Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to give up your favourite sweet treats. With a few tricks, you can enjoy brownies, chocolate chip cookies, or muffins, by using healthy fats, sugars, and grains, instead of their less-nutritious alternatives. You might even find that you prefer them.

1. Unsweetened applesauce for sugar

For cookies, muffins, or breads, you can cut calories without losing sweetness, by swapping white sugar for applesauce. Add the applesauce as you would sugar, but reduce liquid ingredients by ¼ cup for every cup of applesauce. This health-conscious trick works well for moist oatmeal cookies. For every cup of applesauce, your recipe will gain three grams of fibre, which can help reduce cholesterol.

2. Avocado for butter

This creamy nut belongs in so much more than just guacamole and sandwiches. When pureed, you’ll find an avocado has the consistency of room-temperature butter. Swap one cup of blended, slightly soft avocado (steer clear of those that are hard or overly soft) for butter in brownies or cookies. You’ll cut calories, get a healthy dose of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, and an added boost of vitamin K, which has been shown to lower diabetes risks. The nutty flavour is also a superb addition to banana bread and muffins.

3. Chia seeds and water for egg

They may be tiny, but chia seeds pack a mighty punch of nutrient density including Omega-3s (vital fats that protect against inflammation), protein, and fibre. To use this super ingredient in muffin, cake, or cookie recipes, substitute each egg for one tablespoon of chia seeds, plus one cup of water that the seeds have soaked in for 15 minutes. By using chia gel instead of an egg, you’ll create a tasty treat that’s good for you, as the gel has been shown to help with hydration, weight loss, and overall health.

4. Whole-wheat flour for refined white flour

One easy way to add extra nutrients to any recipe is by swapping white flour for whole-wheat. By replacing one cup of white flour with this power flour, you’ll gain 10 grams of heart-healthy fibre. If you decide to go entirely whole-wheat in your recipe, the amounts will stay the same, but do keep in mind that whole grain is coarser than refined. It may be best to do a fifty-fifty mix of white and whole-wheat the first time and see how it goes. Cookies and muffins are ideal candidates for this taste test.

5. Cacao nibs for chocolate chips

The next time you make chocolate chip cookies, head to your local health food store and pick up some cacao nibs to use instead of semisweet chocolate. These tasty morsels are dried bits of cacao beans, meaning they are the purest form of chocolate without added sugar or chemicals, giving them a deep, nutty flavour. Because they are unprocessed, nibs preserve the nutrients of this super bean, including high fibre, iron, antioxidants, and magnesium.

6. Greek yoghurt for vegetable oil

Greek yoghurt isn’t just for breakfast. Use this protein- and calcium-rich, low-calorie ingredient instead of oil, especially in brownies and cookies, but be sure to change your measurements so you are using ¾ cup of plain Greek yoghurt for every cup of oil. If your batter seems dry after mixing, add a little more yoghurt in stages until the consistency is just right. Pro tip: brownies made with Greek yoghurt are usually extra fudgy – how’s that for an added bonus?

7. Diet soft drink for all additives to boxed cake mixes (e.g. eggs, butter, vegetable oil, etc.)

This one might surprise you, but you can bake a cake even if you only have a box of cake mix and a diet soft drink in your kitchen. Since the mix already has fat added, there is no need to use the eggs, butter, or vegetable oil called for in the recipe, if you forgot to buy them, or want a lower-calorie dessert. Try combining chocolate cake with diet cola, or diet cream soda with vanilla cake, and you might have a new go-to recipe. No one will miss the added fat or calories.

Are you inspired to create healthier versions of your favourite treats? Head to your nearest grocery store, or visit a kitchen supplies store or one that specialises in baking to get everything you need.