"Clean & Healthy" Sweets for the Paleo-Minded

Last month, just in time to inspire Christmas baking and treating, I visited the Montclair Culinary Academy on Valley Road, located in a 120-year-old house across from CVS, to talk to owner/chef Karan Fischer and Elizabeth Gabrielson, who makes paleo goodies--under the label VerdeSweet--in the professional kitchen there. 

I will be doing some writing for them. [*Please see below for what the Mayo Clinic says about going paleo.]

The women met when Elizabeth took one of the group cooking classes Karan offers at the lovingly restored home--now cooking school--originally built in 1899. 

And now the chef, who comes from Queens, New York, and the baker, who was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, have rolled out a line of treats that are 100 percent grain, gluten, soy, dairy and refined sugar free--and poised to please the sweet tooths among Montclair's leagues of healthy eaters.  

The goodies are sweetened with raw honey [I just bought this big tub from a local beekeeper in Passaic, says Elizabeth. He was my cabinetmaker and I hunted him down for his honey], pure maple syrup and coconut. 

So far, you can find the baked goods at Montclair Farms on Bloomfield Avenue, Joyist in Upper Montclair, and Cedar Bean's and the new Woodland Indoor Playground for drop-in play, both over the hill in Cedar Grove. Joyist recently pumped up its menu with lattes, cappuccinos and other hot organic coffee offerings made with a handpicked Java Love bean blend--and starting Tuesday, January 22, you can pair your luxe java with a VerdeSweet treat.

We talked and sipped coffee Karan brewed-- from Kimbo espresso beans from Italy [shhhh. she buys online from Espresso Zone]--and sampled the midnight-snack-worthy Chocolate Haystack Cookies Elizabeth had just perfected at home the night before with a little help from her taste tester--her son, age four. The Haystacks are flour-free, made with honey, eggs, cocoa powder, coconut and a pinch of salt--and oh, maybe a bit of espresso, which heightens the flavor of chocolate.

Karan's taste has been honed over decades. She worked in the film industry for 18 years, living in Los Angeles, writing and producing, and crossing paths with Reese Witherspoon, Whoopi Goldberg, "Sandy" Bullock (they took the same spin classes) and Dustin Hoffman. Then her work as a chef back on the East Coast took her to Daniel Boulud, Abigail Kirsch Catering and the homes of private clients.

She opened for business in Montclair in November 2017. Some of her tempting classes are even taught by my neighbor Colleen, a mom with a pastry chef toque in her past--and present. She taught private classes on the art of croissant making and also happened to win our annual block party bake-off last fall with adorable little Apple Pie Pops [buttery pastry pockets filled with fruit and balanced on lollipop sticks].

Paleo is very hot because people work out so much and are mindful of eating unrefined, nutritious food or have food sensitivities, but there's nothing around town that really offers paleo baked goods, says Karan. Most bakeries are full-sugar and use refined grains, and the gluten-free stuff doesn't taste so good. It's really only helpful to those with celiac disease. But now you can have your sweets.

The products are even soy-free because, as Elizabeth points out, Legumes are not a part of the paleo lifestyle.

Karan and Elizabeth were tinkering that weekday with a fudgy brownie made with high-quality unsweetened, artisanal Scharffen Berger baking chocolate, raw cacao powder, coconut oil, raw coconut sugar and local honey...the next morning, the devils in disguise [or dark angels, since paleo] were for sale at Montclair Farms. I drove right over and bought a single Espresso Chocolate Brownie for $5. I felt virtuous. And because I'm a Scharffen Berger snob, I didn't mind the price.

The sweets mavens plan to offer a website ordering option, but in the meanwhile, look for mini coconut loaves, brownies, cookies, savory protein breads, muffins (Karan calls them "super clean"), and chocolate and lemon madeleines. 

And what about some paleo ice cream to go with those clean brownies? The pair may have some pints ready to go by summer. They might even stir up a batch of CBD brownies soon. Follow their journey on Instagram:  @VerdeSweetpaleo.
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WHAT THE MAYO CLINIC SAYS

Paleo diet: What is it and why is it so popular?

Is the Paleo diet, an eating plan modeled on prehistoric human diets, right for modern humans?

By Mayo Clinic Staff

A paleo diet is a dietary plan based on foods similar to what might have been eaten during the Paleolithic era, which dates from approximately 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago.

A paleo diet typically includes lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds -- foods that in the past could be obtained by hunting and gathering. A paleo diet limits foods that became common when farming emerged about 10,000 years ago. These foods include dairy products, legumes and grains.

Other names for a paleo diet include Paleolithic diet, Stone Age diet, hunter-gatherer diet and caveman diet.

Purpose

The aim of a paleo diet is to return to a way of eating that's more like what early humans ate. The diet's reasoning is that the human body is genetically mismatched to the modern diet that emerged with farming practices -- an idea known as the discordance hypothesis.

Farming changed what people ate and established dairy, grains and legumes as additional staples in the human diet. This relatively late and rapid change in diet, according to the hypothesis, outpaced the body's ability to adapt. This mismatch is believed to be a contributing factor to the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and heart disease today.

Why you might follow a paleo diet

You might choose to follow a paleo diet because you:

• Want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight
• Want help planning meals

Details of a paleo diet

Recommendations vary among commercial paleo diets, and some diet plans have stricter guidelines than others. In general, paleo diets follow these guidelines.

What to eat

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Nuts and seeds
• Lean meats, especially grass-fed animals or wild game
• Fish, especially those rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, mackerel and albacore tuna
• Oils from fruits and nuts, such as olive oil or walnut oil

What to avoid

• Grains, such as wheat, oats and barley
• Legumes, such as beans, lentils, peanuts and peas
• Dairy products
• Refined sugar
• Salt
• Potatoes
• Highly processed foods in general

A typical day's menu

Here's a look at what you might eat during a typical day following a paleo diet:

• Breakfast. Broiled salmon and cantaloupe.
• Lunch. Broiled lean pork loin and salad (romaine, carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, walnuts and lemon juice dressing).
• Dinner. Lean beef sirloin tip roast, steamed broccoli, salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, onions, almonds and lemon juice dressing), and strawberries for dessert.
• Snacks. An orange, carrot sticks or celery sticks.

The diet also emphasizes drinking water and being physically active every day.

Results

A number of randomized clinical trials have compared the paleo diet to other eating plans, such as the Mediterranean Diet or the Diabetes Diet. Overall, these trials suggest that a paleo diet may provide some benefits when compared with diets of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy products. These benefits may include:

• More weight loss
• Improved glucose tolerance
• Better blood pressure control
• Lower triglycerides
• Better appetite management

However, longer trials with large groups of people randomly assigned to different diets are needed to understand the long-term, overall health benefits and possible risks of a paleo diet.