Healthy Bread and Cookie Recipes

It is no secret that bread is one of the most popular foods on earth. Whether you prefer thick slices with your morning eggs or buttery croissants for dessert, it seems like there is a type of bread to suit everyone's tastes. But what about to those aged 40 and up?

Bread has often been seen as something unhealthy because it contains carbohydrates and gluten which are not great for weight loss or digestion. However, this isn't always the case! We've compiled some easy-to-make recipes to help you indulge in your favourite food without sacrificing health (or taste!). Enjoy!

Almond Bread

This Almond Bread recipe is a quick, filling bread that goes well with savoury or sweet toppings. The best part? It can be whip up in just minutes!

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup finely ground almond flour
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 medium to large-sized eggs
• 5 tbsp refined and slightly melted coconut oil

Basic steps:

1. Mix the ingredients together in a medium to large-sized bowl.
2. Start with liquids and adding flour gradually until you have made batter that is thick like a regular cake mix.
3. Pour this into an 8 or 9 inch greased loaf pan or line it with parchment paper so easy removal of bread will be possible.
4. Bake for about half an hour to 40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit depending on oven type or make of your oven. Despite the same temperature settings, oven temperatures still vary. So we suggest that you check your bread after the first 30 minutes.

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

The recipe for a great morning is simple: wake up and enjoy this delicious slice of banana bread with your favourite hot beverage. This easy-to-follow breakfast option will make anyone feel energized!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 bananas, ripe and mashed
• 1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (unsweetened or semi-sweet)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups pastry flour or white whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Basic steps:

1. Preheat your oven and set it to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray your loaf pan with nonstick baking spray.
3. In the meantime, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a small bowl before setting it aside.
4. Meanwhile, beat butter until fluffy manually or with an electric butter beater.
5. Gradually add sugar (about 1 cup) while mixing continuously. (Remember not to add a lot of sugar as overmixing will cause cake batter consistency to toughen up too much later on - this is where patience comes into play!)
6. Next, add 3 eggs, beaten thoroughly.
7. Add bananas along with lemon juice or vanilla extract if desired.
8. Beat flour into the butter mixture.
9. Then, fold in chocolate chips into the batter evenly into a loaf pan or two small loaf pans for baking.
10. You can use a toothpick to poke and check if bread is done.

Carrot Bread

Carrot bread is a moist and delicious quick bread filled with carrots, spice, and everything nice! Carrots are in season this time of year so use them up by baking it into your favourite carrot cake recipe.

Quick breads like these freeze well too, making for an easy weeknight dinners during busy days when you might not have much left over to prepare.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 medium-sized or large-sized egg
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla
• ¾ cup non-fat plain yogurt (or greek yogurt)

Basic steps:

1. To make this carrot bread recipe, you will need to mix the dry ingredients together and set them aside.
2. Next, combine your wet ingredients with the shredded carrots in a bowl before adding it all into an oven-safe pan. (Be sure not to overmix!)
3. Then just pop it into a preheated oven until cooked through! It'll be done when inserted white pick comes out clean from its center--and then serve hot or cold for any occasion!

Whole Wheat Chia Oat Bread

Oats and chia seeds are both healthy additions to your diet. Oats are full of carbs, which is why they're so perfect as the foundation to any good morning. It's also one reason why oats can be such an excellent choice if you're trying to lose weight: they'll help keep those hunger pains at bay without too many calories.

Chia on its own contains 11 grams of fibre and 4 grams of protein per 28 grams or about two tablespoons--not only will this cut down on quantity required while making sure you get all the benefits from both substances, but it tastes delicious paired up with warm tea or milk!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 4 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 5 tbsp psyllium husks
• 1 tbsp 100% raw honey or pure maple syrup
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups water

Basic steps:

1. Preheat your oven to about 360°F or 180°C.
2. Melt coconut oil and mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl until well blended.
3. Grease a bread pan with additional coconut oil using your fingers, then pour batter into greased dish: make sure not to fill it up too much so that when you place it on an upside down baking tray later during cooking (baking time is 20-30 minutes), there will be enough space for air circulation around each slice of toast as they cook evenly.
4. After 20-30 minutes remove the bread from its mold, turn over onto an upside down metal baking sheet or glass dinner plate; bake another 30-40 minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius).

Special thanks to this website for this recipe.

Cranberry Orange Bread

A cranberry orange bread is great for breakfast or a snack. If you are in the mood to bake, you could also try making some muffins with it!

