Food Balance Your Body Type Archives - Page 33 of 46

Fall Cake – Chocolate (Gluten-Free)

Fall cake is delicious when made into chocolate cake that’s healthy. This reminds me of special events I planned where the individual molten chocolate cakes were always a hit! And you can make a healthy home version… the recipe is below. 🥮

The gooey oozing middle gluten-free chocolate cakes were served individually (as in no sharing!) in their own ceramic baking cups.

They were called Fallen Chocolate Souffles.

And they were made while guests were enjoying dinner, so there was a timing component. That’s the key to making this decadent dessert.

The recipe below is a low-sugar, healthy chocolate cake made with gluten-free flour. 🧡

It’s a simple to make recipe and not complicated considering how satisfying they are.

Jump to Recipe

And to show how relaxed you can be, I was in yoga rest pose waiting for the baking to finish… that almost never happens as I’m busy in the kitchen with my hands.

And in event and catering parties, we never got off our feet… good shoes were a must as some events, we walked miles within our venue.

So the great cake turn out and mini yoga session in between was a nice surprise… we used to say “kill two birds with one stone.”

Not sure who came up with that proverb as it sounds violent when the intent is you’re being productive and multi-tasking. 😊

And Savasana pose (pronounced Sh-avasana) is a great Hatha yoga way to be productive to reset new intentions for the rest of this year, so you can enter your new year with a bang! 🎉

So while making this healthy fall chocolate cake, I was reminded how often we stand stationary with some kind of tool in front of us, whether it’s a standing desk computer or a kitchen tool like a mixer.

Or we’re sitting all day. It’s often all or nothing.

If we measure our standing time vs. our sitting time, one day can be too much of either. And we often forget to add in some calming awake resting time.

So rest pose is a good balancing pose for this that’s relaxing and restorative and you can do on a daytime mat to get calm and peaceful.

Taking a few extra minutes to not rush around can revive your entire day. Those moments are enhanced when there’s no distraction like a computer or a television. Be in calm silence until your cake buzzer goes off.

Laying down, you’re looking at the ceiling or sky above you, or optionally you have your eyes closed.

The Savasana pose benefits are:

You’re almost like a frozen angel in the snow but not moving your arm wings up and down.

You notice any normal body twitches and sensations. You’re sensitized to your being and body.

Rested, your heart is also rested and your blood pressure drops in the seconds and minutes you’re in this pose.

Not being in a hurry, all the tension is left behind at least for the minutes you’re in this calming pose.

You can eliminate temporary headaches as you think calm, positive, and happy thoughts.

And as more minutes go by, you’ll also feel your body temperature drops especially if you’re the Vata or Kapha body type. Or if you’re leaning into Vata season and your Vata-ness!

This Savasana pose is commonly done as an ending close in an in-person Hatha or more relaxed yoga class.

And maybe even the teacher came around spritzing with a light lavender spray mist to get you in the mood of laying still and quieting the mind. How nice especially for the Pitta mind still running lists in the mind!

The lavender scent calms your mind and the fine mist feels like a refreshing soft touch. It’s a nice way to bring special joy to your day.

Laying stretched out without moving on a mat, you can do this pose anywhere that helps melt the stress away.

It gives you a few moments of peace (that can’t be emphasized enough) to gain your second wind and ground you for the rest of the day.

It’s good to remind yourself to slow it down.

And when your healthy fall chocolate cake baking timer goes off, you’re refreshed and ready!

A few Savasana Pose tips:

🌱Have a folded blanket near near you if you’re using props. Your body temperature drops, so you’ll want the comfort of a blanket or thin yoga top layer you peeled off earlier, especially if it’s typical fall or cooler season weather.

🌱Remember to breathe normally. You can pinpoint if your breath through your nose is naturally shallow or deep and could you use some sinus tips.

🌱Keep your phone off your mat! 😉 That’s one of the rules that will help with your balance of 80/20 real life vs. virtual world digital life.

Slowing down our tempo gives us advantages so we can keep up in the world with the all the busy chaos.

That’s what Savasana Pose can do as a good reset reminder.

We can make better lifestyle choices to live longer, happy quality lives.

And baking healthy chocolate cake can be one of those changes. 😋

And with that thought, I’ll leave you with two questions to think about:

At this point, what would make your year optimal? Idea: you can make an appointment with yourself in Shavasana Corpse pose to think about this.

