My ten-year old son Grant has developed an interest in cooking and baking! It reminds me of when I was around 10 years old and became interested in watching PBS cooking shows such as “The Frugal Gourmet” and “Yan Can Cook”. I also have great memories of spending time with my favorite Aunt Jewel and Memaw Evans baking up cookies, fudge and a southern specialty, Divinity, in the kitchen.
Today, we have the Food Network, Cooking Channel and Google that provide us with a tremendous opportunity to cook and bake our favorite dishes right at home. I like to take recipes and test to see if I can make them more “healthier and macro friendly” and of course, tasty! It is also a great opportunity to spend time with your kids and teach them how to lead a healthier lifestyle with food.
This past weekend, Grant helped me grocery shop for the week and he found a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake mix”that he really wanted!” After arguing with him in the aisle for a few minutes that we would could find a healthier cake option, I gave in and bought the pre-mix and decided this was a perfect opportunity to test the waters by changing up the box recipe and creating a more macro-friendly cake!
We also replaced the box recommendation to use a pre-made frosting that is laden with fat and sugar with a more”protein rich cream cheese frosting”.
Here is exactly how we did:
For the cake, we did use the mix but substituted 1 cup of applesauce for the oil, 4 egg whites for the 2 whole eggs and used 1/2 cup of Almond Milk versus 2% milk to reduce the overall fat and calories.
For the frosting, we created our own and ramped up the protein and eliminated a ton of sugar and fat. We mixed a half a cup of 1/3 reduced fat-free cheese with one package of sugar-free vanilla pudding mix and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder. We used more almond milk to obtain the desired frosting consistency.
For decorations, we dusted with unsweetened coconut flakes and non-edible silver balls and mini chocolate chips.
Grant wanted to use the bundt cake pan instead of the usual 9in pans recommended on the box.
The result? A quite tasty and I must say, not a bad looking cake either with much higher protein and significantly less fat and overall 280 less calories per serving than the regular mix! Plus, invaluable time spent with my son!
Comparison of calories and macros per serving:
Regularly prepared serving:
555 calories
71 grams carbs
17 grams fat
1.5 grams protein
Modified Healthier version with added chocolate chips!:
280 calories
40 grams carbs
7.5 grams fat
10 grams protein
Give the recipe and let me know what you think!
Until next time,
Be fit,
Brian
