Eat Cake!

They say, whoever "they" are, that when you're a bride-to-be and you're shopping for a wedding dress that "you just know" when you've found THE ONE. That you'll put it on and get emotional and just have this avalanche of feelings come over you saying, "This is the one." That never happened to me. I tried on every type of dress: mermaid, A-line, fit and flair, princess, ballgown, etc. I never felt more strongly toward one or another. I knew I wanted a dress that wasn't uptight and I knew that I liked lace and I liked the airiness of tulle so I went online and just bought one that I liked without putting too much thought into it. Like I was picking out a cocktail dress or something. I also didn't want to spend the average cost of a wedding dress ($28,000 according to CNN!) because it literally gets worn for just a few hours! It's a dress, not a diamond! I was so not a bridezilla. (Lucky for my husband!)

I just wanted to marry my love. I did want to have a wedding, rather than just go to the courthouse, because I felt that such a momentous occasion deserved a little bit of a celebration. I was planning the wedding myself, and we were paying for the wedding ourselves, so in a sense the dress was just another item on the checklist that was needed to have a wedding!

Me being me, the cake was a very important item on the wedding "To-Do" list. Being gluten free meant that I'd have to find a gluten free cake baker who could actually make a delicious cake that didn't taste gluten free. That seemed to be a tall order. I toyed with the idea of just getting a regular cake but that would've meant that I wouldn't have been able to eat any. No thanks! So as usual I ended up taking matters into my own hands and made my own wedding cake. Gluten free without compromising texture or flavor - the only way!

I made a vanilla cake with very finely chopped edible organic roses. I frosted it with a rose flavored buttercream and topped it off with assorted organic edible flowers. It was delicious if I do say so myself. Half of it is sitting in our freezer ... it used to be about two thirds but one day I had a craving and thawed it to have a piece. I know we're suppose to save it and eat it on our one year anniversary, and we will, if it's still there! I guess what I'm trying to say is I guess I'm just not the sentimental type. I used to be but the older I get the less I seem to care. What matters most to me is the big picture - that I married the love of my life, I had a wedding, my friends and family were there, and we ate cake! And most importantly I never had a single doubt or second thought about marrying my husband. It just felt like the natural thing to do.

Eating cake is a natural thing to do also. Not just at weddings, not just at parties, not just on your birthday, but whenever the heck you feel like it. I'm a proud supporter of giving in to cravings. I honestly believe that eating a little bit of cake whenever you want probably keeps you from eating an entire cake one day because your willpower just can't take it anymore!

Here is my all time favorite go-to vanilla cake recipe: Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Cake Recipe.

Whenever I want to make a flavored cake (like cotton candy!) I use this recipe and just add flavorings.

If I'm making it for regular people (people who can eat gluten) I use regular cake flour. If I'm making it for me or someone like me and it needs to be gluten free I substitute the flour with my own gluten free cake flour mix. I use a mixture of brown rice flour, potato flour, tapioca starch and xanthan gum but there are many gluten free flour mix recipes out there as well as pre-packaged flours that will work.

"A party without cake is just a meeting." - Julia Child

Healthy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin snickerdoodles ... because everything in the fall tastes better with pumpkin!

I don't know how you feel about cookies, but I love them. My first word, besides "Mama" and "Dada", was "cookie". No lie. I'm sure I didn't pronounce it with it's full and proper enunciation but you get the point. Aside from cupcakes I would say that cookies are still a top ranked baked treat of mine.

The only problem with cookies is that they're filled with everything "bad" (which is why they taste so good!) like butter, refined sugar, and white flour and they hold basically no nutritional value. I'm sure everything would be fine if I had tremendous willpower and could stick to having just one cookie, every now and then, but I can't. I love cookies and I need them in my life on a regular basis. That's right, I need them! I don't however, need the empty calories and extra sugar with a side of diabetes so I enjoy making healthier versions of cookies. Unlike my husband I am willing to compromise a little bit of flavor and/or texture to have a guilt free treat which is usually a factor when making "healthy" cookies. As it turned out though, he did like these pumpkin snickerdoodles ... which are also gluten free and vegan.

Healthy Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

(Adapted from this recipe. )

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond flour (or almond meal)
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup protein powder (Vanilla flavor. Vegan powder if you're keeping the recipe vegan.)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon psyllium husk powder
Optional: 1/4 - 1/2 cup all natural white chocolate chips

For Rolling:

2 tablespoons raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients together.
In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix well. The mixture will be stubborn, work it to moisten everything well.
Roll batter into balls.
Mix cinnamon sugar coating in a small bowl and roll each ball into the mixture.
Place on cookie sheet. Press down slightly with the palm of your hand; these cookies don't spread.
Bake for 10-13 minutes or until bottoms are golden.

