How Can I Cut The Fat Without Sacraficing Taste?:Try Fruit or Vegetable Puree

While you can cut most of the fat in baked goods by substituting fruit purees or nonfat dairy products for the butter, margarine or oil, taste is the ultimate test.

Baked goods made with natural fat substitutes instead of fat have a comparable flavor to their full-fat counterparts, with a lot less fat. For example, a traditional brownie may contain seven grams of fat per serving. By using a fruit puree like apple in place of the margarine or butter, the fat is reduced to less than two grams of fat per serving.

Much less fat, and lots of flavor!

Some of my favorite fruit purees:

Apples~Prep:Maybe peeled or not. Quarter and Core. Puree:In a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes. (This is great for those apples that are just starting to turn brown.)

Bananas~Prep:Use ripe bananas for the smoothest, sweetest puree. Peel. Puree:Mash with a fork on a cutting board then puree in a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes. (Try to puree the bananas instead of mashing them the next time you make banana muffins or banana bread.)

Blueberries, Raspberries, and Strawberries~Prep:Thaw if frozen. Cut or pull off stems for the strawberries. Puree: In a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes.

This is also a great way to sneak in those veggies your kids don’t usually eat. Just simply puree the vegetable and add to your main dish. We’ll talk about kids eating veggies in another post. In the meantime, what are some of your favorite fruits to puree and what recipes do you use them in?