And, what would help you to make your next year (or the rest of the year) brighter? Think of what change or improvements in you would make things different and better.

And in between noodling self-thoughts, you can make this healthy fall chocolate cake,

It’s simple to make and the timing will determine an oozy middle or a gooey center where either are good. The center is a good metaphor for centering yourself with new positive perspectives.

And if the first one flops, you can always (no sweat) make this again.

🍫 If you like this, you may like an olive oil chocolate cake or a coconut oil chocolate cake.

Fall Chocolate Cake - Healthy and Gluten-Free

This gluten-free chocolate cake is all about timing. You don't want to bake too long so that you preserve the gooey center goodness!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

muffin tin

Ingredients

2 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa for antioxidant-rich), melted
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/8 cup monk fruit sugar (low glycemic index optional) or sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp almond flour
2 tbsp butter

Instructions

Combine all ingredients together except gently fold in flour last. No leavening agents needed.
Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes. Don't overbake for a gooey chocolate center!

S’mores Waffle + Getting The Life You Want

S’mores waffle are a metaphor for getting the life you want of getting s’more! 😊

waffles are a metaphor for getting the life you want in abundance — S’mores waffle recipe below 🧇

Looking at each waffle cell can help remind you that you’re not limited to syrup or honey in just one cell. There can be a sweet overflowing abundance.

This week I made a sweet snack: waffle s’mores. S’more please! 😋

What I love about waffle machines are that you can make individual, or to-order waffles in my home kitchen restaurant (haha).

My way is imperfect (aka easy but delicious!) and fast.

And you have waffle bites in less than 5 minutes and enjoy in less time that keeps the happy going… especially on a weekend jammed with other activities.

Waffles are great without having to fire up the oven or a sautee pan when you’re not in the mood or it’s warm outside (like these 80-degree November days).

I have a simple Cuisinart waffle maker that I like and is budget-friendly.

And you can use any waffle iron that suits you.

It’s an investment compared to buying frozen waffles at the store that gets expensive.

And the other equipment that helps is an oil spray bottle.

Then you don’t need to add oil in your waffle batter recipe. You use less and that can be healthy good and economical. And spraying, makes waffl-ing fast (...ok, what is the term for cooking waffles?). 🧇

In a pinch, you can use an emptied regular 16.9 oz water bottle.

Then screw a clean spray nozzle spray to the bottle, like the kind you use to water mist a plant that’s easy to find at a convenience store, if one’s not in your home.

And then add pour in your choice of mild oil. You can choose from canola and coconut, to light neutral EVOOs.

Then lightly spray the waffle maker, top and bottom. And with light oils you can make fun savory waffles and s’mores waffle flavors.

Just sayin’! 💡

And whatever kind you choose,the waffles come out easy… sometimes in seconds.

You know it’s done because you get a lightly browned waffle.

Ahhh… and there it is, fast and easy. Forget about pancakes.🥞 Those are so-last year. Now, I just made the pancake people unhappy.

Just kidding, but I probably will stick to waffles myself.

…And you?

Sharing about waffles, I’m reminded of some franchise hotel breakfasts where they have self-waffle machines.

So that’s where you may have practiced before too. Those are the sweet morning kind served indoors. I made the s’mores kind good also for outdoors. 🪵

So, to make the melted s’more waffle sandwich, just tear or cut with a knife your waffles into 4 or quarter sections, and use 2 sections for the top and bottom “buns.”

Add your sandwich ingredients like chocolate and marshmallow in the middle (check that the middle layer ingredients don’t go over the sides of the waffles).

Then put your sandwich back in the waffle maker until your sandwich ingredients are melted (like a panini maker).

All this can take less than 5 minutes to make when you become a pro waffle maker.

On the lighter topics, this is my new home kitchen tool obsession. 😊

And speaking of home, most of us spend our days checking on people, things, pets, plants, a chore’s progress, or what we’re making.

But often we forget to check on the most important thing… Ourselves. It’s easy to distract ourselves with what we can see in front of our eyes (that’s not always a mirror).

Our eyes are the gateway to our soul and influence our mind.

Changing to Abundance Mentality (For Getting the Life You Want)

And when I gradually switched from a victim mindset to an abundant one, that’s when I could start manifesting and co-creating new and better things. That’s creativity in the highest.

