I've never been much of a baker. It just seems like so much work...so many ingredients to get out, several mixing bowls needed, multiple measuring cups and spoons required...and then the clean-up...Ugh!! And sometimes after all that work, the recipe is a flop and it feels like wasted time. But probably the biggest reason I've never done much baking is because I don't like to have sweets and breads sitting on my counter tempting me. I have zero control...I can eat an entire pan of brownies in one day, easy!
Last fall I was at a friend's house who has Celiac disease. In addition to eating gluten-free, she is concerned about over-all health and makes sure she and her family eat as healthy as possible. Being in her kitchen gave me the itch to try baking some healthier options. I started doing a little more research on gluten-free flours and found a few recipes I wanted to try. Of course, these recipes required lots of ingredients I did not have on hand. So, one day I ventured over to Hy-vee's health market (I made sure to go on the day of the week that everything is 10% off)....and spent $50 stocking up on the ingredients I felt I should have on hand. Baking with healthier ingredients is definitely not cheap, but worth it! I bought coconut flour, almond flour, cup 4 cup flour and a few other things.
About 6 months later, I have FINALLY started using some of these ingredients and doing a little baking. It started when I decided I had enough of buying the not-so-healthy packaged muffins for my kids every time I went to the store. Muffins have been their go-to breakfast. In addition, I had some bananas turning very brown. So, I looked for some healthy banana muffin recipes that use the ingredients I had on hand. This is the one I ended up using.
http://www.thankyourbody.com/recipe-paleo-banana-muffins/
Surprisingly, they were very good!! I was shocked. All 4 of us enjoyed them. I then decided to go ahead and try another muffin recipe using coconut flour. I did a Google search for "coconut flour muffin recipes". I made these apple cinnamon muffins.
http://wellnessmama.com/2185/apple-cinnamon-muffins
Though they weren't overly apple-y, we still enjoyed them. After baking these couple of times, I realized that baking with healthy ingredients is actually fun.....there aren't near as many ingredients as the "not-so-healthy" recipes, and knowing that I'm using better options for myself and my family makes it easier to get excited about.
Now, my 2 favorite baked items I didn't think I could ever live without are brownies and banana bread. I try not to make either of them, for the reason I mentioned above (anyone else eat an entire pan alone in 1 day?!?!?). Yesterday I was feeling like baking and had brownies on my mind. I looked for a good paleo recipe and ended up trying this one.
http://empoweredsustenance.com/coconut-flour-brownies-paleo/
Now, there is just no substitute for a box mix brownie. These did have a similar flavor to the brownies I'm used to, but the texture was very different -- a little cake-y and maybe even a little "chalky". I did enjoy them enough to have 2, and decided the good thing about these is that I do not want to eat the entire pan in one day! My kiddos loved them!! Rylee asked for a second one and told me, "Mom, these are really good brownies!" So - I'll keep this recipe, but might experiment with a few others too.
This morning, on the way to the grocery store, Rylee asked me to bake banana bread today. This was a great call by her, because I did have some bananas on the counter starting to brown and I had planned on making the muffins again. But, banana bread sounded even better!! I searched for paleo banana bread recipes and read through several....I just didn't think there was any way paleo banana bread could be that good. I finally settled on this recipe.
http://www.bakerita.com/almond-banana-bread-recipe/
I did not use the almonds, as I knew my kids would not eat it if it contained nuts. I pulled the bread out of the oven when it was done, with very little expectations for this. After it cooled, Rylee and I had a bite --- I was impressed!! It looked very much like "regular" banana bread and really didn't taste that different either. Rylee and Wyatt both asked for a second piece!
My baking days may become a regular routine now. I have found an easy process for getting out the ingredients and cleaning up, so it doesn't really seem like such a drag anymore. I've also been mentally noting that it really doesn't take that long either, from start to finish. What's 45 minutes out of my entire day?!?! And....we have a snack or breakfast item that is so much better for us than what the kids may have eaten otherwise!
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