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!

Good News in the News

I read two things in the news today that made me quite happy.

The first was these questions answered by "liberal foodie intellectual" Michael Pollan, especially this one:

What is the single best food we all should be eating every day?

Here is his answer: Single best? Probably whole grains - they offer a lot that's missing from the industrial diet, from fiber to important antioxidants and healthy fats. People who eat lots of whole grains are generally healthier and live longer than those who don't.

Second was this article from NPR that explains how American farmers are selling $4.8 billion a year in fruits and vegetables in their local markets, including to supermarkets, schools and restaurants. Part of the Grain Expectations mission is to include local produce in baked goods to take advantage of peak flavor and nutrients. Eating locally is a great way to support the economy and lower your carbon footprint. It also has health benefits, as the body naturally needs different nutrients during specific times of the year.

Just a few more reasons to add whole grains and local produce into your diet! I hope my recipes and menu items allow you to celebrate these foods as a part of your daily diet.

Fun with Nuts!

Expectation: That everybody loves nuts as much as I do.

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of nuts. If I had my way, I would put nuts in all of my baked goods. Not only are nuts delicious and perfect for adding a little crunch, they are also full of healthy fats and nutrients. In fact, people who regularly eat nuts are less likely to have heart disease.

I've recently experimented with adding nuts to baked goods in non-traditional ways, through nut butters and ground nuts. Ground nuts can replace flour in many recipes, and it is easy to do. Just toast nuts then grind them in a food processor or blender.

Some of my favorite recipes with nuts include:

Cherry Almond Cornmeal Cake 

(with ground almonds in the cake and slivered almonds on top)

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies 

(super easy and quite delicious)

Hazelnut Espresso Coffecake 

(with ground hazelnuts inside)

Orange Ginger Nut Bars 

(almond meal crust with pistachios and almonds on top)