This is probably the hardest page to write, because it is hard writing about yourself. You know? We don’t often find words to express who we are, because most of us don’t know who we are. But let me tell you a bit about my journey, and you can see for yourself who I am.
I started baking cookies when I was 9 years old. I remember trying to get the butter creamed successfully, and always taking it to her to ask if that was right. For a few years, she always had to beat the butter just a little bit more, so my cookies would turn out right. When I was 11, I made some lemon bars, and we had a neighbor try what I made. The neighbor exclaimed that my lemon bars turned out better than most adults’ lemon bars did. I felt very proud.
Through the years, my love for making and eating cookies grew, along with my waistline. Granted, I bore three children in the last 20 years, but I didn’t need to put on as much weight as I did. About 12 years ago, I decided I need to find alternatives to my sweet treats. I discovered Stevia, an all natural herb that contains 0 calories and 0 carbohydrates, but was 100-300 times sweeter than sugar, and is very tricky to use successfully. Because it was so tricky, I ended up trying other types of sweeteners that were purported to have less of a glycemic impact on my health…but they all still made me gain weight.
The other problem with traditional cookies is the wheat/all purpose flour. Not only does the gluten from that hurt my stomach, but for the nutritional content, it has way too many carbohydrates. I knew I had to get rid of that as well. About 8 years ago, I started experimenting with nut flours–before it was cool to do so, mind you–with some interesting results. I ground up cashews and shredded coconut for my flour base, and then made my products. The end results were pretty good. I thought I was using coconut flour when I ground up shredded coconut…but I was wrong. Coconut flour is actually made by drying the coconut, getting the oil out, and grinding it, so that is a dense flour that soaks up a lot of liquids.
At any rate, I have since learned how to bake with nut flours, tapioca starch (which I hardly use anymore), and all types of stevia sweeteners. The resulting products have gotten better in last month or so–mostly due to the book my sweetie bought for me. “Everyday Grain Free Baking” has taught me much in the right way to bake with nut flours, and is the inspiration for my recipes here. You can find a link to it at the top of the page.
Have I lost weight (or at least not put more weight on) since I began baking with these ingredients? Yes, I have. And it does not trigger cravings like traditionally made cookies do. I don’t advocate eating a lot of these in one sitting, as they still have some carbohydrates, but they are a good alternative to reach for as an occasional treat.
My journey is still progressing as I learn and discover what works and what doesn’t. Hope you can do the same, and that my site is the catalyst for you to either make the switch to grain and sugar free treats, or to continue your own journey.
Storybook Creation Cookies 