Palate.
Pal-et is defined as a person's appreciation of taste and flavor, especially when sophisticated and discriminating.
As a kid, my palate was definitely NOT sophisticated, but it was pretty discriminating, especially against the green variety of food.
Can't we all just get along?...signed, peas.
My kids are very similar, especially Natalie. If she sees anything green, she runs for the proverbial hills. She will, however, consume liquified greens, so there's that.
We've actually been having a tough time with Natalie, my youngest, lately. She only wants to eat things that are either sweet and/or crunchy, and though I'm all for fruit and toast, I think a dab of protein and veggies here and there will do her well in the long run. I know many adhere to the popular 'listen to your body' type of eating, but if I personally did that, I'd be stuffing my face with sweet stuff (albeit, healthy) all day long. Not so good.
For me, it's important that I'm really conscious and aware of what's going into my mouth, fat, carbs, and particularly sugar included! Even though I could be eating 'healthy' foods, my personal constitution would be a large lump on the couch if all of my calories came from fruit and high carb foods, and my digestion is a-hurtin' if I eat too much fat. Womp, womp.
In light of the manic toast situation around here, I really wanted to create a festive bread that was 1) gingerbread in taste, given all the benefits and flavor from the accompanying spices, 2) made primarily from coconut flour, which agrees with everyone in our casa, and 3) a good decent source of protein for the kiddies.
My personal palate has grown exponentially over my life, particularly in the last five years.
I've grown to love and appreciate foods I thought I'd never touch, one of which just happens to be gingerbread, so I'm ecstatic to have a healthier, lower sugar recipe to follow, and I hope you are too!
Gluten-Free Gingerbread
Ingredients
- ½ c. coconut flour see Notes
- 6 T. buckwheat flour see Notes
- ¼ t. sea salt
- ¼ t. baking soda
- ½ t. baking powder
- 1 ½ t. ginger dried
- ¾ t. cinnamon
- ¼ t. cloves
- 2 eggs
- ½ c. applesauce
- ½ c. dairy-free milk
- ¼ c. coconut oil
- 1 T. honey
- 2 T. molasses
- stevia to taste, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix the dry ingredients together (flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, spices). Try to eliminate any lumps by using a whisk.
- Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Mix everything together until well combined (batter will be very thick!).
- Pour the batter into a well-oiled 8 x 8 baking dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Cool and cut into squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Notes:
Coconut flours vary in absorbency, so for your information, this is the brand I use.
For the buckwheat flour, I grind raw buckwheat groats in my coffee grinder. This yields a much milder, better tasting (in my opinion) end product. I use these buckwheat groats for this.
Add in stevia to taste if you desire a sweeter bread (I usually add in a couple dashes of this brand).
Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!
For those of you in the Tucson area, I'll be on Tucson Morning Blend sharing my No-Roll Pie Crust on Wednesday, November 25 at 11am, MST. Thanks for your support!
Gina
I made this tonight and it's outstanding. Thank you for offering your recipe. Great combo of coconut flour and buckwheat. Good hit of ginger too. Impressed.
Lauren
Thanks Gina, I'm glad you liked them!
cel
google kevin at 'high energy parenting' or check him out on fb....his kids eat a raw vegan/high fruit/carb diet! we only need 10% of our cals to come from protein! your children are smart to reach for fruit 😉
Bethany
These look good!
Suzanne Holt
Wholesome and gingerbread do not often go together. Thanks for developing a recipe that does just that!
Sammi @ Grounded & Surrounded
I am SO excited to make this!!! I know we will all love it ):):) Happy holidays!