replacement for vegetable shortening

So my wife just asked me to print out some holiday recipes (cringe). Most of their ingredients are pure trash from a primal standpoint. What, or are there any primal equivalents, of vegetable shortening and refined sugar?

Welcome Kiowa and check out this link. I'm sure other helpful folks will chime in, too.

[url=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-to-eat-and-what-to-avoid-for-lifelong-health/]What to Eat and What to Avoid for Lifelong Health | Mark's Daily Apple[/url]

RE: SUGAR SUB

[url]http://www.marksdailyapple.com/artificial-sweeteners/#axzz2E6LtmOQQ[/url]

Non-hydrogenated lard is what I would search out for your shortening replacement. Lard is pretty awesome for pie crusts, or I guess it used be when I ate pie crusts.

Shortening is usually a cheapo option for butter. All baking tastes the best with butter :)

As for sugar, don't substitute, unless you can use honey or pureed fruit or grated dates or molasses - but it is hard to get right if the recipe was not tested with it. Normally using 1/2 to 2/3 of the sugar indicated in the recipe improves the flavor actually, as your goodies do not come out crazy sweet. Do not try in the icing, just use less icing.

Artificial sweeteners and stevia taste gross, and coconut sugar is environmentally unfriendly to the poor palms.

Palm shortening

^Yes, palm shortening is probably perfect. Most any other fat will be an equivalent substitute, but it might change the texture of the product.

Here ya go.

[url=http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/organic_palm_shortening.htm]Palm Shortening, Organic - Tropical Traditions[/url]

Cheap, too. But I just use butter pretty much all the time anymore. Technically butter is 80% fat and 20% water/milk solids so it won't be as "effective" as oil as a moisturizer, but I don't seem to see much of a difference. Lard, ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil will sub 1:1 because they're pure fat. Virgin coconut oil is fantastic for baking.

"Vegetable shortening" is a replacement for the original lard or butter that would have been in such recipes. You are not replacing anything, just getting back to real food.

Butter will sub in most recipes, but if you need flakiness (as in flaky pie crust), you might be better off with lard or palm shortening (as already mentioned). For pie crusts and the like, doing a half butter, half lard mixture will give you great buttery flavor and still have good texture. Good luck!

Butter, coconut oil will work for baking. As for sugar, no. You can't trick your taste buds, although I have heard of people using dates in recipes instead of sugar and artificial sweeteners.