Soul Searching

First, an update. Although I officially "opened for business" about a year ago, things didn't really get going until I began selling at a farmers market on April 1st of 2012. Selling at the market has been quite an experience. I have learned a ton, gotten some great feedback, and absolutely love trading leftovers for amazing produce at the end of the day. I don't think that farmers markets will ever be a huge money maker for my business, but it's been the perfect opportunity to interact with customers and introduce my products.

Grain Expectations' Farmers Market Display

Everybody knows that starting a business is not easy, and I can certainly say I've been working my tush off trying to get mine off the ground. One thing that's been important to me from the beginning is feeling confident and believing in my products. When I first started this blog, my goal was to try my hand at baking with whole grains. Because I have type 1 diabetes, whole grains have always been an important part of my diet. Naturally, when I opened my business, I focused on whole grain baked goods.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread

In the last couple of months, a combination of events, research, and conversations has made me realize that in order to really take care of myself, I can't eat too many whole grain baked goods. This may seem obvious, but I had always been proud of the fact that despite being a diabetic, I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted as long as I took the correct amount of insulin. I have always done a good job managing my diabetes, but I knew I could do better.

A major turning point in this realization was providing baked goods for the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. I was very excited to donate to the event, and to have the opportunity to spread the word about my business to my target market. The lovely folks over at the ADA asked me to provide muffins as part of the day's breakfast.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

The event was a huge success for the local ADA chapter, and a really enjoyable day. I had many fantastic conversations with others whose lives have been affected by diabetes. However, it felt awkward recommending my muffins to them. Although they are MUCH better than most muffins, they definitely contain carbohydrates. Whole grains are still grains, and these muffins still contain sugar (albeit much less than most). Those of us with diabetes can definitely eat sugar, but we have to be careful and react accordingly. I ended up recommending they check out my other, lower carbohydrate products.

After that day, I decided that I wanted to feel absolutely confident that all of my products would be a healthy choice for all of my customers. Therefore, I've begun a transition away from "just" whole grain baked goods to baked goods and snacks that are truly low-carb and as always, 100% whole grain (or grain-free) and all-natural.

I'm still baking up and selling some of my old favorites, but I'm really excited about my new products and have already gotten some great feedback. I look forward to continuing on this journey and hope you'll stick with me along the way!

Hiding Veggies in Baked Goods

Expectation: Kids don't mind veggies in their cookies.

I love putting vegetables into baked goods. Zucchini and pumpkin turn a dry bread into a moist bread, with no additional butter or oil needed (in fact, you need less), providing nutrients to a typically empty-calorie treat. Black beans give an otherwise unattainable, fudgy texture to brownies, while creating a protein-dense goodie that will keep you satisfied much longer than it's white-flour counterpart.

Zucchini Bread

Tonight, I read this article from NPR, which states that "nutritionists generally hate the idea of 'stealth veggies,' arguing that children should learn to eat their vegetables and like them, darn it. They got really bent out of shape after reading The Sneaky Chef by Missy Chase Lepine, and Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, both of which argued for sneaking veggies into kid-friendly foods."

I consider myself somewhat of a nutritionist wannabe. I've considered going back to school to become one several times in my life, and nutrition is a topic I regularly read about for fun. Hearing that "nutritionists hate the idea of steal veggies" just seems plain silly. It's like saying that kids should stay quiet in the classroom because they should WANT to learn.

Beet Walnut Goat Cheese Muffins

Although I haven't read "The Sneaky Chef", and I've only skimmed Jessica Seinfeld's book, I'm pretty sure they aren't saying, "instead of feeding your children vegetables with dinner, hide them inside cake!" The point here is that we all need to eat vegetables, and lots of them. As Michael Pollan says; "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Even the USDA knows that Americans need to eat more vegetables. I try to eat vegetables with every meal, and I snack on carrots, sugar snap peas and jicama in between those meals. Adding parsnips to my muffins is a way to get vegetables in my breakfast, while giving them a moist texture and lowering the carbohydrate content by replacing some of the flour. 

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

Moms love to bake for their kids. They are the reason why most of us have a sweet tooth, and the reason the scent of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie brings us back to our childhood home. Although many nutritionists would rather we didn't bake sweet treats at all, adding vegetables to baked goods is a way to make these treats healthier (using whole grains and less sugar is another way). It's a way for moms to help their children enjoy vegetables, and perhaps even help them be more receptive to them when meal time comes around ("you love beet cupcakes, so try some beet salad!")


Can we please get past they "kids should love vegetables" argument, and agree to embrace veggies in every form?

More Great Books!

Since beginning my adventures in baking with whole grains, I've received my share of books on the subject as Christmas and birthday gifts from supportive friends and family members. This past year proved to be especially fruitful, introducing some new favorites to my collection.

