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A healthy and tasty pastry,
what is it?
The 6 goals of Pssst!
Goal #1 - LESS SUGAR
Our main goal is to lower the sugar levels in our recipes as much as possible, without ever losing the yumminess. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here we like to flirt with the limit of what is doable. We aim to (re!)educate our taste buds, numbed by sucrose and glucose syrup, with sharp fragrances (zests, spices, peppers, aromatic herbs...) and contrasting textures.
Goal #2 - HEALTHIER SWEETENING AGENTS
At Pssst! we rule out "empty" refined sugars, still widely used in traditional pastry products. So how do we achieve that sweet taste we all want in a dessert as healthily as possible? First of all, by using fruits and certain vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash...) Be careful, however, not to use natural ingredients as an excuse to overindulge : sweetening a dessert with Medjool dates is indeed quite healthy but if you use 20 dates you will only cause blood sugar spikes just like sucrose! We also use flours that have a natural sweetness (chestnut, rice, tigernut flours...). Finally, if the recipe requires a pinch of sugar, we use whole sugars (rapadura, coconut sugar) or xylitol (birch-tree sugar).
Goal #3 - HEALTHIER INGREDIENTS
We tend to value a scientific approach when it comes to selecting ingredients in our recipes because we hear all kinds of contradictory statements about food. Therefore we have found it necessary to complete a 2-year-course with the SIIN Institute (Scientific Institute for Intelligent Nutrition) to avoid following certain dogmatic nutrition trends blindingly. We use whole grain flours rather than refined flours because they contain more micro-nutrients and fibers. We focus on good fat rather than low fat. Indeed, we use use olive and colza oils in our recipes because they are healthy -unlike sunflower, grapeseed, corn and palm oils which cause and maintain inflammation (the root cause of many diseases in our modern societies). More occasionally, we use saturated fats such as cocoa butter or ghee (clarified butter), as they come in handy to create beautiful textures. As for trendy coconut oil, we use it sparingly and we will explain why...
Goal #4 - RECIPES FOR PEOPLE WITH ALLERGIES OR FOOD INTOLERANCE
With that said, there's no denying that a healthy ingredient will be unhealthy if you have an allergy to it! Let's not forget that we are all unique, with unique microbiota! We have therefore developed our recipes so that they can adapt to people with allergies and food intolerance. Some recipes are lactose-free, gluten-free, egg-free and/or soy-free and sometimes raw!
Goal #5 - CHALLENGE YOURSELF
It is also important to bear in mind that our knowledge as regards nutrition depends on the advance of research. Indeed, research will undoubtedly release discoveries in the years to come, which will inevitably lead to updating some of our recipes. For us, learning and experimenting are a daily exercise that is essential to be able to teach efficiently and honestly.
Goal #6 - COMMON SENSE
Finally, let's not forget that the way a pastry is eaten, however healthy it may be in terms of its ingredients, can also be detrimental to health. Depending on whether it is eaten in the morning (👎🏻), or following a real meal (👍🏻) or as a snack (🧨), the impact of the same dessert will be very different.