Wow, that’s a big leap forward but that’s where I’m going this week.

Because I believe there’s nothing more important than getting ourselves and our mind-body aligned with what we want in life.

Our decisions come from the lens we look out from. And in how we nurture our lives. We can make fear-based decisions that don’t help us.

I know this because I lived for the first 35 years of my life with a victim lens that I wasn’t even aware of. You can learn this in relationships where you react. And those reactions give you highlighted feedback.

And you can learn from other clues. Like when I created a vision board when they were popular (maybe they still are?), none of the pictures I cut out and pasted on the board panned out because I was looking from the wrong lens. Those ideas came from the same limiting victim mind that I used to look out from in my everyday life.

And after a massive corporate layoff I was part of, I had a chance to make bolder self-improvement changes as I restarted my life in most areas.

That’s when I connected the dots, expanded my horizons, and put to use my knowledge of the mind-body connection.

And I worked to slow down stress. That’s not totally doable or ideal working in the city. But, it was a big step forward from my past.

Plus, living in a city environment, there are more options, like many yoga studios and classes to choose from. And the environment you’re in can help to center your intentions as it did for me.

And in the slow seasons of life when I was waiting for areas to pan out, I evolved into a better version of myself.

As I leaned into character trait desires I wanted in mind, body, and spirit, they gradually became my life in alignment.

And the veil of the victim mentality disappeared somewhere in those seasons. And when it did, I could see that in the past I held myself back. You know, those parts of you that make up you, but that your work never sees.

And changing those parts change you. For a better life, an adult walks or runs, and a butterfly flies. Neither creatures crawl around with the earlier life limitations.

With the ability to look up and out, you gain abundance with a higher viewpoint, which helps you to better look in.

Changing Perspectives (For Getting the Life You Want)

And that starts by changing thoughts. Last time I shared on negative energy and that’s how life can be unless we proactively make the switch throughout the day so we can get to our abundant thinking.

Sometimes it’s easier to change the home thermostat temperature from cool to heat, than our minds.

We don’t do the switch if we’re not conscious because we have to fight against ego thoughts.

We can live tormented in our negative thoughts without catching on to how much time wasting it’s causing us.

Friend, I lived liked that for many years. So making up for lost time 😂, I choose to never live like that again. And you can too!

You can tell your ego to take a hike! And walk away from others’ egos, and not feeding their egos when they’re acting up.

If you’re aware of the concept of ego and how it’s the root of most people problems, then you’re ahead of the pack. And most high ego folks aren’t reading this because you know, they know it all. 😉

But most don’t consider themselves high in ego compared to so-and-so [insert a name] and those they see in the world acting out. The ego is much more subtle. It’s part of the air.

And just by comparing, that’s ego in action.

Recognizing Ego in Others (For Getting the Life You Want)

When I moved away from the Washington DC area, only then did I realize how polluted the air was, full of egos. It’s a great city with a lot to offer, but living there carries unique burdens.

It isn’t that other parts of America aren’t impacted by politics, but there it is in the air and not just on television or yard signs. People living there are very careful when speaking about politics (a big no-no), and a faux pas to mention in formal public setting conversations. And even informal ones.

Those ways trickled down to the suburbs where I spent most of my time. And early on in my work days, I would encounter other people’s egos all the time in management. I didn’t know what happened to that calm person from a few hours ago.

Today if I encounter those situations, I remove myself. Life’s too short. And that takes you steps away from getting the life you want.

Being under an ego spell, the other person doesn’t realize they’re engulfed by their ego at that moment (but they could if they chose to be more aware). They could choose the better thought channels.

But when it’s too late, they can appear like the Incredible Hulk compared to the normal person they usually are. Where did David go?

They act and say things that are off-base or aren’t how they usually react. You feel a huge disconnect as they try to rile you up with their words.

When you come back to that person later, the person remembers what or at least part of what you said and hopefully what they said. So that’s why it’s good to plant seeds when they’re unconscious. But just enough so you can get out alive, lol.

And often looking back, they’re sorry for what they said that no longer makes sense to them anymore why they struck a chord that way.

Were they just having a bad day? Did their medication not kick in? Or, does the person have split personalities?

