Clean baking, and clean eating in general, involves whole food and eliminates processed foods from your diet. There are many reasons you might embrace a clean eating diet, with some people doing it to feel healthier and more energized, while others turn to it to help manage food intolerances or chronic conditions.
Knowing how to start on your clean baking journey can be challenging. Many of the staples of baking are off the table when living a clean eating lifestyle, including dairy products, gluten and grains. Fortunately, there are a wealth of excellent alternatives to these staples that can make clean baking easier than you might think. It is important to note that clean eating can mean different things to different people, so you should not be afraid to make this diet your own.
Bake Fruit-Based Treats
Fruit and veg are staples of the clean eating diet, and these can translate excellently into clean baking. Strawberries, apples, citrus fruits and more can all be used to make delicious sweet treats. The natural sugars of fruit can also help reduce the amount of sweetener you need to add to the ingredients, making it a win-win.
It may help to do some research and start building up a list of recipes to try. This can help inspire you and ensure you always have something to bake when the mood takes you. You could also make a list of blogs and websites dedicated to collating and providing clean recipes for you to choose from.
Find Natural, Clean Sweeteners
One of the things you’ll have to give up when practicing a clean eating lifestyle is processed sugar. This means you’ll have to be creative when coming up with ways to sweeten a bake. Fortunately, there are a number of excellent clean sweeteners to choose from. Honey, maple syrup, stevia and coconut sugar can all be excellent options to sweeten up your baking. It is best to select sweeteners that are entirely natural to get the most out of your clean baking.
Bake Up Some Wheat Bread
Another thing you will have to give up when practicing clean eating is highly processed white bread. Wheat bread is a clean alternative and is made with wheat flour. Baking wheat bread at home is a great way to ensure that you’re getting the cleanest bread possible. While not essential, getting an at-home bread maker can be a fantastic way to make bread-making easier.
Choose Decadent Dessert Recipes
Living clean doesn’t mean you have to give up all your favorite, decadent desserts. Even delicious chocolate cakes can be made in keeping with a clean diet. For example, check out this sumptuous paleo chocolate cake from A Clean Bake. Baked using clean ingredients, this cake delivers the rich chocolatey goodness you expect from a chocolate cake.
Connect With Other Clean Bakers
Getting started with your clean diet can be challenging, but help is at hand. There are plenty of food bloggers and online communities that are there to offer support and advice. You could start by following one or two clean baking blogs and signing up to a clean eating community forum. This will give you access to countless clean recipes and allows you to talk to others who are further along on their clean baking journeys.
Get Advice From A Nutritionist
All diets come with good and bad, and some diets may not be suitable for all. It is crucial that you take steps to ensure that the diet you choose is right for you and will give you all that you need. A nutritionist or dietitian will be able to help you make the right choices and ensure that your new diet will benefit you.
Invest In The Right Baking Tools
There are a lot of tools that are essential for any baker to own. If you’ve never been much of a baker before, you will need to ensure you have all the right things to make your clean baking a success. You’ll need baking trays and pans, scales, mixing bowls, whisks, measuring cups and spoons, and baking paper, to name just a few.
Most recipes you come across will list the necessary tools so that you can ensure you have them before you begin. You could also consider things like electric whisks that can make the baking process even easier.
Stock Up On Clean Baking Ingredients
You should ensure that your pantry is stocked with all the clean baking ingredients you might need. This should include clean flour, oils, flavorings and baking soda. As mentioned above, you’ll also need clean sweetener. It is best to find high-quality clean ingredients that you can trust.
You should also consider where your ingredients come from and the impact they may have on the planet. While clean eating can have many health benefits for those that practice it, some popular clean ingredients can be harmful to the environment to produce. It is worth doing your research to find ethical, quality ingredients.
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
Tina F says
I have been trying to reduce how much processed foods we are eating. Over the past few years, I have increased baking from scratch. I really enjoy it. thanks for the tips