Jacqueline Alwill White Wings Better For You Interview

White Wings introduces NEW Better For You flour range with Jacqueline Alwill

Australia's favourite baking brand, White Wings, has launched a Better For You flour range – for home bakers seeking healthier options, but without compromising the taste and texture of their creations.

The range includes the Wholesome Blend Flours, which are available in both Plain and Self Raising varieties. Wholesome Blend contains a unique blend of wheat, coconut, millet and oat flours. One of the key benefits of these flours is that they can be swapped cup for cup with your regular flour in all your favourite recipes with no change to the end result. There's no need to adjust anything in your recipes and it doesn't compromise on taste.

Also new from White Wings is Coconut Flour made from 100% Coconut. This baking ingredient is naturally gluten free as well as being a source of fibre and protein.

Jacqueline Alwill, nutritionist, author and passionate cook behind Brown Paper Nutrition, has created four delicious recipes using this new range demonstrating how easy it is to use within baking.

"I wanted to create a series of recipes that show you how you can easily make baking more wholesome. I love how simple and easy it is to incorporate the Wholesome Blend flours just by swapping your regular flour cup for cup with no other adjustments needed to cooking times or other ingredients. The best thing is that your cakes turn out just as delicious but a little more nutritious.

For coconut flour, this flour is not only a good way to boost the protein and fibre in your baking but brings a delicious twist.

"I'm passionate about showing people how easy it is to create healthier meals for their families with simple substitutes, and I love how White Wings has made this super simple for the everyday cooking and baking enthusiast."

Peanut Butter Choc Chunk Cookies

Makes: 20 cookies

Ingredients
1 egg
¼ (60g) cup coconut oil
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup coconut sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon bicarb soda
½ teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of sea salt
1 cup oats
1 cup White Wings Wholesome Blend Plain Flour
1 cup choc chips or 150g broken dark chocolate pieces

Method
Preheat oven to 170C and line a large tray with baking paper.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg, coconut oil and peanut butter until creamy.
Add coconut sugar, vanilla, bicarb soda, baking powder and a pinch of sea salt and mix to combine.
Add oats, White Wings Wholesome Blend Plain Flour and choc chips or broken chocolate pieces and stir together until it becomes a cookie dough.
Form tablespoon sized balls and place them on the baking tray.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes until golden.
Cool completely on the tray.
Store in an airtight jar up to 1 week.


The White Wings Better For You range is available at Woolworths and independent supermarkets:
White Wings Wholesome Blend Plain Flour RRP: $3.49
White Wings Wholesome Blend Self-Raising Flour RRP: $3.49
White Wings Coconut Flour RRP: $4.19

Coconut Almond Cake with Honey Glazed Plums

GF: DF
Serves: 8

Ingredients
¾ cup solid coconut oil+
¾ cup coconut sugar
3 eggs
½ cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup almond meal
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup White Wings Coconut Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons honey
4 small ripe plums, halved, stones removed
¾ cup coconut yoghurt (or thick natural yoghurt)

Method
Preheat oven to 160C conventional (180C fan forced), grease a 20cm round spring form cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
Place coconut oil (in soft solid state, the same consistency of softened butter) and coconut sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk well until creamy.
Add eggs one at a time, ensuring each is beaten well into the mix.
Add coconut milk and vanilla and beat to an even consistency.
In a separate bowl mix together almond meal, desiccated coconut, White Wings Coconut FLOUR, and baking powder.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
Pour batter into cake tin and place in lower rack of oven to cook for 50-60 minutes.
The cake should be lightly golden on top and ready when a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Cool cake in the tin for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Heat honey in a small nonstick frying pan on high heat until bubbling.
Add plums cut side down to pan and cook 2-3 minutes until golden brown and sticky.
Remove from heat. Dollop yoghurt on top of cooled cake and roughly swirl with the back of spoon to make abed for the plums.
Top with warm plums and drizzle over syrupy juices left in the pan.

If your coconut oil is liquid, place the required amount in the fridge or freezer to set to a thick paste consistency (approximately 45 minutes -1 hour) before use in this recipe.

Interview with Jacqueline Alwill

Question: Where did the idea for Brown Paper Nutrition come from?

Jacqueline Alwill: I founded Brown Paper Nutrition almost 5 years ago to share my passions for health, nutrition, fitness, cooking, and creating, and to support others on their journey in health. Drawing on my education in nutritional medicine and experience in the corporate world (pre-nutrition days!), I set up an online nutrition practice, Brown Paper Nutrition. It gave my clients and the community a hub for nutrition, health and wellbeing. The blog infused my love for cooking and sharing that taste of health with others, and inspired me to create Brown Paper Kitchen (wholefoods catering) and most recently, our vegetarian and vegan ready-made meal delivery service, Brown Paper Eats.

When I first started out cooking, I always wanted to share my creations with others, so I'd pack food up in a brown paper bag and pop them on my friends, family's or neighbours doorsteps. The -Brown Paper' element comes from these packages, which I'm proud to say I still do today.


