Gina Fontana - The Beginners Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Baking: 60 Easy Plant-Based Desserts for Any Occasion

Revamping your diet and lifestyle can be hard and stressful. I get it. When I first started my journey nearly seven years ago, I felt lost, hopeless, frustrated and very sad that I had to give up many of my favorite foods. I found myself wallowing in self-pity, wishing I could eat this or that, sneaking foods that I knew would make me feel ill, only to be sent on a downward spiral. There just came a day when I was just so sick of being sick, and I knew I had to take control of it.

What needed to change first? I needed to change my mind-set. I began researching and learning and practicing in the kitchen. I spent more time reading labels at the grocery store, and I started including more fresh, whole foods in my diet as opposed to processed stuff that comes in boxes. Little by little, I started to crowd out the bad stuff and replace what I thought were my favorite foods with healthier alternatives that soon became the new foundation of my diet. And when I say diet, I dont mean the kind you try and seemingly fail atdiets dont work, friends. Its really all about lifestyle changes, both big and small, that enhance our quality of life so that we can be the best versions of ourselves and carry out the tasks that God created us for.

Savory foods were pretty easy. I got the hang of that relatively quickly. However, gluten-free, vegan baking is not only challenging at times, but it also might not compare to the way we used to enjoy our desserts. But because going gluten-free and vegan wasnt a choice for me, rather it was essential for my health, that held me accountable and kept pushing me forward. Today, I can say that I feel confident in my gluten-free, vegan dessert-making, and I find these recipes to be quite delicious and comparable to the real versions. I am just so grateful that there are other ways to indulge in my favorite sweet treats, and I am so incredibly excited to share these dessert recipes with you!

What have I learned most? If we keep an open mind, we keep experimenting. When we express gratitude for new ways of enjoying our faves, then anything baked with that kind of outlook will turn out great, even if it does take a few tries. Where theres a will, theres a wayand my carb-craving, sugar-loving sweet tooth wasnt ready to ditch desserts altogether, so here we are!

Im extremely grateful for my health and for this journey it has led me on, and I hope that you will love these recipes as much as my family and I do. If you make any of them, please dont forget to leave a comment on my blog, Healthy Little Vittles, or tag me on Instagram or Facebook, @HealthyLittleVittles. I truly do desire to help other people find ways of enjoying all kinds of culinary creations. I want to inspire people to indulge in a way that doesnt force the choice of their happiness over their health and vice versa, and to mindfully acknowledge the need to pursue food freedombecause your mental health matters too. We just have to find a way to indulge smarter and differently, and we can certainly do that together!

You are not alone, my friend. As food allergies and sensitivities are on the rise, I wanted to create a cookbook that allows families and friends to still come together and enjoy dessert, because I know all too well how it feels to be left out, wishing you could have a slice of that perfect birthday cake. Well now you can have your cake and eat it too! Whether you have food allergies yourself, want to thoughtfully include someone who does or simply seek healthier dessert alternatives, this is the book for you. I hope the way this book is organized by problem-solving scenarios will guide you toward success in your gluten-free, vegan baking excursions, as I have experienced all of these baking scenarios myself. My intention is that this book will prove to be one that gets you started, keeps you going and brings you happiness and comfort along the way.

Baking can be a challenging task, and if Im being 100 percent honest, I was not necessarily born to be a baker. Its not something that comes easily to me. Youd think because Im a very precise, detail-oriented person that baking would be my forte, but Im more of a throw-in-some-of-this, add-a-dash-of-that-and-see-what-happens kinda chef. Cut gluten out of the mix, quite literally, and you can imagine how intimidated I was when it came to making sweet treats for my blog, Healthy Little Vittles. I dared to take it a step further and added the vegan component to baking, and then there was a whole new mountain to climb. Ive certainly had my fair share (maybe more than fair) of failed recipes, but I kept practicing and experimenting with different ingredients until I finally felt like I cracked the code.

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR

Over the last five years or so, gluten-free flour has come a very long way. When I first started out on my journey, the pickings were slim; they were hard to find, and they werent all that great. I thought bakery items as I knew them were gone. Fast-forward to 2021. With the baking industry making some major strides (and me practicing and practicing), Im very happy to report that baked desserts are back on the table! I am so grateful for the different choices now! Yay! And the truth is, nothing will ever live up to the fluffy, tender texture that gluten-filled flours provide. After all, thats glutens number one job, but the good news is (and remember its partly your mind-set) you can come pretty darn close and still satisfy your dessert craving with gluten-free, vegan alternatives that dont leave you feeling bloated, sluggish and downright awful. That being said, Ive discovered that all gluten-free flours are not equal. So, I hope to shed some light and offer my advice on what I have found to be the recipe for success in your baking excursions.