My own journey to health and healthy-living began well before I became a mom. But now that I've got two little ones at home to nurture and care for, my motivation to keep them, my husband, and myself healthy is even stronger. But it's hard to rely on good intentions, and many of us can feel overwhelmed by the multitude of sources at our disposal, not to mention conflicting information about what is or isn't healthy. That's where Baby Bakes comes in! Baby Bakes is my attempt to clear away some of that clutter when it comes to nutrition and healthy eating, providing research-based information on nutrition while also documenting my own forays into the kitchen, providing you with tried-and-true recipes for delicious and nutritious toddler-friendly baking and family meals.
When I first met my husband, Mr. Marc, as I'll call him, I thought I was pretty healthy, but Marc took it a whole new level. Not only did he know a lot about health and nutrition, he had amazing self-control when it came to healthy eating and resisting sugar - something I envied greatly and still can't measure up to today! His diet was virtually sugar-free. He preferred to eat gluten-free foods where possible. He didn't drink coffee at all, but instead drank about a litre of green tea daily, which he swore by for its health benefits. His guilty pleasure: dark chocolate - the darker the better! His snack of choice: plain, unsalted popcorn. His favourite treat at Tim Hortons: Old Fashioned Plain Timbits (which he constantly got teased about as it's about as boring as it gets for a cheat treat!).
So needless to say, I was in awe, but also a bit intimidated, by his dietary choices. As for me, I tried to eat healthy. I sprinkled chia seeds on whatever I could, I ate whole-grain bread, I loved salad, but I also had a bit of a sweet tooth and gave in way to easily to those sugary cravings I would have. I was working as a Grade 1 teacher at the time, a busy job to be sure, and one of my favourite hobbies (and stress-relievers) was to bake. My baking was pretty traditional: muffins, cookies, cakes, you name it, usually to share or as snacks for my lunches, usually with the typical ingredients: sugar, all-purpose flour, etc. So when Marc came along, I found myself challenged to adapt my baking and find healthier recipes or healthier alternatives, otherwise he wouldn't really eat it (or eat much of it!).
And so I did! I scoured the internet for "healthy" baking recipes, began swapping out refined sugar for alternatives like honey, maple syrup, or cane sugar, began using whole-wheat flour instead or white all-purpose flour, experimented with healthy add-ins like flax seeds, hemp hearts, chia seeds, and oat fibre to name a few, and subbed coconut oil for vegetable oil.
I had a classic banana muffin recipe that was passed down to me from my mom - a staple in my baking and a great snack, and I began experimenting with this recipe, adjusting and reworking it every time I made the recipe, figuring out what worked, and what didn't, what was needed, and what could be replaced with a healthier alternative. This was pretty intimidating for me at first! I've always been pretty open to experimenting with cooking, but baking is more like chemistry to me, certain balances need to be met in order for your recipe to not be a flop (sometimes literally!). So after years of experimenting, this adapted recipe is the first one I'll be sharing on the blog! It's simple to make, delicious, and packed with wholesome ingredients. My toddler son, J-man, loves these as snack so I often make them in mini-muffin for him. I think they're pretty darn good, but as a disclaimer - it's still being adapted! After all, I think that's what life is about, constantly evaluating and reevaluating, searching for the best, and improving at every opportunity. So here it is! Enjoy, and let me know what you think! Happy Baking!
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