Birthday ideas…
Email from a reader:
My son is turning two in just a couple weeks. We have moved to the whole foods lifestyle as a family now. I have no problem breaking the rules on occassion, the problem is that my son cannot handle white flour. It consitpates him beyond words, he got that honest from Momma!
So, I am looking for an alternative to the normal birthday cakes. We tried one some time back that was a store box mix, but from Whole Foods and made with whole wheat flour. It was aweful! It was likely rancid, which would account for the really strange taste. We are used to whole grains, but I am sure the less than fluffy cake was a shock to our taste buds.
I was thinking maybe I could even make a whole grain banana bread and figure out some type of frosting to put on it. Would anyone have a recipe that would fit the part? Or any other ideas???
Thanks,
Kari
Posted in: Relationships, Whole Food
I have found a lot of good recipes on vegweb.com for cakes and things, and I just healthify them the last little bit by using whole wheat flour, coconut oil or applesauce, and sucanat or turbinado. The cake is a bit heavier (and takes a little longer to cook), but it still tastes yummy. Here are some of the ones that have worked well for me (remember to “healthify” if you like):
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6686.0 – super moist chocolate cake- I used 6 Tbsp applesauce instead of the oil here and it worked great
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=12596.0 – pineapple upside down cake
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=27116.0 – zucchini brownies with frosting – this one has a great frosting recipe that could go well on a different cake
My friend Tammie also makes some healthy cakes that are on her blog – http://www.simplehealthytasty.blogspot.com – and they are really good too, I know she has a lemon sauce that she uses as frosting sometimes.
Nothing may come out as light and fluffy as regular cake, but after you get used to not eating it anymore, I have come to prefer the heavier taste of whole wheat flour and the regular tastes like fluff…
Good luck!
There’s a book at my library called “Sugar-Free Toddlers”. It doesn’t use artificial sweeteners, but usually uses fruit and things like that. The recipes also use fruit juice concentrates, and some people object to that. It has a recipe in it for birthday cake that looks pretty yummy to me.
http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Free-Toddlers-Recipes-Ratings-Store-Bought/dp/0913589578/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
The author advocates the use of dairy milk a lot. If you don’t use dairy milk it’s easy to substitute, we often do.
Have you tried any of the gluten-free mixes? They are quite tasty and much easier to digest. The Gluten Free Pantry has some yummy ones. Just google Gluten Free Pantry and go to their site and check them out : )
Kari, you could make Robyn’s Chocolate Beet Cake. It is to die for! I served it just recently as a birthday cake and everyone loved it. It’s made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil, eggs, chocolate powder so it is completely healthy.
Dear Kari, well done for converting to wholefoods! I make a chocolate cake with raw cocoa flour and wholemeal spelt flour and use the following ingredients for the frosting: raw cocoa flour, organic coconut oil and agave syrup. It is delicious and very suitable for a special occasion. Carmela
Hi Kari!
I might be breaking the rules here (if so, I apologize!) – but how about an ice-cream cake? Or, perhaps a store with a really good natural foods section might have an ice-cream alternative cake? I do love the idea of a really good whole grain carrot cake too. Or whole grain muffins with icing?
Also, just to add some other ideas to the mix (has nothing to do with flour): I have made a chocolate mousse kind of dessert that is pretty neat – whip up some silken tofu and add melted chocolate and then let it chill. Even my father in law didn’t know it wasn’t dairy based. 🙂 Just another dessert idea!
If I see any cool looking recipes I’ll share them. But I just wanted to throw out the idea of the ice cream cake before I forgot…
Cheers!
Kath
has anyone ever tried the beet cake gluten free-ied and/or without the egg (or an egg substitute?)
Pamela’s products are amazing! My son can’t have wheat and these are wheat free. The chocolate cake and the chocolate frosting are incredible!!!
Sounds like your little guy could have gluten intolerance, so you might try using almond flour go to http://elanaspantry.com/ or for a flourless cake try http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/ http://healthyindulgences.blogspot.com/ for cakes using black beans or white beans or http:// . I also use coconut flour for alot of my baking, but this can be a little trickier to use.
Betty Crocker has new gluten free mixes out and Pamela’ products are good too. But, like you, special occassions only should be the rule.
HOPE HE HAS A HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Sorry I somehow left out the address for the coconut flour. It’s http://tropicaltraditions.com/
I make this recipe all the time with whole wheat. I usually do half WW and Half white flour but I don’t see why it cannot be done all WWheat.
Ingredients:
2 cups WW flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ cup buttermilk or milk
2 eggs
1-1/2 cup mashed bananas
½ cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
½ cup chocolate chips (optional)
Preparation:
Mix dry ingredients first
Add the rest of ingredients
Bake at 350F for 45min- 1hr depending on the oven and type of pan. I use the pan with the whole in the middle. It cooks faster.
There is a wonderful Gluten-free blog with loads of recipes that you could use.
One of my favourites is the Chocolate Cake:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/german-chocolate-cake/
Another favourite is the Chocolate Chip Brownies:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/brownies/
I think either would be great for a birthday celebration.
I just purchased a recipe book written by the proprietor of Babycakes, a now famous vegan gluten-free bakery in New York. One look at the ingredients and you will see that everything is safe and healthy. I made the vanilla cupcakes which were a hit with the grown-ups but less so with the kids as they thought it not sweet eoungh (and that is easily fixed), but my kids are still transitioning so have don’t have the refined tastebuds of those eating more whole raw foods. Also I did not frost mine. It’s a great cook book for mostly raw/whole foodists to have around. Apparently Babycakes cupcakes were voted best in New York amongst a field of all types of cupcakes, not just vegan or gluten-free, so I think that says something about the texture and taste.
If you go the ice cream route Purely Decadent makes a really delicious coconut milk ice cream. You have to read the labels because they also make some ice creams out of soy. Just make sure it says made with coconut milk. It is really yummy, especially the chocolate one. You can definite buy several flavors and make a several layer ice cream cake. Good luck and happy birthday to your little one.
WOW!!! Thank you everyone for all the great ideas!!! I doubt I will have trouble figuring something out with all these great ideas.
We do use whole grains and whole wheat, but I just try not to give my little ones lots of products with flour. Even the whole wheat flour will constipate. We don’t do soy products either, since they tend to react the same with soy as they do with dairy…not good. So, the dairy ice cream cake is a no go. My kids love ice cream, but what it does to their bodies is not good, so I only give in once in a while to that temptation!
Thanks again, yall!
Kari