Everyone, just blame it on what they ate (that’s not anti-inflammatory 😊), so you all can move on …and keep your ego at peace.

And as we’re only weeks away from the Holidays, I want to bring in the theme of peace as much as possible. That helps us stay calm and is just what the doctor ordered. 🍎

Marshmallow S'more Dessert Waffle Iron Brunch Recipes

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

flour
neutral oil
water
mini marshmallows
chocolate, chopped or mini morsels

Instructions

Make two same-size waffles in your waffle iron (about 3 minutes on medium heat).
On a plate, sandwich marshmallows and chocolate in between the two waffles while they are still hot. Use a plate to press down. Alternatively you can add the chocolates on top for a crunch.

Apple Cider Vinegar Cake – Coconut Oil

Apple cider vinegar cake is a dessert you can enjoy year-round that’s made gut healthy with ACV that is what inspired this bundt pan cake.

I hope you fall in love with this cake (like I did 😋) and enjoy the recipe that you can share with others!… even if you don’t share the cake with those around you. 🥮

If there’s something we can count on in this world, it’s a good apple that hasn’t changed since I was young. They fall from the apple trees.

And “A” is for apple or autumn and is a great start to fall Anti-inflammatory healthy breakfasts.

Adding apples to your diet is one powerful way…the apple skin is full of prebiotic fiber that’s good to eat if you choose organic apples that are not chemical pesticide-sprayed. 🍎🍏

The apple insides are loaded with various healthy compounds like pectin, quercetin, anthocyanins, epicatechin, and flavanols so they’re an anti-inflammatory super food, and are included in this 200 anti-inflammatory food list.

Mixing up green and red apples give slightly different polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory good for the body.

Apples are also a good alternate cleaning “toothbrush” to have with you when you don’t have your tube and brush on you.

Growing up, Red Delicious apples were the ones I knew. And of those, some were softer or had soft bruised spots.

And it was my job at the grocery store to pick out and bag the firm ones. I felt special being the Apple Whisperer in my family. 😊

These days, Gala apples are pretty common too and Pink Ladys, which used to be less common.

You can’t go wrong. All apples have Vitamin C antioxidant goodness to help protect against free radicals in the cells. And we can never be too young or protective against cancer cells from growing.

An since this apple cake has added apple cider vinegar, it’s a very healthy cake.

That’s usually an oxymoron.

But this cake IS healthy and can be part of the way you start your day at breakfast… while being deliciously tasty too!

You can look forward to pairing apple cake with a fall pumpkin coffee if that’s your jam ☕️🎃

You can also substitute apples with pears that has a similar crunch and sweetness to apples.

They are part of the same Pome fruit family that apples come from with a core and small seeds.

Easy Fall Bundt Apple Cake with Coconut Oil

These recipe steps will fill about half a bundt pan ring like the one shown here. National Bundt Cake Day is November 15 and that’s actually a good time to bring out this autumn dessert all will fall in love with! 😍

If you want a full bundt pan (and not just a ring), then double the batter size so it fills up closer to the top.

-3 cups all-purpose flour or a combination of your favorite flours (whole wheat, buttermilk, or gluten-free flour)

-Cinnamon

-Kosher Salt

-1 cup liquid (you may not need all the liquid and then you can make a beverage drink, like I did).

You can use apple juice, apple cider, or lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar for an acidic taste boost…

¾ cup applesauce

¾ cup coconut oil (you can melt in a bain marie, and you can use less for less fat in the cake).

Bain marie: put solid coconut oil into a smaller bowl and place inside a larger bowl and then pour hot water into the larger bowl. This works well with mugs and ceramic bowls (that can handle heat like microwaveable bowls)..

3 large eggs, room temperature

Use coconut oil to prepare and coat the bundt pan and then coat with flour (or cocoa powder) and tap out the excess, so the bundt cake comes out more easily. Alternatively you can use other oils.

Add apple juice liquid (about half to start) to the wet ingredients (applesauce/eggs). Then blend in the wet to dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon and any spices, and salt).

Mix with a spoon. It will be a soft, moist (but not liquid-y) batter. That’s why I would use a spoon and not a whisk for easy cleaning without clinging batter.

And then gently mix in leavening agents (1-1/2 tsp baking powder plus ½ tsp baking soda).