Just spoon out some batter into greased baking cups and pop them in the oven at 190 Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes while they cook up deliciously crispy edges on top of their fluffy insides.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup butter, cut into small chunks
• ¾ cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp grated orange zest
• 1 medium-sized or large-sized egg (beaten)
• 1 cup cranberries (chopped)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (Optional)

Basic steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease your loaf pan.
3. Mix baking powder, flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in one bowl before stirring the butter into it until combined.
4. Add the egg, orange juice, as well as the zest from orange whilst also mixing together with egg and adding cranberries or any other fruit you would like on top of this mixture too if you have them handy!
5. Now spoon everything inside the greased bread pan which should be at least 6 inches deep so that when finished cooking all ingredients are cooked through evenly without burning anything on the side nearest to where items were added first due to being touched by direct heat for longer periods

Grilled Focaccia Panini Recipe 

Looking for something grilled with mixed vegetables? Here’s grilled focaccia recipe.

This is a classic summertime recipe that's sure to be delicious and fill the house with an enticing aroma. 

Ingredients:

• 1 9-inch square focaccia loaf (cut in half horizontally)
• 1 cup baby arugula
• 1 tbsp refrigerated basil pesto
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 4 slices (about 3 oz) mozzarella cheese 
• 2 stemmed portabella mushroom caps (cut in 1/2-inch strips)
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium-sized red bell pepper (sliced into thin strips, about 1-inch wide)
• 1 small red onion (sliced into 4 wedges)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup chopped and sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (chopped)
• 2 medium-sized zucchini (sliced into 1/4-inch horizontal slices)

Basic steps:

1. Preheat grill or pan, then mix bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, and zucchini in a large mixing bowl.
2. Season with oil (to help prevent sticking), thyme, and salt. 
3. Place on grill over medium-high heat until they are lightly seared but not fully cooked through--working in batches as necessary.
4. Once finished cooking let cool slightly before transferring them to a serving dish.

No-grain nut, kale, and seed bread

Are you a kale lover? Ever wanted to try various recipes with kale as your main ingredient?

If yes then here is a bread recipe that you will definitely enjoy. This is a no-grain nut, kale, and seed bread recipe:

Ingredients:

• 125g whole blanched almonds (chopped and toasted)
• 25g chia seeds
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 60 g coconut oil
• 100g kale
• 85g linseeds
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 3 tbsp psyllium husks
• 70g pumpkin seeds
• A pinch of sea salt
• 45g sunflower seeds
• 100g quinoa

Basic steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. First, prepare the quinoa by soaking it in water for an hour.
3. After that, pour out water to drain.
4. Next, melt coconut oil on medium heat in a saucepan. 
5. Then add the water and maple syrup to the saucepan and mix them well. 
6. Wash and chop the kale, but let it become too dry. Just spread it on a tray and put it in the oven until it's wilted - for about five minutes or so.
7. After draining the water from the quinoa, place it in a bowl with all of the other dry ingredients.
8. After mixing them well, add all the other liquid ingredients and the chopped, wilted kale.
9. Once you added all the ingredients, you will notice the chia seeds swelling fast and the other ingredients becoming stiff like a dough.
10. Set aside and prepare the loaf tin.
11. Line it with a 22x11 parchment paper.
12. Grease it with butter or oil before adding the dough.
13. Add the dough, flatten the top, and press it well on all corners.
14. Before removing the dough from the tin, cook the dough for 45 minutes.
15. After that, remove the dough and cook it again on a wire rack for another 15 minutes to dry it out.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies 

Fall might be few months away, but there’s no stopping us from baking pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies. So, it’s time to stop hibernating in the kitchen!

This recipe for Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips, Cranberries & Coconut will have you out of your summer funk.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 stick (about 8 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Basic steps:

1. Whisk the flour, along with baking soda, salt, and spices together in a bowl.
2. Set aside after they are mixed well.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter.
4. Add the granulated sugar, the brown sugar and beat them until creamy. It would take about 2 minutes if you have an electric beater.
5. Next, add the vanilla and egg, and beat until smooth.
6. You can scrape the sides of the bowl to get all the ingredients as needed.
7. Then, add the dry ingredients to a medium-sized bowl, and mix them until combined. You can use an electric mixer if you have one.
8. After that, pour the oats into the bowl and mix thoroughly to combine.
9. Stir in the mixture with the coconut, chocolate chips, and the cranberries.
10. Cover the dough and put it to chill in the fridge for at least an hour or up to 4 days. However, if you allow it to chill for more than 3 hours, always let it sit at room temperature for at least half an hour before scooping.
11. To bake the cookies, first, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
12. Then, use a parchment paper and line the baking pan.
13. Start scooping large balls of dough of about 2 tablespoons each (or depending on how big you like your cookies), and place them about 3 inches apart on top of the cookie sheets.
14. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes.
15. Make sure the cookies are soft before removing them from the oven. (But, be sure to cool them off first, before allowing it to cool completely by transferring them to a wire rack.)
16. Place in an airtight food container at room temperature if you want to store them for up to 1 week.  