My favorite of these favorites is definitely Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese of The Tipsy Baker. For people who don't mind spending a bit of time and effort on their food, this book is not only a fun read, but also a great resource. Taking time, money, health and taste into consideration, Jennifer offers simple advice: what to make yourself (ie. bread), and what to buy from the store (ie. butter). This book has inspired me to make yogurt, hummus, mozzarella, sauerkraut, vanilla extract, thousand island dressing, marshmallows, and graham crackers, all homemade, and all delicious.

Another favorite is Baking Illustrated from the folks over at Cook's Illustrated. Just like the magazine, this book details each ingredient and recipe step of every cookie, cake, pie and brownie you could name. Unfortunately, these cooking masters haven't crossed over into the whole grain world just yet, so I haven't been able to enjoy too many of the recipes. For me, this book is a great reference for details, methods, and ingredients.

For those of you looking for a convenient way to add whole grains to your diet, I'd recommend the following three:

Lorna Sass' Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way is filled with mostly savory recipes containing a range of whole grains, from barley to triticale. I was disappointed to see that, like most of my whole grain cookbooks, many of the recipes for baked goods contain white flour. However, I appreciate the interesting flavor combinations and wide range of recipes presented in this book.

Kim Boyce brings us Good to the Grain, which takes you on a baking tour of whole grains, including: whole wheat, amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn, kamut, oats, quinoa, rye, spelt and teff. Her "Sand Cookies" are a great, easy introduction to Kamut, which was easy to find in Seattle, but a challenge in the Bay Area. My only complaint is that some of the recipes seem to include just a bit of the featured grain, while still relying heavily on wheat flour, making it hardly worth the effort it may take to find these specialty ingredients.

Lastly, Maria Speck's Ancient Grains for Modern Meals is a surprise favorite. Also containing mostly savory dishes, the innovative flavor combinations in this book are inspired by Maria's mixed northern European/Mediterranean heritage. One of the only books I've come across that features baked goods entirely made of whole grains, I give it 5 stars!

All-Natural Alternative Sweeteners

Expectation: That there was somebody else out there who wasn't afraid to make a few substitutions.

I came across this fantastic article on npr.org with some tips about using all-natural, alternative sweeteners. Here are some of those tips, but I encourage you to read the whole article here.

Alternative Sweetener advice from Nicole Spiridakis

Agave nectar, extracted from the agave cactus plant, is a little sweeter than sugar.

Barley malt syrup, from sprouted barley, roasted and cooked down to a syrup with a maltlike flavor, is great for using in more savory recipes, such as a barbecue sauce, rather than baking.

Brown rice syrup tastes about half as sweet as white sugar, with a mild flavor.

A host of organic cane sugars, including muscovado sugar (made from unrefined, evaporated cane juice), organic, whole cane sugar (unrefined and unbleached); turbinado sugar (made by heating sugar cane juice, then spinning it in a centrifuge or turbine to extract moisture and molasses for large, golden crystals) and demerara sugar (similar to turbinado, with large sugar crystals).

Honey

Maple syrup

Molasses, a byproduct of refining sugar cane, is slightly sweet and a source of iron and calcium.

Stevia, derived from a perennial shrub with leaves 30 times sweeter than sugar and calorie-free.

Xylitol, a sweetener made from corncobs that is low in calories and tastes similar to cane sugar, is available online and in some health food stores.

Partnering with Community Fitness

Along with my bakery business in Seattle, WA, I also work at Seattle's best fitness club, Community Fitness (no really, it's the best). I am absolutely thrilled to announce that Grain Expectations is partnering with Community Fitness to help expand options for healthy living in the Pacific Northwest.

In honor of this partnership, Grain Expectations is offering 50% OFF YOUR FIRST DOZEN to all Community Fitness participants!

Click here to see the menu, and check back for more offers in the coming months.

Cheers to a healthy 2012!

Baby Cakes!

Expectation: New parents are looking for a healthier option for their baby's first birthday cake!

Every parent wants to throw their baby a first birthday party. And, what's a birthday party without a cake? Grain Expectations is excited to announce our new offering: Baby's First Birthday Cakes!

Our Baby Cakes are all-natural, sugar free (sweetened with organic fruits and vegetables), and 100% whole grain.

Our cake selection includes banana, apple, sweet potato, and carrot with your choice of either cream cheese or yogurt frosting (sweetened with agave nectar).

Here's our favorite 1 year old, Ansel, at his first birthday party, with a Grain Expectations sweet potato Baby Cake!

Order yours today at www.GrainExpectations.com!

Coming to a health fair near you!

Expectation: That people would be surprised to see baked goods at their office health fair!

Last week, Grain Expectations was invited to a Health and Benefits Fair at the Seattle Nuance office. We brought plenty of free samples, and had a great time chatting with the employees about our healthy baked goods! Check out the pictures of our display:

Reading materials: Information about our business, 

health facts about our baked goods, and our holiday menu.

A few things for sale: mini loaves of Banana Walnut Bread, 

and packages of Snowflake Cookies.

Does your doctor tell you to eat more protein? Try our peanut butter cookies! 

Full of protein, low in carbohydrates and gluten-free.

 

Here's Brian ready to tell you about Grain Expectations!