Event: Healthier Sweet Treats Cooking Contest

Are you ready for some Healthier Sweet Treats?  Our New Concept Cooking Club 4th Quarter Contest and Final contest for this Series starts now………………….

Join us on Monday, October 24th at 5:30pm in the Forward Focus Medical Suite for “Everything You Wanted to Know About Healthier Sweet Treats”.  Contact Sheryl at sheryllgray@gmail.com by
Friday, October 21st to register.

Healthier Sweet Treats Cooking Contest

 
The American Heart Association (AHA) & the National Cancer Institute recommend that Americans drastically cut back on Added Sugar to reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease and the diabetes epidemic.   But, Added Sugar is critical in your cooking and baking.  It gives you that delicious deep browning in cookies and cakes and it balances salty and sour flavors.  It keeps breads and baked goods tender.  Most standard recipes use way too much sugar – The key is to reduce the amount of added sugars and replace them with natural sugars and other flavors to enhance the sweetness you expect in a treat.  Although, the final treat might not look or feel the same as one made with added sugar, they will still taste sweet and benefit your health.

Recipes must meet the following criteria for the Healthier Sweet Treat Cooking Contest:

  • Avoid any form of added sugars along with the healthy sounding sweeteners such as: Coconut Sugar, Honey, Brown sugar, Corn Syrup, Agave, Brown Rice Syrup, Maple Syrup. **Added Sugars are allowed when present in small amounts in products your recipe may call for.   Example - nut butters or dark chocolate chips.
  • Avoid Sugar Substitutes commonly known as: Splenda, NutraSweet, Saccharine, etc.…
  • Choose Healthier Sweeteners - Natural Sugars found in Fruits, Vegetables and Dairy. 

Or Sugar Alcohols (Erythritol), Stevia, Monk Fruit.

  • Spice it Up – Include one or more: cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, cloves, anise seed, nutmeg, etc.…
  • Try Extracts- almond, vanilla, orange, maple, lemon etc.…
  • Avoid Refined White Flours
  • Choose High Fiber Fours - Whole Wheat Flour or other flour from whole grains Almond flour, Coconut flour, Oat flour, Quinoa flour, Buckwheat flour etc.…
  • Limit Saturated Fats-Butter, whole milk products.
  • Choose Healthy Fats- Extra Virgen Olive oil,  Canola oil or  Avocado oil, nuts, seeds.

 
Timetable:
 
October 24: “Everything You Wanted to Know About Healthier Sweet Treats”
November 7:  4th Quarter Healthier Sweet Treat recipes due – Submit to Sheryl Gray at sheryllgray@gmail.com
November 9:  Sheryl confirms recipe eligibility
November 9 thru November 17: Prepare dishes
November 17: Deliver dishes to Forward Focus
November 18: Dish Tasting
November 21: Winners Announced
 

3rd Quarter Plant-Based Cooking Contest Winners are:

 
1st Place Winner:  Veggie Loaded Red Curry by Karen Schaner
2nd Place Winner: Chickpea Spinach Curry by Debbie LeVay
 
Thank you to all who participated in the 3rd Quarter Plant-Based Cooking Contest.  You will find these recipes along with all that were submitted in the Forward Focus Cookbook that will be available at the end of the year.