Why eat bread?

Times are changing. The healthy way of eating has been accepted into mainstream culture. A great number of people now know that healthy and nutritious food is essential in every diet plan to guarantee a long healthy life. 

Bread is an important staple food that's high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates give your body fuel and vitamins that help with bodily functions such as digestion. Whole grains like fruits, vegetables, beans and minimally processed grains have many more benefits than just carbs; they provide fiber for better digestive function and antioxidants-which reduce inflammation or damage caused by free radicals from sources outside of our bodies!

What about processed bread?

Processed breads and other grains are usually stripped of their healthy fiber which reduces feelings of fullness after eating the. It has little nutritional value, and most often has less benefits of healthy foods due to added chemicals and preservatives to make the product last longer on store shelves. 

This is why including healthy whole grain bread into your diet will benefit your health and reduce chances of having medical conditions such as obesity or high cholesterol levels in later years. When buying processed bread products read labels carefully; look for those with the least amount of ingredients, artificial colors or flavours and fat content. If you notice an ingredient in a food that isn't something you understand or something that is very hard to pronounce...it probably isn't healthy for you.

Why bake your own bread?

A recipe for healthy homemade bread is one of the best ways to make a healthy snack or sandwich. This way your body can get all the valuable vitamins and minerals needed by your cells and tissues.

You can also try different types of healthy bread recipes and add other ingredients like beans or fruits into your mixture to get more nutrients, as long as you are allowed to take these ingredients.

Making healthy bread is also a healthy alternative to buying processed bread at the store. Also, if you have problems digesting certain food, homemade bread recipes can help you avoid those certain ingredients in your stomach that are causing these issues.

When are different types of bread?

Okay, we know that there are different types of bread and that there are various types of ingredients. How do they differ? Here are the most common types of bread:

Whole grain bread

Whole grain breads are made up of grains that are "whole" or fully intact (hence the term). It can have wheat as well as other whole grains like oats, brown rice, and barley, among others.

In general, they're more nutritious than most bread because not only do you get fibre rich in vitamins and minerals but it also helps regulate your blood sugar levels - which keeps hunger at bay.

Whole grain bread also contains healthy oils that help you digest healthy fats properly and have better nerve and brain function.

Wheat bread

Wheat bread is  a type of bread that's made from wheat flour. It also has some vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, zinc, calcium, potassium and iron.

Rye bread

Rye bread is made from flour out of rye grains.  Rye grains can be dark or light coloured, resulting in different  types of rye bread. They are high in fiber, have some amounts of calcium, magnesium, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, and other micronutrients.

According to studies, pure rye bread also affects blood sugar level, although to a lower extent than wheat or white bread.

White bread

White bread is a popular type of bread. Despite its popularity, however, white bread may not be the best choice if you are health conscious. It contains refined carbs which are not healthy for the human brain or digestive system.

White bread contributes to weight gain or indigestion caused by overeating due to their high glycemic index number, which means they break down very quickly into glucose and cause rapid spikes in blood sugar level. 

Kitchen tips when baking bread

• Using a parchment paper to line a baking pan or a loaf pan prevents batter from sticking.
  Be sure not to overmix it or else your bread will turn out a bit tough and dry.
• Ovens can vary slightly so make sure you check on the bread at least 10 minutes before you think it’s done! This allows for more even baking time as well as easier slicing when cooled down. 

Interested for more recipes?

Are you interested in cooking healthier? Here are recipe books that you might enjoy:

Tasty Keto Cookbook Bundle

Are you following a ketogenic diet and would like some new recipes to keep your palate satisfied with tasty food? Do you love clean eating but are looking for ways to tempt your taste buds without resorting back to sugary or junk foods? If so, this cookbook bundle might be just what you're looking for.

Included in this package is the 3 books "Tasty Keto Pizza," "Tasty Keto Desserts," and "Tasty Keto Food." 

Hormone Solution Cookbook

Whether you want to minimize hormone-related symptoms or maximize your wellness, Applied Science offers a personal triad of cookbooks. The Hormone Solution Cookbook includes a lot of recipes, pictures, and nutritional information for meals that help to balance hormones naturally. 

The Hormone Support Cookbook also contains recipe portions designed especially for breakfasts, lunches and sweet treats with less sugar than traditional diet desserts. Finally the grocery list is created to fit an individual's needs including what foods are nutritious and which common food do we recommend limiting in order support optimal health without compromising deliciousness.