Spread in a bundt pan. I use an offset spatula to even out. You can also use a knife and/or tap down the bundt pan on a table for leveling the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Apple cider vinegar cake cooling in a bundt pan. — Voila! Baked 🍎🥮

You’re looking at the bottom of the cake in the bundt pan. And you’ll know it’s finished when you can pull out a clean toothpick tester.

After the bundt pan cools for about 10-15 minutes, then remove it from the pan.

You don’t want to remove it while it’s piping hot warm, or else the apple cake can easily break.

After the cake is out of the bundt pan and is fully cooled (you can refrigerate covering it with the bundt pan so it doesn’t dry out).

Then cooled, you can glaze. You can lean into the coconut flavors and melt chocolate coconut oil in a bain marie until you get the right consistency.

For a thicker glaze, use more chocolate to coconut oil ratio. It’s your creative bundt!

…And sooo shareable as you get even slices with the classic fluted bundt pan.

…Looks like a FESTIVE holiday wreath. 🎉

…Ready to make this apple cider vinegar cake that keeps the doctor away?

Easy Apple Cider Cake - Coconut Oil

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour or a combination of your favorite flours (whole wheat, buttermilk, or gluten-free flour)
cinnamon to taste and pinch of salt
1 cup apple juice or apple cider (and combo with apple cider vinegar with total 1 cup liquid)
3/4 cup applesauce
3 large eggs
3/4 cup coconut oil
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt (kosher salt suggested)
cardamom spice (optional)

Instructions

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Tip: mix with a spoon. It will be a soft, moist (but not liquid-y) batter. Also, mix coconut oil with apple sauce for easy moist mixing.
Tip: Prepare bundt pan with coconut oil and lightly dust with flour to prevent sticking. Tip: use a tea infuser for even, light dusting.
Pour cake batter into cake pan.
Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes (or until a long toothpick comes out clean).
Tip: Take out cake after cooled (so it doesn't collapse or break on you).

Notes

Baking Tool For Easy Baking in America Beginners

Baking tool use is essential for every home baker for easy and enjoyable baking.

Last time I provided a few healthy baker tips with a ‘lil Bake Off show laughter.

And in that spirit, this week I’m sharing about an American baking tool that I love, that has been tested over the course of baking time.

Keeping them around has sentimental value. Some tools can last a lifetime and are especially worth investing in!… 😀

And some lives last over a century, like Centenarian lives in Blue Zone regions, such as Sardinia where they make weekly sourdough and the starter is passed down from generations.

Some of the greatest baking finds are not new ideas, and get better over time.

That’s the scrapbooker memory keeper in me. And the baker …I’m a long-time Martha fan admirer for all the baking and home making skills she brought to the table.

This was a photo of me sitting in her TV audience back when her Martha show aired. She looks almost exactly the same… and now I’m dating myself. 😊

Which btw, did you also hear about Martha Stewart’s Great American Tag Sale? If you’re into antiquing and knick knacks, her team setup great big giant tents of original stuff from her homes and collections so others could enjoy while she’s still busy working in her gardens.

… I would have loved to have picked through all that cookware and home decor, and maybe have picked up a cute Grandmillennial mint vase or even her butter knife she uses 😉.

But oh well, next time…

Speaking of big white tents, they aren’t just in America. We can watch The Great British Bake Off aired as The Great American Baking Show.

I had my own bake-off time this week for a chilled dessert good for brunch or any low-sugar break time you have a sweet craving.

Low-Sugar Meringue Dessert Squares. Recipe below. 🧡

Favorite American Baking Tool

Here’s what I do on baking day (or baking game day) that for me is weekends.

I start out by pulling out my baking tools in the morning. If there’s a crusty trace of ingredient love from my last baking, I like to take a pick and do a little grooming.

That’s meditation time spent in the kitchen.

Some pans are meant to be better over baking time like stoneware. The more worn, the better the bake taste. And some tools need a little TLC (tender loving crusty bit cleaning).

One is my favorite baking tool that you likely have in your stash. It’s the thick Pyrex measuring glass that many American kitchens have.

It’s great for one-bowl bakes for one person bites or when you have a sweet hankering. Like a giant healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that you can take a bite out of for breakfast.

I used to eat the DoubleTree cookie kind when I worked in catering management there that led to my passion purpose. 🍪 Back when comparing grocery cookies was something I would do.

