Now that I've got my juice on and we've transformed our grocery bills into 90 per cent raw fruit and veg (yes, my children hate me), I've decided to make another leap in the kitchen to see if I can't make my cancer go away forever through top-notch nutrition = vegan baking.
Oh, don't think the mention of me baking all things sans eggs and butter, mostly gluten-free and sugar-free didn't strike fear in Pete's heart. Like me, he believes in indulging in the real thing rather than shoving strange substitutes down your gullet. And shit, man, if you haven't checked out the "alterna" sections of your local grocery haunt lately, it's stuffed to the gills with soy this and soy that - products made to look like something else. I've even tried some of this crap over the past several months. The latest being tapioca cheese. Don't ask.
So I'm still determined to seek out whole foods, not the methadone substitutes to get me through the shakes. But it's been difficult. Eating out is mostly a disaster. Not only do we have to look out for food that might be laden with the mighty peanut so Stella doesn't collapse in closed-throat agony, but trying to get a decent baked good that isn't butter, sugar and egg happy is bloody impossible. So, hell, I love to bake, and my wretched reaching and lifting abilities won't be compromised with mere measuring cups and spoons, so here I go.
After many failed attempts and a cupboard full of odd ingredients, I've finally narrowed it down to a few whole food substitutes (I apologize to all you seasoned alterna bakers out there, but I had to figure this stuff out myself):
Flour = spelt (I also use brown rice, quinoa and Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flours)
Liquid sugar = agave (sweeter than refined sugar but lower GI - there's still controversy about the processing of agave, but until the verdict comes down, I'll continue to squirt it into my baking)
Grainy sugar = coconut sap (expensive but worth it - lower GI and delicious)
Eggs = ground flax or chia with a little water does a fab binding job
Oil/butter = coconut oil (good fat, people) or grapeseed oil (neutral and non-GMO)
Despite all the hype out there that it's really easy to bake with this stuff (I swear most vegans have lost their taste buds or their ability to tell the truth... I look forward to your letters), I've had exactly one vegan recipe turn out so fabulous that I'd be happy to serve to friends and strangers alike - banana bread - but even with this one I lowered the sugar to 1/4 c. Next time I'll lower it even more and add some toasted millet, my new favourite crunch.
I will persevere! Today I bought the babycakes cookbook, which uses a lot of the ingredients I listed, and made some raspberry scones. I didn't have enough spelt flour so used mostly quinoa. They're good, but I think they need a little tweaking before I'd share them.
And I promise - if you come to my house, I'll only serve the America's Test Kitchen version of my baking. Next up is my continued attempt to make the perfect vegan chili (without any of that soy nonsense) so I can establish Sing Your Arse Off Saturdays at the McCart-Taylor household every month and guests full of beans, wine and karaoke. Be very afraid.
I have to say that I thought PS would be a good place to try our new kind of healthy eating, but ... sitting in a hotel room at night, munching on "healthy snacks" (the words have lost their meaning!) while watching TV after a long day of sightseeing etc. is NOT easy. Good thing we are only away for a week! Miss, miss, miss our morning juice! Vegan style eating would be even more difficult, with foodstuffs harder to find .... ! Holidays away from home are hellish on a person's food intake! I need your advice here, Babe!
ReplyDeleteyeah I'm going to have problems too as I head to the UK in May and they batter everything in sight. Not being a baker in any sense of the word, I will not be advising you on recipes anytime soon, but will always be in your debt for converting me to the green shakes. Good luck Carissa, you're going to need it!
ReplyDeletehey Carissa, love to see your banana bread recipe....thanks keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteI think you're leaving today, Ma, so I'm probably too late. I hear ya on the snacking/eating when you're on vacay. It's terrible. The funny thing is, the desire to eat a carrot instead of a doughnut ends up being more about how it makes your bod feel rather than how holier than thou you are, but it still doesn't make it any easier to dine when you're in a place with no kitchen.
ReplyDeleteWhen Pete and I were in PS, we were saved by a nearby farmer's market and grocery store and ended up preparing homemade salads at our bathroom sink. Sounds a bit Kramer-like, but we didn't get into the radish roses.
I tell ya - bringing your juicer with you when you travel doesn't sound as douche-ish as it used to.
We're back home now - on the way we stopped and picked up some green veggies - tomorrow - back to the morning regimen that we were so used to for two months! Two big glasses of water - then a juicing a big glass of beautiful green veggie ambrosia! We found a juice bar in PS and I bought a "green drink". I thought they were going to juice the stuff in front of me, but, noooooo ... the lady said - we are waiting for supplies - oh here they are now! Little boxes of what looked suspiciously like concentrated liquid that came from who knows where - were unpacked and put into a blender with ice to make us a green smoothie. She told me what kinds of veggies were in the drink and it was tasty but the prepackaged concentrate was disappointing!
ReplyDeleteWow, you go girl! Vegan baking.......you continually amaze me. Good luck with it.......and have fun! xo
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