Looking after yourself and being able to enjoy tasty and sweet treats that satisfy your cravings is completely achievable. Although many people have in mind the common saying that “taking care of yourself isn’t a synonym for enjoyment,” nutritionist Lara Ibarra has set out to prove the opposite. Through her YouTube channel, she has shared a 100% healthy recipe for the classic chocolate donuts. The main objective is to eradicate ultraprocessed foods and low-quality fats that keep being sold, without giving up the pleasure of a good dessert.
Compared with industrial donuts, which stand out for their high content of sugars and fats, this alternative provides nutrients, fiber and proteins. Moreover, the expert clarifies that this is not about banning traditional pastries altogether: “Prohibition doesn’t help at all. What we do occasionally doesn’t define our habits; our habits are built by what we do repeatedly day to day.” This recipe is designed to be incorporated regularly into breakfast or snacks.
You can substitute the ingredients
The base recipe adapts easily to whatever you have at home or to your preferences:
- Natural sweeteners: Instead of sugar, use a mashed ripe banana. For those who don’t like its taste, the expert suggests neutral-sweetness alternatives: “For everyone who doesn’t like to sweeten with banana, you can do it with baked Reineta apple or with soaked dates.”
- The egg and its substitutes: It uses 1 whole egg to give structure, but you can replace it with 2 egg whites, vegan substitutes, or a mixture of chickpea flour with water.
- Dairy for fluffiness: Incorporates a natural yogurt (Ibarra uses Mercadona’s “Más Proteínas”). She notes that “in doughs, whenever I can I like to add a little yogurt because it gives a lot of fluffiness and makes the dough more nutritious.” If dairy isn’t consumed, you can opt for a natural soy yogurt.
- Flour and cocoa: Uses 120 grams of whole oat flour. You can use other cereal flours such as spelt or whole wheat flour.
Donetes saludables
Ingredients
- 1 Ripe banana for sweetness (or, if you prefer a more neutral flavor, 1 baked Reineta apple or soaked dates).
- 1 Whole egg
- 1 Natural yogurt or protein yogurt
- 120 grams Whole oats flour
- 1 generous tablespoon Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 18 ml Milk
- 1 packet Baking powder
- 1 Pinch of salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven: Set the oven to 180 °C with top and bottom heat.
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Prepare the wet ingredients: In a bowl, mash the ripe banana well (or the baked apple/dates) with a fork. Add the egg and the yogurt. Beat very well until you obtain a smooth mixture.
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Incorporate the dry ingredients: Add the oat flour in two batches of 60 g to mix it easily. Add the tablespoon of cocoa powder, the baking powder sachet, the pinch of salt, and the 18–20 ml of milk. Stir slowly until a compact, dense dough forms.
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The filling trick: Lightly spray oil on the silicone donut molds. Transfer all the dough to a freezer zip bag and cut a small corner to use it as a homemade piping bag. Fill the cavities without overfilling, as the dough will rise.
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Baking: Bake for exactly 12 minutes at 180 °C.
Unmolding and the coating
When it comes to removing the donuts from the mold, the nutritionist warns of a very important detail: do not unmold while the donuts are still hot. Oat flour, being gluten-free, offers less elasticity than wheat flour, so the dough is somewhat stiffer and may crack if not allowed to cool for at least 30 minutes.
For the finishing touch, the donuts are coated on top with melted dark chocolate. Additionally, if you want to try something a little different, Ibarra suggests drizzling 100% pure pistachio cream on top, thereby creating a healthy version of the classic tiger donuts.