The measuring glass baking tool has proven its usefulness many times over. It’s labelled for conversions from mL, to ounces and cups.

It’s useful for measuring liquids in bakes. That includes oils for less spills and more thrills.

If you’re thinking of investing in this kitchen tool if you don’t already have one, don’t get the plastic version… get the real deal.

It will stand the test of time.

Glass is eco-friendly, great for heat, dishwashers, and easy cleaning.

Glass is also breakable but the glass Pyrex is durable and thick and can sometimes survive falls to the kitchen floor.

Quality ware is part of the hand-me-down-culture that you don’t want to discredit.

A good Pyrex glass pan makes a good hand me down and a Bundt pan is always a great gift to a new baker.

Baking Organization

Early in my baking years, I didn’t bake often enough to practice good baking habits and organization. There was no method to the madness!

Habits and practice help for easy bakes when you don’t wanna think too much about what you’re making. You want to enjoy your music or what’s going on in the background.

And the Pyrex measuring cup can help you with this.

My Pyrex faux pas (lesson learned) early on was that I was using the measuring glass all wrong.

I used it for measuring baking ounces.

Baking recipes these days are usually in cups, grams, mL and/or teaspoons depending on the recipe (if you’re using one).

I used ounces because I first learned to read in ounces that’s still commonly found in traditional American cookbooks like the red and white tablecloth cover Better Homes New Cookbook.

So… often I was looking at the ounces and wrong measuring line and doing manual conversions in my head.

In baking, that can be a disaster and result in a bake that gets “well, at least it tastes good!” There’s a fine line difference between a creative and tasty bake and well-done bake.

I’m never looking for perfection, leaving that to the baking shows.

Home baking is for relaxation and enjoying, and that includes the sweet bake that comes out of the oven for enjoyment.

And if that’s your goal and desire, using one measuring language is easiest and you can do that with tools like the Pyrex.

Plus, teaspoons are also useful.

3 teaspoons equal a tablespoon.

Smaller teaspoons are easier to use for baking soda if you use the box kind with the small opening or want to use for a pinch of salt..

A Pyrex measuring cup isn’t good for those small measurements.

And then when you’re ready to bake, you can try this easy one that was baked in a Pyrex glass baking pan where you can see the sides.

Greek Yogurt Meringue Dessert Squares - Healthy Low-Sugar

This is a low-sugar dessert treat good for brunch as it has egg whites, Greek yogurt, and ricotta. It has a chewy light and spongy texture that's great served chilled or cool.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup Greek yogurt (whole milk)
1 cup ricotta cheese
black cocoa
3 eggs

Instructions

Separate eggs. Tip: It's easier to separate eggs when they're cold and then let them sit until room temperature.
Combine yogurt, cheese, and egg yolks by hand.
Mix egg whites for about 5-7 minutes until whipped up. Optional: a few teaspoons of monkfruit or fine sugar. Depending on your baking pan/vessel size, you will have extra and can make meringue cookies with the extra.
In your baking pan, add a layer of black cocoa (or regular cocoa will work).
Add your yogurt dairy mixture layer.
Add your egg whites and spread out evenly on top of the dairy layer.
Bake on 325°F until set or the meringue is not too soft and sides may start browning.
Let cool and serve chilled. This can be paired with ice cream.

Healthy Baker – 13 Tips and Laughter from British Bake Off

Healthy baker recipes can be inspired by shows like The Great British Bake Off. And I share a healthy phyllo dough recipe for baklava below. Yes, you can make your own and have fun! 🤩

It’s no secret that 1) I’m a healthy baker, so I wanted to share some of my tips this week below. And 2) I’m a huge fan of The Great British Bake Off (or Baking Show). I’m loving this season’s debut and I especially love the baker’s use of unusual flavors and creative designs shown off under the big white tent so far.

It’s always fun to laugh along at Noel’s unicorn jokes and rainbow outfits. And to hear the judges pronouncing oregano like origami (I’ll never look at my spices the same again 😁)… or calling tacos like calling a taxi (…wait a New York minute, how did corn flour tortillas get in this past week’s technical challenge?)

Both are a sign that popular international foods and ingredients are making their rounds besides in tortillas. Plus, fruit shortages and inflation have us creatively sourcing foods and collaborating, which are helping to save our planet.