Question: Can you tell us about your passion for baking with more wholesome ingredients?

Jacqueline Alwill: I believe that we can enjoy all of our favourite treats with good nutrition infused making small, simple tweaks. By doing so we don't ever feel deprived or envious of the food we -shouldn't eat'. When I started swapping out certain ingredients in favour of those more nourishing, it opened up a whole world of incredible food and dishes. That's what I love inspiring others to do too.


Question: How can we add a wholesome twist to our favourite recipes (such as spaghetti bolognaises, steak and vegetables and cakes)?

Jacqueline Alwill: Focus firstly on what you can do instead of what you can't do or can't have. That's always my message in nutrition. So, if you love banana cake then look at what ingredients you can swap to improve the nutritional value of the treat so you can enjoy a slice. These might be using fruits such as dates instead of raw sugar or perhaps instead of a plain white flour, create diversity in the flours using a mix - White Wings has made this easy for us with their Wholesome Blend Flour.

When it's spaghetti bolognese night, consider veggies such as zucchini, konjac or spaghetti squash in place of wheat based pasta. For family favourites like steak and baked potatoes, consider swapping the potato for baked cauliflower (so delicious!) and having a fresh green salad to accompany which will up the vitamins, minerals and fibre in the meal.


Question: What are some of your favourite ingredients to swap when trying to cook and bake healthy meals, at home?

Jacqueline Alwill: We love…
Butter bean or cauliflower puree in place of potato mash
Wholesome flours in place of plain wheat flour for baking both savoury and sweet (try White Wings Wholsome Blend Flour in Plain or Self Raising)
Rice malt, maple or fresh fruits in place of raw/heavily refined sugars
Gelatin gummies with natural fruit and rice malt to sweeten in place of sugary lollies
Frozen banana whips with berries in place of regular ice cream


Question: Why was it important for you to partner with White Wings for the launch of its Better for You Flour range?

Jacqueline Alwill: The more we can communicate, educate and inspire others to make healthier choices with their food, the better it is for everyone. We can do so much by supporting each other's health in the community. I partnered with White Wings so we could work together to share this message in health to all.


Question: Can you tell us about the White Wings Better for You Flour range?

Jacqueline Alwill: White Wings has produced a beautiful range of flours offering enriched nutrition. They have a coconut flour, which is fantastic in baked goods like my sweet potato brownie, or the delicious Coconut Almond Cake I created.

Their Wholesome Blend Flours (plain and self-raising) combine oat, millet, wheat and coconut flours which I love because they create nutritional diversity in a simple cup for cup flour swap. I've used these a number of times now and love them for baking delicious treats such as Choc Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies, and a completely scrumptious Oat and Coconut Load.


Question: What inspired the recipes you created using the White Wings Better for You Flour range?

Jacqueline Alwill: It's important for people to understand how easy it is to make healthy swaps that are flavoursome, and still abundant with nutrition. It's important for those who are just starting out on their health journey, but also for the passionate cook or baker who may have been using plain flours for years and are keen to create change but unsure where to start. The perfect place to start is with the simple, old school favourites that tick all the boxes for quality ingredients, simplicity, nutrition and of course making people smile with food, and that's what inspired the recipes.


Question: Can you share your earliest baking memory, with us?

Jacqueline Alwill: Think it was banana bread with my mum! Except I was super cheeky and when she wasn't looking would swipe the top of the loaf - you know the slightly crunchy bit? How annoying that would have been! Making banana bread and different delicious loaves (carrot, pumpkin, prune, chocolate, zucchini, fruit, tea) has been my favourite thing to do for so long and such a yummy and nutritious way to get people cooking at home for enjoyment too. There is something so satisfying about pulling a home cooked loaf out of the oven.

Oat and Coconut Loaf

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients
½ cup oat bran
½ cup coconut milk*
150g butter (Salted or unsalted as preferred)
½ cup honey
3 eggs
1 cup White Wings Wholesome Blends Self Raising Flour
¾ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup rolled oats + 2 tablespoon extra for top
½ bicarbonate soda

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C conventional and line a 12x22cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Combine oat bran and milk in a small bowl, stir and leave to soak for 5 minutes.
Melt butter and honey in a small saucepan on medium heat, whisking together as they are melting.
Crack eggs into oat bran mix and whisk through one at a time.
In a large bowl mix together White Wings Wholesome Blend Self Raising Flour, desiccated coconut, 1/2 cup rolled oats and bicarbonate soda.
Make a well in the centre, pour in melted butter and honey, mix gently then add oat bran combination. Mix to combine all ingredients.
Pour into loaf tin, sprinkle with extra tablespoon of oats and place in oven to cook for 30-40 minutes**.
Check by inserting a skewer through the middle of the loaf, if it comes out clean the loaf is ready.
Allow to cool in tin for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve with a smear of butter.

*Can use any type of milk
** Baking times will vary depending on oven


Interview by Brooke Hunter