Those of you how follow this blog, may have realized that not all my recipes are GF. There is good reason for that. I am not on a 100% gluten free diet. Nope. I eat wheat.
But, I own a bakery that is 100% gluten free.Why oh why would I do this if I myself am not gluten free? Well, there are a couple of reasons:
1) My Mom has Colitis, and is gluten free. So accomodating her dietary needs was a big part of my life growing up. It opened my eyes to a whole world of foods that most people never experience.
2) I believe that a varied plant based diet is key to enjoying food, and keeping your digestion at it's best. Vaired, to me, includes the grains that I choose to consume. As a vegan, people might think that my choices are limited. Not so, especially when it comes to grains.
There is one prominent crop here in Canada and the U.S. Can anybody guess what it is?
---- If you said Wheat, you'd be right. We westerners love it. It's in our cereals, our sauces, our granola bars, our soups, our breads, our desserts our pastas. And along with all that wheat, comes a whole lot of gluten. It is added to some pretty unexpected things. And we eat it, All. The. Time.
But did you know that there are 19 varieties of Whole Grains?! 19! And how many do we consume on a regular basis?
Ummmm. See the problem here?
There is a vast landscape of nutrious and DELICIOUS foods out there that most of us never get to experience. I for one, want to taste the rainbow (even if it comes in various shades of tan).
So baking with the "gamut" of whole grain nutrient rich flours seemed a natural fit for me. Plus I adore a challenge, and gluten free vegan baking seemed like a good one.
There are so many health benefits that come with the flours that I use in my baking, from Sorghum, to Teff, Brown rice, Millet, and don't even get me started on Quinoa.
Then there is the beloved variety of nut flours, like hazelnut and almond.
These foods are rich in vitamins and minerals, so when added to baked goods, they add such a boost in nutrition that you simply don't recieve from bleached all purpose white flour.
-Variety is the spice of life.... We try to get a variety of fruits and vegetables. Why limit our palate to only one type of grain?
So, that is why I have spent so much time building a business and creating products that are gluten free, and therefore wheat free. I want everyone to be able to enjoy a decadent dessert, and I don't want to limit my creativity in the kitchen to just one type of food. Because baking is a joy and a challenge and a limitless laearning curve all wrapped into one for me. I love it so much.
That endless learning curve is what really gets me. It's such a thrill to know I can continue to learn, and learn, and learn annnnnd..... you get the picture.
I want variety and taste and texture that sing with originality and vitality, and that my friends, is what gluten free can give you.
xoxo,
Mickie.
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