Let’s be honest, when I quit eating gluten years ago, I did feel that my options were shrinking: no more crusty breads or moist and fluffy cakes ever again? When it comes to food, I've been always been curious and rather adventurous, tasting the most exotic dishes when I travel. Well, French do eat snails and frog after all (gluten free yey!)
Fast forward to today and it makes me sad when someone says gluten free is a restricting and boring diet.
Because now I know that it’s actually one of the most delicious, diverse and nutritious cuisines.
1. Gluten free opens your culinary horizon
For many people 'free-from' sounds like you’re missing out on flavor, you'd be deprived from eating what you love or need to make daily compromises between delicious food and what feels good for you body.
The reason why such thoughts crosses your mind, is that our modern diet is dominated by a few industrialized crops, like wheat. To me, cutting out gluten was eye opening: wheat is everywhere, in bakes of course, but also in pasta, sauces, fried food or your regular coffee shop’s snacks.
The good news?
When you can’t rely on wheat, a whole new world of ingredients and flavours opens to you: quinoa, chickpea, buckwheat, sorghum, chia seeds, brown rice, coconut, teff, millet, fava bean - just to name a few.
From the moment you start eating gluten free, you rediscover plenty of natural healthy options that people around the world have been enjoying for thousands of years.
And while you include a more diverse set of foods on your plate, making your meals more interesting and nutritious, you also make your contribution to promote the biodiversity of the planet.
2. Gluten free means more wholesome food (and bakes)
Not all gluten free alternatives are healthy. Some are just as processed and filled with unhealthy ingredients as their gluten counterparts.
When you start reading labels and ingredients in search of gluten, you realize at the same time all the bad fats, sugars and additives on the list. That’s the way food manufacturers try to make up for taste, the lack of gluten and the low nutrition of the flours used. Have you ever grabbed a flour blend from the shelf, squeezed it, and heard a crunchy sound like a snowball? That tells most of the ingredients are starches and white flours, and it’s best to put it back to the shelf.
Gluten free is your chance to rethink what you eat, cut out processed foods and welcome to your plate nutrient-rich grains and seeds.
Gluten free is the starting point of your journey to live a healthier life, being mindful of what makes you feel good and aligned with your choices.
When it comes to baking, the amazing variety of gluten free flours is THE secret for bakes that indulge your taste buds and feel good to your body!
3. Gluten free simple, honest and joyful home baking
‘Simple’ and ‘joyful’ are probably not the first things you would associate with gluten free baking.
However, home baking is about simplifying: it’s the best way for you to know what goes into the bread or pastries you’re making and avoid a lot of nasties that come with processed food. When baking at home, who would add dextrose, deglutenized wheat starch, palm oil or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose to their dough?
Gluten free baking doesn’t really have to be complicated or very time-consuming. All you need are simple and balanced ingredients, an easy recipe and the confidence that you can do it (and yes, I believe everyone can bake, no matter their skills!).
Be mindful in the kitchen, and let touch, smell, sight, taste and sound guide you when we bake.
And everytime you need that little extra help to get there, just pick one of our baking mix, and invite pleasure and joie de vivre back into your baking moments!
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