nonglutinous grain flours (like brown rice millet amaranth and teff flour) This also makes the recipes perfect

for people with a gluten intolerance where grains with gliadin should be avoided Often to provide extra binding

due to the lack of glutinous grains the recipes will call for the addition of finely ground tapioca (tapioca flour

see "Glossary of Ingredients" for more information) and/or ground nuts or seeds such as flax seed sesame seeds or

almond meal This gives the dessert a more diverse/complete nutritional profile which provides more energy to

the body while maintaining a traditional form taste and texture

RECIPES WITH GLUTEN

In general unless otherwise noted all the recipes in this cookbook are glutenfree Only in special cases will a

recipe have the first alternative of the ingredient be one with gluten (eg wholegrain wheat pastry flour or spelt

flour) and only when no other alternative was available (eg making yeasted pastry dough is difficult without a

glutinous flour) Recipes that contain gluten will be noted as such so people who are strict about needing or

wanting to avoid gluten can skip these recipes

Often recipes will give an alternative to the nongluten flour(s) for cooks who do not want to have to buy these

nongluten flours and want to avoid gluten For example in the cake and cookie recipes I often offer spelt flour

as an alternative to brown rice flour millet flour amaranth flour or teff flour In general any glutinous flour can

be used in place of a nongluten flour with good results The only adjustment that maybe required is in the

amount of water/liquid This is because different flours contain different amounts of moisture Use your best

judgment with the amount of water/liquid used

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS OF RECIPES

All recipes in this book are analyzed for nutritional content Depending on the format of the cookbook you have

(

eg text PDF MCF) the percentage of daily values for nutrients such as vitamin A and calcium will be shown

not shown in the ASCII text version) These values are helpful for determining the nutritional content of the

recipe There are some problems with this analysis though First the nutrients shown are only a fraction of the

important nutrients (eg magnesium is not shown) Second some of the ingredients listed in the recipes are not

included in the ingredient "dictionary" that was used to calculate these numbers (the USDA handbook) (eg flax

seeds) so the analysis of the recipes in not always exactly correct Third these "percent of daily values" have been

calculated off the US RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) that are (according to the National Research Council

committee that developed the RDAs) set too high for most people The levels were set high as a built in "safety

factor" according to the report For example the committee has set the current RDA for calcium at mg

per day That does not mean that you must have mg per day; it means that if you are among the population

whose bodies are least able to absorb calcium consumed you may require that much calcium to absorb the

amount your body needs Nutrition experts usually say that percent ( mg) of the RDA for calcium is

acceptable Additionally experts say that vegetarians tend to absorb nutrients more efficiently than meateaters

and they tend to need less of some nutrients because they generally eat less protein (A high protein intake

increases the body's excretion of certain nutrients especially calcium) Therefore these "percentage of daily

values" are useful and interesting but should not be taken as a gold standard (Reference: Vegetarian Times

September p )

NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS OF RECIPES WITH RESPECT TO VARIATIONS/OPTIONS

When a choice of ingredients is given the analysis reflects the first ingredient listed (ie not the alternative

ingredients) Optional ingredients listed in the main ingredient list ARE figured into the analysis Options given

in the VARIATIONS section are not figured into the analysis Recipe declarations such as lowfat or nongluten

only apply to the original ingredient list (first ingredient listed) without optional ingredients and not necessarily

to any of the other options or variations

CREATIVITY

As a general rule I support individual creativity in cooking therefore I urge you the reader to alter recipes to

suit your needs/wants For example I often substitute ingredients or just leave things out if I do not like them or

do not have them on hand Additionally people have different tastes for saltiness sweetness and richness so feel

free to change ingredient quantities to fit your tastes Lastly if you have an allergy or sensitivity to one of the

ingredients called for in a recipe try to think of a replacement (or just leave the ingredient out) to make the recipe

fit your needs

SERVING SIZES

Some of the recipes in this cookbook serve more than people (up to servings for most of the cake recipes) If

you want to have fewer serving simply divide the recipe to meet your needs In the recipes included here this

causes no problems I personally like to cook in large amounts so the food will last for a number of days

Additionally some items I will store in the freezer for later use I find that the following items freeze well: cookies

and cakes whereas the following do not freeze well: custards and pies

ORGANIC PRODUCE

I recommend the use of organically grown ingredients (ie food grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides)

when ever possible as I have found organic produce and staples to have more flavor than conventionally grown

items Additionally there are studies which have shown that organically grown food has more nutrients that

conventionally grown food

NOTE TO THE READER

The contents of "Desserts of Vitality" are not intended to provide personal medical advice Medical advice should

be obtained from a qualified health professional

URLhttp://wwwvitalitacom/

Desserts of Vitality

Desserts Of Vitality