Ketogenic Baking Tips
If you are trying to cut sugar and carbs out of your life and want to know how to make the tastiest ketogenic dessert with ketogenic natural sweeteners without the bitter aftertaste or cooling effect in your mouth, I want to tell you my Ketogenic Baking Tips!
I’m sure some of you are thinking “Maria, why do you allow Ketogenic Natural Sweeteners and why don’t you just cut all sweets?” This question was asked from a doctor who spoke on the Low Carb Cruise when I was a presenter. When I asked him if he had kids he said yes, 5 year old twins. So I asked him if his kids eat ketogenic or low carb (which he was preaching about) and he said no, they basically eat the SAD (Standard American Diet). So I proceeded to tell him this:
There are a few reasons why I allow my clients and myself/family to have keto treats:
1. FOOD MARKETING TO MY KIDS
For one, I’m competing against a multi-trillion dollar food industry that markets products filled with food-dye, chemicals and sugar to my children. Providing cute Keto treats keep them happy. I also teach them how certain foods make them feel good, super smart and run fast;)
2. Second, we live in a society that celebrates with food!
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say…
Thanksgiving? I think of Pumpkin Pie.
How about the word Christmas? I think of Christmas cookies and Eggnog.
Valentine’s Day = Do you think Chocolate???
Birthdays = Do you think of Cake and Ice Cream???
Minnesota State Fair = Deep fried cheese curds, corn-dogs, deep fried Twinkies???
They all stem images of Food!
Even when our children learn to go on the potty as toddlers we reward them with food. My son, Micah, always asked for kale chips after he would go poopy on the potty. But still food was a reward. I hear it all the time from parents who are frustrated when their kids little league team has to get ice cream after every game. One of my clients sent me a picture of the giant bag of Skittles her type 1 diabetic second grader was given for getting 100 percent on her math test!
3. Third, it helped me stick to this lifestyle for over a decade!
Sure, if it were up to Craig I would make a bacon cake like this for my birthday instead of my Maple Bacon “Apple” Cake!
But I love a dessert. Having Keto options at home helps me say no to a slice of cake at a wedding. If I were to never let myself have a treat like keto ice cream (which I have some all the time) I wouldn’t be able to say no to sugary filled treats. I no longer feel deprived by allowing keto treats.
I love to bake and create beautiful food. It is enjoyable to me. I love being in the kitchen on a rainy day (if it is nice out I prefer to be on my bicycle or kayak!). I am not one to meditate on a mat with my eyes closed. I like to think of my baking and cooking time as mindful meditation. Do you like my Ketogenic Baking Tips so far?
There are some health-care clinics and counselors using cooking or baking as therapy tools for people suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental-health problems. Sounds crazy right? But it soothes my stress, builds self-esteem and helps my clients curb negative self-talk by focusing the mind on following a recipe.
TIPS ON MAKING THE TASTIEST KETO TREAT
To make the best tasting dessert I always blend 3 different natural sweeteners. For example if my recipe calls for 1 cup Swerve confectioners (which you can use either granular or confectioners but confectioners provides a smoother mouth-feel), I will use:
1 teaspoon stevia glycerite
10-15 drops liquid monk fruit/lo Han go.
Adding a pinch of salt will also increase sweetness since salt is a flavor enhancer.
So if you think that desserts using Swerve has too much of an after taste or cooling effect on your mouth I highly suggest trying baked goods and Keto ice cream this way.
The less Swerve/erythritol you use the less hard your ice cream will freeze. Sometimes the Divine taste of natural organic cream is tasty enough all you have to add is a teaspoon of stevia glycerite. Then your ice cream will not harden like a rock.
I don’t write recipes like this because it causes a lot of confusion for “newbies” when they first start Keto.
Taste before baking and adjust sweetness to your liking but know that some of the sweetness bakes off and won’t be as sweet.
Also slowly add natural sweetener to ice cream and adjust sweetness before churning or making into ice pops or push pops.
Ketogenic Baking Tips
Here is a chart to help when converting to coconut flour from other flours.
You know how some people with different brands of coconut flour can’t get recipes to work? Well this is what someone wrote.
“Its not so much the different types of flour but the weight of it. Different brands weigh differently(e.g. homemade coconut flour is not ground as smoothly as commercial so 1 cup homemade would have a different weight than 1 cup commercial). I’ve been using a measurement of 120g for 1 cup coconut flour and it works so much better now.”
TESTIMONY OF THE DAY
“Hey Maria – I know you get a lot of messages from a lot of clients – but I wanted to tell you about something exciting happening in my little cul de sac! I first started following your blog and purchasing your cook books in late 2012.
At that time, I’d been hospitalized several times for ulcerative colitis, weighed about 90 lbs, and had developed allergies to the medications commonly used to treat the auto-immune condition. I had been put on Remicade – which is a very strong biologic drug that suppresses the immune system – just to keep my body from destroying itself further. Well, long story short, I used food to heal myself. In the past three years, I’ve gone from being barely able to get out of bed, in and out of the hospital and having to take strong, cancer-causing drugs, to thriving, being able to run and lift weights and being off all dangerous medications! Believe it or not – that’s not the exciting part.