Pumpkin Crazed Snack Attack

I love snacks! I'm not the type to get through the day on three square meals. I get hungry between meals! One of my favorite healthy snacks to have is Greek yogurt. My favorite is Fage Total 2%. It has protein and calcium and is absolutely guilt free but so delicious it almost tastes like dessert. Almost. Like I mentioned in my last post I try my very best to stay away from artificial ingredients; unfortunately most flavored Greek yogurts have a list of ingredients that don't impress me so I take matters into my own hands and create my own flavors. Making my own flavors also allows me to control the sugar level. Have you seen the amounts of sugar in flavored yogurts?! I don't know about you but I'd rather save my sugar for real sweets like a chocolate bar!

I start with the plain yogurt and sprinkle a stevia packet in there to sweeten it up and then top it with sliced fruit or granola or both. Sometimes if I'm feeling super indulgent I add a drizzle of honey. Or if I'm not feeling fruity I'll mix in a little all natural peanut butter or almond butter, some vanilla extract and a sprinkle of chocolate chips! It's fun to experiment and come up with new flavors for whatever mood strikes.

Lately my mood has been pumpkin! I'm obsessed! Nothing says fall like pumpkin flavored everything and I know I'm not alone judging by all of the pumpkin flavored products that show up on store shelves around this time every year. I've been indulging my love for pumpkin in many ways but one way is my all natural, sugar free pumpkin yogurt. Here is my "recipe":

Pumpkin Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (canned)

1 - 2 stevia packets

1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Tastes great topped with granola! And/or a drizzle of 100% pure maple syrup!

Sugar Addicted Health Nut

I know, "sugar addicted health nut"? What an oxymoron, right? But it's the truth. I love sugar. I live for sugar. I just eat dinner to get to dessert. I know my body needs real food and real nourishment and I know I feel better when I eat well so I do myself a solid and go ahead and eat dinner instead of skipping ahead right to dessert like I'd really like to. I also know that sugar all by it's lonesome is "bad" enough for me so it doesn't need to be accompanied by artificial flavors and colors or hydrogenated oils or anything else made in a science lab. As strange as it sounds, I try to eat organic sweets! But as with many things in life, everything in moderation. Am I going to pass on some candy corn this Halloween season because it has artificial colors and flavors? No. I just won't make candy corn part of my regular dessert diet. When given the choice between a Hershey bar with artificial flavoring or an all natural Ghirardelli bar, I'm going to choose Ghirardelli every time. I couldn't imagine a life without sweets so I just try to eat better quality sweets. I sound ridiculous I know, but I can't help myself. I try my best to stay away from genetically modified, artificial, hydrogenated, chemistry lab created "food" products when it comes to every other meal, so dessert shouldn't be any different.

In this blog I will share my dessert "makeovers" that I come up with to make all natural versions of my favorite treats. I will share gluten free versions of "regular" desserts, and also some sweets that are low in sugar and fat and "guilt-free".

I believe it is possible to find a way to eat everything I love while still living a healthy lifestyle. It has to be; I'm not equipped to sustain life on celery sticks.

To welcome fall and all of it's pumpkin spiced splendor, I had to make some gluten free pumpkin scones to go with my sugar free pumpkin lattes I've been drinking. (I also posted about them on my Facebook page, Kat's Candy Coated Treats .) 

Adapted from this recipe: Spiced Pumpkin Scones Recipe 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spiced Scones

• 
  
• 2 cups oat flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons plain soy creamer (or half and half)
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  

Glaze: 

• 
  
• 1 cup powdered sugar (more or less for desired consistency) 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons soy creamer (or half and half)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree 
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Center a rack in the middle of the oven and heat oven to 400ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pie spice together until blended.
3. Cut the butter into small cubes then scatter over the flour mixture. Use two knives or a pastry cutter to “cut” the butter into the flour until the mixture resembled coarse cornmeal with a few pea-sized bits of butter. (Or use a food processor.)
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, cream, egg and vanilla extract until blended. Stir into the flour and butter mixture until a soft dough forms.
5. Drop by tablespoon fulls onto baking sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Once cool, drizzle with glaze.