Saturday, June 23, 2012

Wait, Come Back, Where you Going?

Banana fruit cake!
Imagine me running after someone with a plate full of sugar free, whole wheat cookies! People tend to run towards the hills and escape out the nearest window when they hear sugar free and wheat floured treats.  I once made some sugar free cookies and took them to a meeting for people to try and this one guy said "what's the point of sugar free cookies"? I replied "they take to guilt out of eating cookies and they are good for you". I accidentally left the bag there and later found out that the children that lived in the home where the meeting was held, ate the rest of the cookies. I am glad that they enjoyed them and that proves that children can like healthy treats. The cake in the picture at the above left corner is a fresh banana flavored cake inside with fresh blackberries and raspberries on top with sugar free cool whip. It came out pretty good but I wish that I had added a little more splenda to make it sweeter. The label on the splenda package says cup for cup same as sugar, but next time I will add a little more to get the amount of sweetness that I desire. I like to bake on Saturdays and learn new and exciting ways to prepare healthy desserts. Mind you that I am not really a baker, I am a self-taught chef that wishes she could really bake. So, I practice and sometimes my efforts are rewarded with an awesome tasting cake or cookie or pie and sometimes my efforts go right in the trash with wasted ingredients. That's the worst part! To have to throw away the remains of what I was attempting to bake that came out awful. However, the times that I get it right make up for the times I don't.  If you don't succeed the first time, try try again. 

I also like to do whole wheat flour desserts and I am not going to lie, I have had challenges baking with just whole wheat flour. I have found that I have to mix white and wheat flour 50/50 for the desserts to come out correctly in respect to rising properly and being flaky and light. I did use 50/50 mix in the above dessert and it did bounce back to the touch. I guess I should mention that I have recently adopted a healthy lifestyle and actually enjoy eating properly so that I can live a long and strong life. I personally think that sugar is the Devil and it kills. It is very addicting and literally will put you in the grave if you make to much apart of the daily eating. I also dislike white flour because it is completely empty calories but, white flour make the best desserts and I still struggle with the balance of it in baking.

Banana cream filled cupcakes!
Now these cupcakes on the right that I made last year with fat free banana cream filling, 50/50 flour blend and sugar free vanilla icing were amazingly good. I think some people after a while develop a taste for sugar free substitutes like equal, agave, sweet leaf stevia and splenda. I have used all of those and I like sweet leaf stevia the best because it is 100% natural and does not have an after taste. I posted this picture on face book and captioned it as sugar free. I received replies back that said can I have one that's not sugar free. I noticed that just like people can develop a taste for sugar free foods and desserts, people can also hold on to the taste for sugar. You can get used to anything like eating healthy
if the food taste good and is flavorful.

Apple cake with vanilla icing and walnut, choc. sprinkles topping!
 This beauty to my left is an apple cake made with red delicious apples, full regular sugar, regular sugar frosting 50/50 flour blend and walnuts. I made this for a Christmas party 2011 and did not want to subject the people at the party to sugar free cake because I knew they probably would not eat it. I snuck the wheat flour in so it would not be a complete waste and add some nutritional value to the cake. Whole wheat flour is very fiber rich that keeps you full longer than just white flour. As I stated above, white flour is just empty calories. They loved this cake and it was a success but because of sugar. I can't expect everyone to adopt my way of thinking and eating unless they want to and are ready to make the change. Preparing tasty treats that are low in calories and having people try them is a way to introduce them to a new way of eating.

Strawberry, blueberry cake surprise!
The last dessert that I want to talk about is this one in the photo on the right. I tell you, this fresh, blueberry, strawberry cake surprise was the bomb!! I did the 50/50 flour mix, and along with the blueberries I added a surprise of fruit cocktail(drained). Every bite had a piece of yummy fruit in it. I added sugar free cool whip again for the topping. If you have not figured it out yet, I really like cool whip for dessert toppings. It is so good and a nice change from frosting. Also I grated some lemon and lime zest for garnish. There were no disappointments with this one at all.

I want to leave you with the idea of trying new things! Not to be so set in your ways that you miss out on something amazing that may change your life. This could be trying different foods of different cultures or anything thing else that you might want to try that you have feared in the past. Nothing beats a failure but a try!

Love AJ
 I'll see you in the kitchen!




1 comment:

  1. Great job on your descriptions, healthy logic and introductions for each dish. Considering I am a diabetic, i can truly appreciate the sugar free, carb free aspect of your ingredients.....! It is definitely a healthier lifestyle that everty one should try to adapt to for a longer life. Enjoyed very much readin this article. Again, Great Job!

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