Sweet Freedom

I was so happy to find out that I won a copy of Ricki Heller’s Sweet Freedom recently (thank you This Dish is Veg).  It arrived right in the middle of an insane week where the dishwasher and the kitchen faucet both deciding it was time to stop working, quite spectacularly.  And my job was insane. In fact, my life felt pretty insane.

My antidote? I spent the week eating a lot of smoothies and reading Sweet Freedom when I had time for a break –  I love this book because, while it is very professional, thorough, and packed with great recipes and tips, it feels incredibly personal and warm, like Ricki’s blog, which I have been reading for years (ironically, since before she, or I, or our respective blogs, ever switched to gluten-free eating). Ricki provides a lot of really great information about how to cook with ingredients we may not always associate with baking (like chia seeds).

Sweet Freedom’s recipes are all wheat-free, refined-sugar-free, egg-free and dairy-free, and about a quarter of the recipes are also completely gluten-free.  It While I wish I could tell you I have already cooked my way through the book (like Kim at Cook It Allergy Free), instead, let me share the ones I am planning to make:

Walnut Cinnamon Rounds
Banana Oat Bars
Applesauce Spice Cookies
Raw Fig and Cherry Bars
Dark and Decadent Chocolate Pate
Pastry Cream (yes, it is gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free and refined-sugar-free)

There are also many spelt-based recipes I plan to convert to gluten-free, including the Mini Sweet Potato and Chocolate Chip Muffins (which I see Kim at Cook It Allergy Free successfully converted).  In fact, Ricki already converted the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Cookies from Sweet Freedom on her blog.

I love that the recipes focus on yummy unrefined natural sugars like maple syrup, brown rice syrup and agave.  I do plan to replace the sucanat used in recipes with coconut palm sugar.  All that said, I try to keep my sugar consumption low (yes, even the yummy unrefined natural sugars) and generally eat a low-glycemic diet (except for the occasional gnocchi extravaganza, though I am already scheming how to make those with sweet potatoes and lower the glycemic load), so while I will occasionally be splurging on Sweet Freedom goodies, I am so excited that Ricki has just come out with two a new dessert e-book that is specifically low-glycemic and gluten-free.

Update (based on Ricki’s comment below) I initially thought that the Anti-Candida Feast also came out this month, but it actually came out last year. I purchased it with Desserts Without Compromise and am loving both.

I purchased them both last week, and, along with Sweet Freedom, they will become oft-referenced and beloved cookbooks. Sweet Freedom can be purchased as either a hard copy or e-book.  See here for information. 

Thank you again to This Dish is Veg and Ricki.