And being able to make your own anything anywhere is helpful, so you don’t feel helpless and rely on the world to produce. Thinking like a creative baker (or cook) is a helpful skill these days.

…And blends well with an anti-inflammatory diet full of healthy food ingredient variety, where you can lean into seasonal plant-based foods spanning the globe.

I look for international food sources that are everywhere and cropping up in leaps and bounds. Daily, the Earth is revolving AND evolving its own sustainable foods that we can appreciate especially in local gardening or farmer markets. So, be expectant for food births of new kinds 🍓

And actually… I picked up my own local international flavor combinations with fresh blackberries, and chokeberry-prune purees, as I work my way into fall (… both my feet aren’t into the pumpkin season just yet 🎃).

I did get some blackberries squirted in my eye… but luckily no black eyes, as that would make it a challenge to make this week’s cinnaroll full of Ceylon and cassia cinnamon for anti-inflammatory sweetness 😊

Fall fruit plate (kiwi, blackberries, and apples) with Ceylon cinnamon rolls

…When I was growing up, kiwifruit was considered an exotic fruit that today is as common as year-round pineapple juices.

And when I come across 2 sticks of butter or a cup of sugar in a cookie or pastry recipe, it reminds me of my younger years. These days, I tend to steer away (…as growing up will do that to you!) and find healthy substitutes for both mind and body.

I’m a sugar lover by nature (most of us Vatas are) and I remember when I was a child and I would reach into the sugar jar (for baking of course!) and help myself to a few daily teaspoons of refined sugar. That set me on the path to an adult sweet tooth where I needed daily sweets to keep me going…

Despite sugar making more than just news feeds… the fact is that it’s also feeding the bad bugs in the gut.😏

And individually we all get body warnings from our skin and health symptoms. Everyone is different. So, for me, I can enjoy a couple of Twizzlers and be better off than a few squares of chocolate. God put the Twizzler makers on the earth for a reason 😉

And for you, it could be something else. And certain fruits or ingredients can throw others off. It’s good to be discerning and a little picky this way.

If you want to know what your body is trying to tell you through its daily symptoms, take the minute-and-a-half Body Balance Quiz and then take it again next season and compare the result.

So now that we got the body squared away, here are my healthy good-mood baking tips this week from me, the healthy baker…

First of all, some of us are messy bakers that can be part of the fun, and others of us are neat bench bakers. Whatever you think you are, it’s all good! 👍

I tend to be a planner and a neat healthy baker cleaning up as I go, so my tips come from that POV and can help you if you want to lean more into that.

Either way, you can still bake up a storm and change your bakes at the last minute. Why? For creativity, and for the purpose of using baking to relax. …That can be a new reason to bake!

Oh, aannd if you’re a baking show addict, I’ve added some highlighted inspo from the Great British Bake Off… and hope I don’t come across too cheeky! 😉

So here we go!

Baking Prep Inspo Tips:

1. Read your recipe and know the ingredients you need before the baking day so you know what you need to get from the store at least a day ahead.

2. Prepare what you will bake in the morning and then bake later in the day. Healthy baker or not, often doughs need time to rest or rise (…sounds a lot like us peeps).

And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten to take the eggs out early enough so they warm up. And if eggs are your way of giving a shine to your bakes, that’s critical because egg whites and yolks mix together better at room temperature.

3. And if you pull out your tools that you’ll need, early in the day, you can rinse off and allow enough time to dry out, so you don’t have to do drying, prepping, and baking together which can feel like a real chore and take the fun out of baking.

And especially if you need to concentrate on counting your layers for lamination and making sure there’s not a drop of moisture that can affect your temperamental meringues.

4. Bring out a convenient bowl or plate for all your used baking tools and baking trash so you don’t have to think so much. Ah, baking can be relaxing (when it’s not in the tent)!

5. Keep a damp towel or a few moist paper towels nearby so you can use them whenever you need to wipe your hands or any fun spills… or when you need to reach for your phone or swipe to your recipe.

6. Read your recipe a second time and then mark the dry ingredients and wet ingredients and write any notes you have. Then pull out the ingredients for baking.

