Baking

Ok, so for any of my readers this post might be a little unexpected. Traditionally all Baking Backwards recipes have been totally nut-free. This has been for the sake of my tree-nut allergy readers and for myself. Up until about two months ago I was bumbling my way through life under the impression that I had a potentially severe tree-nut allergy. I was first diagnosed with this allergy several years ago and it was a major shock and very disappointing. I had been going through a very rough health patch (lots of asthma attacks and strong medications) and was experiencing what seemed like constant allergic reactions when eating. I decided a scratch test and some blood work was needed and it revealed that I was allergic to almost everything I ate regularly, including tree nuts (but not peanuts which are legumes). Being a bit of a spaz, I promptly hid myself away from all the nutty goodness in the world and stayed hidden (except when I was unaware of nuts being in something fed to me) for ...

I know that Baking Backward is often weighed down by healthy desserts but I really do eat meals too! I love greens and giant salads. I make a huge one every night. Like many people, I can get stuck in a rut when it comes to creating inspiring dinners. I often make a salad I like a lot, and then end up making it day after day for weeks. I wanted to share my recipe for this SUPER Salad today because I invented it just last night! Therefore it's still on my list of 'great new meals', rather than a page from my 'not this again' collection. I was raised to love salad and incorporate it in to my day no matter what. My childhood nanny actually made salads for me all the time. She is a salad fiend, she even eats salads for breakfast! When I started to cook for myself at age 7, I made a lot of lunches -- sandwiches, salads etc. As an older kid I got really into thai food and started to make mango salads. I loved that Thai salads often balance sweet, salty, sour and crunchy,...

2014 will be a healthier one for me. I hope that you've noticed my recent healthy raw dessert efforts in my last few posts on Baking Backwards -- what with the healthy raw milkshakes and raw donut holes and all. Yes, healthy.  I'm not writing this to pull your leg, I really am on a mission to transform my desserts into more wholistic super-desserts. If you are too, then I think we're going to get along just fine for the next few months! My goal is to share a lot of minimally processed dessert recipes that feature whole food ingredients and no refined sugar. I know that sounds a whole lot like what I normally do on Baking Backwards, but I'm going to try to push even my own boundaries on what can be called desserts for a little while. Instead of sugar you'll see fruits, instead of flour maybe beans or coconut, instead of oils maybe coconut oil, pear sauce or bananas. I'm leaning more and more away from grains and refined everything.  The simpler my recipes are ...

2014, you're going to be a better year, I can feel it. And what better way to start a better year than better milkshakes -- plant-based naturally sweetened milkshakes that is.  These milkshakes are really delicious and are healthy enough to be an everyday treat. Despite being composed of everyday vegan ingredients, these shakes are velvety, rich and smooth. Each shake involves less than five ingredients and comes together in a minute or two in a high speed blender. They are both vegan, fruit sweetened and one is mostly raw while the other can be made totally raw!     The raw ingredients in these shakes provide optimal nutritional benefits. Dates are a great energy source and have a lot of essential vitamins and minerals including iron, potassium, selenium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. They help alleviate constipation, anemia, intestinal disorders, stomach cancer, and allergies. They help reduce bad cholesterol and support proper sexual function, and proper func...

There are many things I never plan to eat again - real donuts and Canadian "timbits" are on that list. I have never been much of a donut person. I always thought they were too rich for me - I mean they're deep fried cake! I only liked baked Entaminns donuts as a kid because they were more like little cakes than what I knew as donuts. My parents couldn't even convince me to go into donut shops on road trips because I was always too nauseated by the smell. Fast forward to 2014 and I am suddenly intrigued by donuts. Why? I blame impossibly cute mini donut pans and countless delicious vegan donut recipes sweeping the blog world. Today I have a treat for fitness freaks, vegans and donut lovers alike -- healthy vegan donut holes that are raw and totally delicious! To be honest, these donut holes were an accident. I wanted to experiment with dried figs. I never use figs but I love fig newton's so why not?! I have made many desserts with dates and coconut and love them so...