As anyone who knows me can testify, I love me my carbs. I’m allergic to tons of different foods, but one of the few things I am not allergic to is gluten. Thank goodness for this, as most of my diet consists of tortillas, bread, crackers, chips, etc. So I’ve not been partaking in the recent gluten-free diet craze that has been sweeping the nation.
However, as much as we may make fun of people who are gluten-crazed for no good reason, there are many people with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, lactose intolerance or egg allergies who go through these struggles against their will. And for these people, it can be difficult for them to find good-tasting, convenient food that won’t give them an allergic reaction.
As someone with extensive food allergies, I was excited to hear that a company like Paleoful exists. Paleoful was founded by a woman in Salt Lake City, Utah, named Lauren Montalette. Lauren suffers from food allergies but is passionate about baking. When she ran into a wall with the items already on the market, she decided to create her own solution! Paleoful mixes are free of gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, preservatives and GMOs. So…what DO they have in them?
Well, the base of each mix is almond flour or sunflower seed flour, and you add vanilla extract, milk and oil to create the concoctions. I am sensitive to nuts and cannot eat nuts, or peanut butter, or sunflower seeds. So I was more than a little hesitant to try out the product. However, the products are so clean and natural that I was completely fine with the almond flour – meaning I could eat ALL the cookies myself! Muahaha.
I received a package of almond flour chocolate chip cookie mix to try out. It took me a while to make them, as milk is required and I am NOT a dairy person. I was also a little afraid of the nut flour.
But when I finally did sit down to make these cookies, it was an absolute breeze. I simply mixed together the baking mix, vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of milk and” cup of olive oil. (Paleoful recommends a lighter-tasting oil, but I LOVE olive oil).
Then, you form the dough into round balls, flatten them into patties, and drop them on the cookie sheet. As a tactile person that likes to touch squishy or weird-textured things, I had a blast making the cookies. Wayyyy more fun than breaking apart pre-cut squares like in Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough.
Then you simply bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes and they’re done! It’s literally as easy as that. The cookies made my entire apartment smell soooo good while they were baking, and I was drooling waiting for them to come out of the oven.
When they were done, I let them cool, plated them and took these mouth-watering photos. Then I dug in!
I was really impressed. To be honest, I have really low expectations for healthy food in general, as I have a fat tooth for sure. I also don’t have a sweet tooth, so I’m not big on cookies. However, these cookies didn’t taste too healthy and they’re not too sweet. The olive oil taste definitely came through, making the flavor rich and decadent (and my taste buds were pleased knowing I was eating something healthy). The different nuts and flour ingredients had an interesting, crumbly texture, somewhat reminiscent of a Nature Valley bar. The chocolate chips were sweet and delicious and didn’t taste fake at all. I was really stoked on my cookie!
After waiting a while to see if I had an allergic reaction to the almond flour (I didn’t), I dug into the rest of the cookies. I ended up eating them as dessert after meals, for snacks around the house and even for breakfast at work, as they are technically healthy and hearty.
I would definitely purchase and make these chocolate chip cookies again. However, I was sent this photo of the almond flour brownies and now I think I’m going to shift gears and make them my next baking project instead (drool).
To try out Paleoful for your own, visit http://paleoful.com/.
Already love Paleoful? You can support their Kickstarter HERE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/940949621/paleoful-paleo-friendly-vegan-gluten-free-baking-m
Contributing gets you a gift of free Paleoful products, Paleoful merchandise, complimentary bags or a Paleoful e-book.
Disclosure: I received a free package of Paleoful Chocolate Chip Cookie mix. However, all experiences and opinions are my own.