…OR, If you’re not using a recipe, jot down what you need for your bake vision, and bring out the visual ingredients. Visual is also good for illusion bakes that the GBBO contestants often have to whip out! 🪄

When you’re using healthy baker ingredients, you especially want to use the most useful tool you have… your pair of eyes 👀 as a double check. Is the dough or batter too thick, thin or moist, or what do you need to add? If you use gluten-free flours they tend to collapse easily.

7. For many sweet or bread bakes, I like to add the flour first to see how much water, other liquid, or moist ingredients are needed.

After the dry and wet, I add leavening agents last to optimize rise if it’s a cake or bread. Plus then you are less likely to forget, as now that’s Step 3 (e.g. dry, wet, and then leavening agent). That’s just the way this healthy baker found works best for “experimental” bakes.

Baking doesn’t always go as planned in the oven and depending on the weather. Chemistry in the kitchen can be tricky.

8. While a whisk looks fancy and is one of my favorites (good chemistry there), it’s only good to use sometimes, as most of the time it’s not a good tool to use and is more of a hassle than its worth.

When to use a whisk: fluffing or whisking eggs, dry ingredients OR wet ingredients, but not both (like more flour than wet) that can make a sticky mess on your whisk. You can replace with a silverware spoon instead… or you’ll be spending time cleaning your whisk and risk a claggy bake (that Prue would point out and you wouldn’t want to inadvertently glue Paul’s mouth). 😁

9. For multi-layer cakes, weigh your flour in grams (instead of measuring cups if you can) and then you can help prevent uneven lopsided cakes. The Brits have it right and as GBBO Prue and Paul like to say at judgment time, “it’s a bit wonky.” 😉 …or “it’s on the lean” like a Leaning Tower of Pisa cake.

Oh and if it’s a Printzregententorte Cake that most of us can’t pronounce (and barely fits written on one line), you don’t want to leave each layer to chance.

If you’re not a GBBO watcher, that was one of Judge Prue’s technical challenges last season when Judge Paul counted all the missing layers. 🍰 Now you’re up to speed on the show. 📺

10. For recipes that have you separate dry and wet ingredients before mixing, it’s best to keep the salt away from the leavening agent (e.g. bicarbonate/baking soda, baking powder, or yeast). This can be easier to do if you follow tip# 7. Think of the flour as the soil and you want to add your other ingredients to different parts of the soil.

11. Clean your bowls and tools as you wait for your desserts to rest or bake. That way when you’re done, you reward yourself with your dessert like you’re a guest and not the dishwasher.

.12. Use your your oven light and timers to visually see and not forget. Depending on how much time you have (or how patient you are), low and slow can prevent soggy bottoms (that I don’t need to mention are a big no-no in the tent).

13. I like to use long toothpicks to test baked doneness, but like Prue pointed out in one past episode, you could run into a piece of fruit and be deceived. My alternate way to test is to add a sample-size bake appetizer on a (or the) baking tray. And if the sampler isn’t done, then you know the prized bake is not likely to be either.

So… that’s a wrap or the end of the cling film for this healthy baker this week (…sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

I’ll stick to my job of cheering the contestants on! 🎉

And if you want to learn to make your own phyllo dough that was laughed in one GBBO episode, it’s more fun than a hassle.

homemade phyllo dough recipe. — The baklava phyllo dough is opaque like pantyhose but free of holes.

Easy Phyllo Dough For Baklava Dessert (Mediterranean Olive Oil Healthy)

Make phyllo dough from scratch! It's not as difficult as it sounds... and dare I say fun!

Course Dessert

Cuisine lebanese

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
honey
chopped nuts
dates, orange, and cinnamon (optional)
additional bench flour (to prevent sticking)

Instructions

Making phyllo is a lot like making homemade pasta, but much thinner.
Make a mound and a hole in the middlle where you can add the olive oil and slowly add water. Knead for about 5 minutes and then form a dough disc. Let rest.
Roll out as thin as possible and then you can slip into the pasta maker if you have one, adjusting until you get to the thinnest setting (e.g. 1). It will look opaque but the hope is that there will be no holes.
Cut into strips that you will use as layers for the baklava.
For the baklava, you can brush honey and top with chopped dates and nuts (walnuts or pistachios work well) on every other layer if you make 7 layers ending with the top layer with honey and nuts. Sprinkle each layer with cinnamon and orange zest if you like (good for Ayurvedic Vata balancing!).