 1,200 calories! Even though we had removed the most fattening ingredients, we still had some very caloric little treats.

Lesson: All baked goods are calorically dense because unlike fruits, veggies, lean meats or grains, they contain very little water.

Suggestion: Instead of baking this holiday season, try making wonderful soups and stews. Research shows that people who eat more broth-based soups eat fewer calories without even trying. Or make garlands out of cranberries and popcorn as a tasty, low-cal way to have fun with your kids.