Paleo Baking

I am a big fan of Pinterest and get a lot of my paleo/primal recipes from searching on Pinterest.  The one thing that always shocks me are the number of paleo baking recipes there are.  People have figured out a way to make pretty much everything into a paleo version.

What's that you want to have a chocolate doughnut with chocolate sauce on top, while there is a recipe for that.  No need to live without muffins cause there are a ton of recipes for those to.  Today I even came across paleo bread that looks to be sold commercially.  How crazy is that?

A lot of people rationalize the paleo baking by saying that everything they are baking with is allowed under the paleo/primal diet and so they can eat as much as they want.   The key ingredients usually in paleo baking is coconut flour, almond flour, arrow root, honey and/or maple syrup, coconut milk, cocoa and dark chocolate, and eggs.

Now maybe it is because I have never been much of a baker and sure I enjoy baked goods but I have never been obsessed with them, but I just don't get it.

You have taken foods that even conventional wisdom tells you are not healthy and will make you gain weight and just made a paleo version.  Chances are many of these foods still aren't actually healthy and will make you gain weight.  Sure honey and maple syrup are allowed on the plan but lets remember that they are still sugars.  Your body is going to release insulin to deal with these sugars just the same as if you ate "normal" sugar.

I have done a little bit of paleo baking, but this is usually done for when we have company.  I use it almost as a way to say to company "see I don't need to give up anything on my diet".

Paleo baking can be very expensive, especially compared to traditional baking.  I made a paleo cake for little man's birthday.  Pretty sure that thing cost me somewhere between $10-$15 to make with all the almond flour, honey and maple syrup in it.

I think the key here is moderation.  Paleo baking, like traditional baking should be used as a treat.  Something special that you make when you are celebrating or having company over.  If you follow the 80/20 rule, it should be something that goes into your 20% category not the 80%.

Also if you are just starting out on the paleo diet I would recommend staying away from paleo baking.  It is my belief that one of the keys to living paleo as a lifestyle and not just a diet is to learn to adapt your thinking about the way you eat and not just find paleo substitutes for the foods that you used to eat.