Healthy Recipes
These baked goods taste indulgent but are nutritious enough to have as a meal. Best of all, you can bake one batch for two (or more) meals.
By
Marygrace Taylor
by
Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES
The secret ingredients are fiber and protein.
Sometimes there’s a clear dividing line between breakfast and dessert— omelet versus chocolate fudge cake, for instance. Other times, it’s all a delicious blur. These recipes for chewy breakfast cookies, chocolate-studded granola bars, fruity crumb squares, cinnamon-swirled coffee cakes, and everyone’s favorite works-anytime-treat, muffins, taste fine no matter when you enjoy them.
Unlike typical baked goods, they’ve got a stand-up nutritional profile, too. Light on sugar and heavy on things like whole grains, any of these can make a great grab-and-go option, whether you need a quick morning meal or a less-indulgent way to satisfy a sweet tooth.
It’s also nice to know that if you’re going to go to the trouble of breaking out your baking supplies, each recipe makes a sizable batch, which can be frozen for the future — that is, if you don’t gobble them all up right away.
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No-Bake Granola Bars
Honey, chocolate chips, and loads of dried nuts and fruit (pick your faves!) make these chewy bars a sweet treat that's right at home with a cup of tea or a scoop of ice cream. But rolled oats, wheat germ, and ground flaxseeds give them enough heft to work as a satisfying breakfast, too. Flaxseeds are a top vegetarian source of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically alpha linolenic acid (ALA), according to the National Institutes of Health office of Dietary Supplements. A diet high in ALA was found to reduce the risk of death from all causes, including cardiovascular disease, according to a systematic review published in BMJ in 2021.
Nutrition per serving: 241 calories, 11g total fat (2g saturated fat), 7g protein, 34g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 22g sugar, 136mg sodium
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Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
Not only is it possible to sneak a serving of veggies into your breakfast or dessert, as these fluffy muffins prove, it’s totally delicious. Zucchini adds some belly-filling fiber and potassium, and is an excellent source of vitamin C, per data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Whole wheat pastry flour serves up an extra dose of fiber, and mashed banana keeps these muffins moisture and sweet, so you can cut back on the oil and skip the added sugar.
Nutrition per serving: 160 calories, 6g total fat, 3g protein, 25g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 14g sugar
RELATED: 10 Satisfying High-Protein Breakfasts
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Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
Cookies — for breakfast? When they’re this wholesome, yes, go ahead and treat yourself. Spiced with cinnamon and ginger, these hearty whole-wheat biscuits contain beta-glucan, a kind of fiber found in oats that acts as a prebiotic, fueling the healthy bacteria that keeps your gut healthy, according to research published in May 2020 in Nutrition Reviews. Add walnuts and you get some heart-healthy fats that astudy published in August 2021 in Circulation found may help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults.
For scaled-down cookies suitable for snacking or dessert, scoop 2-tablespoon-sized balls onto a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F until the edges are golden brown and the cookies are cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. This should produce 20 cookies, each with nutritional info roughly half of those in the original recipe.
Nutrition per serving: 307 calories, 19g total fat (10g saturated fat), 5g protein, 32g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 14g sugar
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Baked Apple Cider Donuts
When you’re craving a donut, these are baked, not fried, which makes them crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and lower in saturated fat than the traditional kind. To cut back on sugar, use less of the cinnamon topping. You can also opt to make less-caloric donut holes as a snack or dessert: Form 1.5-inch balls of dough and bake them at 350 degrees F until the edges are browned, about 7 to 9 minutes.
Nutrition per serving: 236 calories, 9.6g total fat (5.7g saturated fat), 3g protein, 35g carbohydrates, 0.9g fiber, 22g sugar (18.9g added sugar), 158mg sodium
RELATED: The Last Word: Do You Really Need to Eat Breakfast?
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Banana Coffee Cake
This mashup of banana bread and coffee cake gives you the best of both worlds, as well as a dose of potassium, per USDA data. One medium banana also delivers one-quarter of the vitamin B6 you need in a day, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Cut a thinner slice for a snack or dessert.
Nutrition per serving: 295 calories, 13g total fat (7.5g saturated fat), 4g protein, 43g carbohydrates, 1.3g fiber, 27g sugar (23.9g added sugar), 201mg sodium
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Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
The fruit stars of these jammy bars are rich in flavonoids, plant compounds that astudy published in the July 2021 online issue of Neurology found can help prevent the cognitive decline associated with aging: getting at least a half a serving per day was associated with a 20 percent lower risk. Add oats and whole-wheat flour for filling fiber — nearly 7 grams per bar — and you have are one satisfying square.
Nutrition per serving: 132 calories, 5g total fat (3g saturated fat), 3g protein, 20g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 5g sugar, 11mg sodium
RELATED: 10 Easy Dessert Recipes That Are Good For You Too
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Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
These plant-based muffins are made with whole-wheat flour, naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and have a crunchy pecan streusel topping. In asmall study published in August 2021 in The Journal of Nutrition, eating pecans daily was associated with as much as a 9 percent reduction in unhealthy, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol among adults who were at risk for cardiovascular disease. Pumpkin ensures these muffins are moist, and delivers vitamins A, C, and zinc, per USDA data. For better portion control, make mini muffins: Follow the same recipe but bake for 4 minutes at 425 degrees F, then lower the heat to 375 and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Nutrition per serving: 292 calories, 15g total fat (9g saturated fat), 4g protein, 38g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 20g sugar, 171mg sodium
