Guilt-free pastries, pickled veggies and kelp snacks have our attention this month.
by Marilyn Hawkes | photography by Angelina Aragon
Guilt-Free Pastries
Valley entrepreneur Angelika Kaprelian started making desserts without refined sugar, gluten or grains in an effort to cut processed foods from her diet. Recently, she was chosen by Local First Arizona to be part of its two-year incubator program for small businesses, and she developed a line of vegan desserts made with fresh fruits, seeds, coconut and maple syrup. Working out of Local First’s Mesa commercial kitchen, she makes plant-based cupcakes ($15 for six), pumpkin and key lime tarts ($9), and Swiss rolls and cakes ($34), along with custom cakes (starting at $55). The desserts are full of ingredients that aid digestion, and they have a high nutritional value, she says. “I always joke that you can skip your vitamins when you eat my desserts.” Look for Love Love Sweets at Uptown, Old Town Scottsdale and Carefree farmers markets.
Love Love Sweets
Pickled Veggies
In 2012, while living in California, Kristi Murray created Gunnar & Jake’s Gourmet Pickles & Peppers because her chronic kidney disease limited her diet. “I loved pickles, but I couldn’t find anything at the supermarket that had no sugar and no preservatives, good probiotics for gut health and was low in sodium,” she says. Now a Valley resident, Murray makes more than 25 savory pickled products, including traditional pickles ($12-$15), giardiniera ($12), asparagus ($15) and stuffed jalapeños ($18), along with salsa ($12) and marinara sauce ($15). Murray, who has had two kidney transplants, plans on adding pickled eggplant and marinated mushrooms to her inventory soon. Find Gunnar & Jake’s, named after her two sons, at Valley farmers markets and online.
Gunnar & Jake’s Gourmet Pickles and Peppers
Kelp Snacks
In many East Asian countries, kelp plays an important nutritional role, according to Kelpie Chips founder Jennifer Murphy, whose family is from Korea. “Whenever we get sick or need nourishment or energy, we use kelp to make soup, like Americans make chicken soup,” she says. A few years ago, Murphy, who lives in Scottsdale, tried her hand at making kelp chips and began selling them at a local farmers market. Today, she makes three varieties under the Snacks From the Sea label: Salt & Pepper, Chipotle and Zesty Pizza ($17.97 for three bags on amazon.com), with plans to add a churro flavor. (Sweetened kelp is how people in Asian countries generally eat the nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich seaweed, Murphy says.) Kelpie Chips are quickly fried and then sprinkled with seasonings with minimal processing. “This is a great snack product that you can feel good about eating.”
Kelpie Chips