My family and neighbors have watched this transformation, and JUST THIS WEEK, two of them have approached me about what I eat and how it has helped heal me. I directed them to your site, and they each purchased several cook books (your husband actually sent one of them a book that was no longer available on amazon). They started their journey into healthy, ketogenic foods this morning. 
Just wanted to let you know – being healthy, and being excited about it – is contagious! Thanks for all your help through these three years. ” – Mica
I have always found cooking and especially baking relaxing as well as therapeutic (even if it leaves me with a sink of dirty dishes). When I started cooking for a ketogenic lifestyle, I thought I would have to give up baking and the baked goods that I loved. Thanks to your site and several of your books, that has not been the case. I have even been able to convince my carb/sugar loving husband that this lifestyle is healthy and delicious.
I don’t bake very often because I find satisfaction in the salty foods I already eat. 🙂
I have a curiosity as to if bone marrow juice would taste good sweetened…
Yes. That sounds interesting. In my 30 day Keto cleanse book coming out in December I have a bone broth ice lolly and bone broth fat bombs;)
Ooh this sounds good. Would love to try them both.
A new book? Awesome!
Thanks!
Great post. I loved all the information especially the ratio about the three sugars and how to prevent hardening of the icecream. My daughter is a foodie and I would love recipes that feature those three sugars. I personally would love more no churn icecream recipes that do not harden. Thank you so much for your insight. Monica
Thank you!
Can you please show your recipe for keto Chocolate candy bar?
http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/sugar-free-candy-bar/
Can you post the recipe for the Cinnamon Rolls in the picture at the front of this article?
http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/cinnabun-cookies/
This is an excellent post. I agree with you about baking being therapeutic. I love trying new recipes and find that being in the kitchen makes me happy. If I too tired or under stress I stay out of the kitchen because I want the good energy to go into my finished product!
I have seen keto/low carb sites that recommend not eating any sweets but I, like you, disagree. I think in the initial phases of adjusting to keto it might be a good idea to stick with the basics but long-term it would be too drastic for anyone to follow. I have also seen too many people jump right into processed, “low carb” tortillas, bake mixes with a lot of questionable ingredients, and yogurt with Splenda. I avoid all of those and stick to most of your recommendations.
By the way, I love your Quick and Easy Ketogenic Cookbook. My husband gave it to me for Mother’s Day.
“I am too tired”
Thanks!
What is this beautiful pie on the picture above’cooking is my therapy’?
It is bacon wrapped meatloaf. Recipe is in my book The Ketogenic Cookbook;)
I also love to cook/bake and it makes me glad.
Agree about that birthday cake of yours, Maria! It was awesomel and I was actually at a wedding the other day and passed by the wedding cupcakes and knew in my heart of hearts that I would much rather have that birthday cake of yours than those cupcakes.
I cannot wait for your new book to come out that is totally nut and dairy free! Thank you for all your good work~! You and craig *and the boys!) are appreciated!
Awe! Thanks!!!
I have had zero luck trying to make a decent Peanut Butter Cookie that anyone in my house will eat. It seems without the regular sugar they always turn out very dry and tasteless. I have tried the Swerve, recipe, the Brown Sugar Monk fruit recipe and I have even tried using the Sukrin Gold Syrup, and I have added more butter, but It seems without the sugar, they just don’t work. Any suggestions
Sorry. I would try yacon syrup.
Thanks! And I love the new website look! Your kids are great.
I appreciate you and all the fantastic work you do. Thanks again. Love your recipes!
You are so sweet!!!!
I wish erythritol/Swerve wouldn’t hurt my stomach! Everytime I try and use it my son and I get stomach pains and mine can be severe. 🙁
Maria, I have the same problem with Swerve as SG above. I use xylitol instead with none of those problems. I notice that you never use xylitol in your printed recipes, but acknowledge it as a natural sweetener in some of your cookbooks. Why would that be? Thank you for your help!
I explain in my books that it has more calories and is higher on glycemic index.
I have looked all over the place and seem to get conflicting thoughts on Swerve. Do I count the 5g of carbs per teaspoon? It seems like a lot for such a highly touted product. Not complaining… I just recently sent for it and love it blended with stevia! I just started Keto a week ago, so am pretty much in the middle of “Keto flu”, so not thinking very clearly. Just hoping you could help. PS- I have two of your cookbooks and I love them. I am so grateful.
You don’t count erythritol carbs.
Thank you! I write about it in those books😍
Thank you so much for the ice cream tip! I wanted to cut back on the sweetener anyway because it was too sharp, but I didn’t know it would also help the texture. 🙂
Could you supply a link for the brand of “liquid monk fruit/lo Han go” that you use? Also stevia glycerite brand? Thank you.
I added links above. 🙂
Thank you for your Keto treat recipes Maria. I was going without sugar for a long time but it was very difficult because sugar was my weakness! Now I can have treats since I found your wonderful recipes and my local health food store (Simple Abundance) started carrying Swerve! Thank you so much! : )
Thanks!
Hello Maria! New…bonafide rabid fan of your blog and Keto wisdom. I’m in France…and wonder if Truvia might be the same type of product as Swerve for baking? I believe it is a combination of erythritol and xylitol? I appreciate your continuous research into the science of Keto…for the non-scientists among us. Your passion is addictive! Thank you from across the pond !