Substitutions

Ingredient Descriptions

Xantham Gum

is used in G-F baking as a way to create elasticity in the muffin, cookie, bread, etc. It is a natural derivative of corn.

Kombu

is a sea-vegetable, typically used in stews, soups, or grains. Kombu is low sodium, but adds a salty flavor to dishes.

Sorghum Flour

is highly nutritious and lends a subtle sweet flavor and smooth texture to baked goods. When I use it in baking, it typically accounts for about 20% of the flour in the muffin or scone.

Brown Rice Flour

is nutritious, and provides heart healthy fiber, when used in baking, I typically compliment brown rice flour with a “softer” flour like sorghum or tapioca so lessen the grainy quality brown rice flour can have when baked.

Tapioca Flour

is ground from cassava root, and is slightly higher on the glycemic index than the other gluten-free alternatives. Therefore, I typically use tapioca flour with sweet baked goods like cookies and cakes. Tapioca flour provides excellent texture in gluten-free baking.

Agave Nectar

is one of my favorite alternative to refined sugar, registering low on the glycemic index combined with the fact that you have to use less agave in a recipe than you would refined sugar makes this one of my super foods!

Matcha

is a powdered form of green tea from Japan. High in anti-oxidents (70x more than an orange!), beta carotene and its ability to increase metabolic rate by 35-40% in regular drinkers, I use matcha wherever I can! It tastes delicious as a hot or cold drink or used in baked goods.

Ghee

is clarified butter... When butter is heated, it separates and the milk solids rise to the surface. In clarified butter, the solids are taken off and what remains is clarified butter, or ghee, and is lactose free.

Coconut Oil

is oil pressed from coconuts. I use coconut oil in my baked good recipes because it has many beneficial nutritional properties and lends a light, flaky texture to the baked goods.

Stevia

is a natural, plant based sweetener. I do not use stevia in replace of sugar, it is much more potent than sugar and I have not found it to be a successful replacement. However, I use stevia to sweeten yogurt, smoothies, hot or cold teas, etc. Stevia does not register on the glycemic index so it is a beneficial replacement for those concerned with blood sugar.