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| My Sweet Buddy |
By: Cynthia Litman
Pearl of the Post: Sweet Delights
Can you have your cake and eat it too?
This was the main question I wanted answered on a recent invited visit to celebrity Cake Boss Buddy Valastro's Lackawanna Cake Factory and Filming Studio.
It seems the world is in sugar shock. The FDA now recommends that adults to consume no more than 50 grams of sugar per day.
The holistic community, including, my friend/holistic health coach Melissa Halpern has been saying, "Down With Sugar!", for years. The holistic community has already adapted alternative sweeteners into their repertoire.
The rest of the world and the multi-million dollar sugar market is playing catch up and scrambling to keep their market share up while maintaining brand integrity.
In my humble opinion, there will never be anything to fully replace good old fashion white sugar cane. Nevertheless, there is a high market demand for the next best sweet thing. Especially among the health conscious, diabetics and those on low glycemic diets.
When there's a demand there will be products competing to fill the craving such as, Stevia, Splenda, Agave, Coconut Sugar, the new buzzed about monk fruit sugar and more.
Do you trust the devil you know or give the blind date a shot?
Personally, I'm skittish, suspicious of new things and leery of artificial sweeteners.
So I met with the cake boss himself to get the skinny on Whole Earth, a new line of alternative sugar products that blend the "natural" sugars hitting the market via Amazon. Buddy was just announced as their brand ambassador.
The Whole Earth product line promises to fill the sugar gap without sacrificing taste.
Buddy baked us a cake utilizing the new Whole Earth line and it was delicious. But he's a pro. I'm a Mom Chef.
Buddy isn't exactly ready to give up sugar completely either. He believes in balance and moderation. He'll incorporate the Whole Earth products into some but not all of his yummy sweet goodies.
Touring his facility was a treat in and of itself. They run quite the operation sourcing to Carlos Bakery's, fulfilling cake orders and hosting baking classes.
At times I found myself wandering off from the group and following the wafts of sweet smells in the air.
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| Dough Boys |
Cake for days..... yum
Side note, I should never be left unattended anywhere near bakery items. It was heaven and hell at once.
I could look and wave to the dough boys but could only touch and sample the wide display of croissants and ginger bread men in the main room. His custard filled croissants (below) satiated my sweet tooth craving.
Buddy has an interesting story behind his American Dream.
He's very approachable. We chatted over gingerbread men baked with the Whole Earth baking blend which was a nice sneak peak of the holiday season. He shared how his father was a baker who died when Buddy was 17. Buddy left school to take over his father's bakery to make the bread for his family.
He's been on the path ever since.
The Cake Boss TV opportunity made him a household name. He's been in the Lackawanna Factory for 5 years and now has over 1500 people within his Cake Boss/Carlos Bakery empire.
He sometimes wishes he could just be a simple baker again yet is ever so grateful for his burgeoning empire.
I haven't had the motivation or opportunity to utilize the Whole Earth products yet at home. I'm waiting for the first bake sale of the year to give it a go with Buddy's recipes.
I'd love for my children to grow up with healthier options and habits. I remain curious to see how the mass market and products that utilize tons of sugar will embrace the new sweet consciousness.
Perhaps, sugar by any other name actually can taste as sweet.
Copyright © 2016 Cynthia Litman. All Rights Reserved.
#RethinkSweet
More Information:
Buddy Valastro and Carlo’s Bakery www.carlosbakery.com
Whole Earth Sweetener Co. LLC www.wholeearthsweetener.com
Disclosure: I was generously invited, fed sweets and provided transportation to meet Buddy Valastro and tour the facility during a press event. There was no compensation and this is not a sponsored post. All opinions are purely my own.