Wednesday is Grocery Shopping day around here, and today was time to stock back up on a few of my favorite healthy baking essentials so I can start sharing some goodies with you all! 😉 Having gone pretty much Gluten free myself in addition to my oldest being Gluten free,dairy free and sugar free, Ive experimented a lot with alternative flours and sweetners and recipes. My younger daughter loves to help me bake and all three love to help lick the bowl and eat the finished goods, so finding recipes that suit all our dietary needs and taste buds is a must! Most recipes I tried at the beginning were made mainly with Almond and/or coconut flour. Now,dont get me wrong,those are both wonderful options for healthified grain free baking,but there is something about Coconut flour that I have just never been a fan of. I am a huge Coconut crazy fanatic when it comes to everything else from coffee flavor to chocolates to drinks....you name it, but not the flour! Its a combo of the taste and texture and I find it difficult to bake with. Almond flour I do much better with, but still feel Almond flour used alone can crumble and sometimes have a noticeable unique flavor,which is a good flavor,but one that differs from regular flour. My goal is usually to produce a product that tastes as close to the gluten filled,less healthy version we all know! So.....Ill let you in on my personal opinion secret...Cashew flour!!! Yep,thats it,cashew flour is my very favorite gluten/grain free baking base of all!! Cashews themselves are a very mild tasting nut and therefore the flour basically takes on whatever flavors you bake with. The texture can tend to be a bit grainy, which no one here seems to mind much and I often use the cashew flour solo.However, I have found that if Im really going for the ultimate in texture,chewiness ,and a product that stays together best, my favorite go to flour combo is a mix of mainly Cashew flour,then some almond flour and then last and also least,just a small bit of tapioca flour, which is what helps in giving it a chewy texture and holds it together even better. I dont use an exact ratio,since winging it is just how I roll! I just simply use them in the order listed from most to least until it adds up to the amount of flour called for. I know there are supposed to be different amounts used when working with alternative flours versus regular flour, but Ive always just used the same amount regardless. We often use regular ol' recipes and simply swap the flour for my GF flour of choice.Its really that simple! No need to find a special cookbook with GF recipes. As for where to find these flours, well as you can see in my photo I buy a bag of raw cashews (found easily at Shop Rite and Trader Joes) &I quickly pop them into food processer or blender! It only takes an extra couple minutes of your time. For the almond flour you can do the same,but I find this one much easier to find premade and usually go with Bobs red mill brand or find it sometimes at Trader Joes. The same goes for the tapioca. This one is actually super affordable so I buy Bobs red mill most often from whatever grocery store I'm at, usually Shop Rite, and since I use so little it lasts a long while. Nut butters can also be used should you run short on the flour. I usually have almond and/ or cashew butter on hand, which I find at Trader Joes most often. Peanut butter will work, but will definitely give a Peanut butter flavor, so is best reserved for delicious PB cookies! Almond butter works amazingly well in brownie recipes! The oil in the butter leaves them super moist.
So, now we have the Gluten gone and the perks of extra protein and health punch from the nuts....but, Sugar is always an issue when baking, and my oldest cannot eat processed sugar. So, I use a variety of other sweeteners and greatly reduce the overall amount as well. This can take some experimenting and getting used to,but is so worth it when you can enjoy muffins, cookies,breads and desserts without the guilt! Again, I usually find a combo of sweetners works best. When using a regular recipe book I will usually go with Coconut Palm sugar and put about half the amount called for and then add in a couple Tbs of either Raw honey or real Maple syrup as well. That usually turns out sweet enough for us! In many breads using Bananas I find that sweeteners arent even neccessary at all!
Well, now we have no gluten,no processed sugar, and Im left with just the dairy issue. However, recently Ive started letting my daughter have small amounts of Grass fed butter when baked into things and she seems to be tolerating it just fine.This is a huge help because really,for some things,nothing beats butter!! I made the switch from regular butter to Kerrigold grass fed butter and the taste difference is amazing!!! The creaminess of grass fed butter in addition to its extra health benefits are just awesome.Im in love!! But,should you need to avoid dairy all together you can replace it with equal amounts coconut oil or avacado.
Thats that! Those are the basics for how we healthify most of our baked goods, after that its all in the flavors added in as well as sometimes tossing in some flax,chia or hemp seeds, or nuts for extra health punch! It really doesnt require any extra special methods or time. It is a bit more costly,but once you are stocked up it lasts a while and you eventually find what stores have what for best deals. Ocean State job lot sells Bobs red mill brand often for decent prices and Trader Joes is great for many specialty products. Ive also heard many prefer to buy in bulk through Amazon or Thrive market which I plan on looking into.
Being we are a family of 5 with big appetites and tight budget Im all about balance and just doing the best we can at the moment. So,that means its not always going to be organic and some things may sometimes come in cans and plastic, but I make it as healthy as possible given the circumstances.I get as close as I can,but Im not going to lie,as much as I love all things natural and am a health food
fanatic,I also prefer to leave some room in the budget for a night out or two! I may love to cook,but
not every night. This busy Mom does enjoy eating out as well!😉😁
I hope you found some helpful baking tips amd alternatives!! Stay tuned for some upcoming recipes too.
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