Product Insights: Good Dees Bake Mixes
Product Insights: Good Dees Bake Mixes
When I purchase packaged products, I always review ingredients. I prefer to avoid sugar, gluten, grains, nuts (because of the many nut allergies, most schools do not allow for any nuts), additives and preservatives. I also prefer low carb options. There are very few packaged products on the market that meet all these criteria – that’s what makes Good Dee’s line of bake mixes exceptional.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with the owner and founder of Good Dee’s, Deana Karim. She’s a one-woman company and really loves what she does.
Me: Like many people, I have to juggle work and family life so I don’t have a lot of time to do the baking that I would prefer to do for school snacks. When I saw the ingredients in your products – I was blown away.
Deana: Thank you for the compliment! Yes, most people don’t realize what’s in mass market baking mix products. For example, a quick look at leading brands – the ingredients often include, wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, and a selection of hard-to-pronounce ingredients. Each serving (of 2 cookies) can contain 10-15g of sugar, not to mention all the other sources of carbs! I simply didn’t want this for me or my kids so I made my own.
Me: Very true, I know what you mean. So, how did this all start for you?
Deana: After the birth of my first son (he is now 5!), I was feeling low on energy. The extra weight from pregnancy hadn’t come off, and I suddenly found myself concerned about diabetes, which runs in my family. When I started to research, I stumbled upon the low carb and sugar free lifestyle.
Once I started to eliminate sugar and carbs, I started feeling much better; I lost weight and my energy came back! Having always loved to cook and bake, I started to research alternative sweeteners that would not raise blood glucose levels or cause gastrointestinal distress like some can, and learned about erythritol, stevia, and prebiotic dietary fiber.
Around the end of 2014, I took my chocolate chip cookies to a small tradeshow and received GREAT feedback. A few months later, I decided that instead of ready-made cookies, I would create and sell a cookie mix. And soon after that, Good Dee’s was born: I released my very first mix, the original chocolate chip cookie mix, at the end of October 2015. I felt so happy that those who can and cannot eat sugar enjoyed them – including my diabetic mom. It fit the needs of the diabetic, ketogenic, low carb, and sugar free communities and I have been so pleased with the feedback.
Me: What a great story! It’s always so interesting to hear about how people got started. I’ve tried many of your products and they all taste amazing. How do you approach development of your products?
Deana: Well, I always want to use the best ingredients, like sunflower seeds, erythritol, sugar free chocolate chips and stevia. I also want to be able to put it in my son’s lunchbox! All nursery schools here are nut free. As well, I want to make sure that the mixes do not contain dairy because a lot of people are dairy-free and I definitely wanted to be sensitive to that. But having the right ingredients isn’t enough. For example, I had to experiment in my kitchen for over a year until I had my very first Good Dee’s mix – which was the original chocolate chip cookie mix. Turns out its quite challenging to create products that taste good and works for diabetic, ketogenic, low carb, and sugar free communities.
Me: Yes, the ingredients quality is what draws me to your product line. With 2 boys of my own, I try to pay attention to what is in the food that we are eating. When I picked up a package of Good Dees Gluten Free Cookie Mix, I was pleasantly surprised! The ingredients are all clean, with no additives, preservatives, sugar, or gluten.
Deana: Actually, there’s a good reason why I made my original mixes using sunflower seed flour. Besides the fact that I love how sunflower seed flour tastes, it makes it nut free and gluten-free, making it a healthier alternative and “school safe”. And I use erythritol instead of sugar because of it’s profile as a sweetener and lack of stomach pain which, mixed stevia for sweetness, was natural to keep it low-carb.
I actually did recently release 3 almond flour mixes and they are made in a separate facility in order to avoid any possible cross-contamination.
Me: That is so great, I am looking forward to trying them! (I just won’t send them to school!) I also love that the mixes are all “foolproof”; just add eggs and butter (or coconut oil to make it dairy-free). Sometimes I add extra cinnamon too! My kids love to help me make the chocolate chip cookie mix, which is their favourite.
Deana: It’s my favourite mix too: chocolate chip cookies have always been one of my go-to party or potluck foods because they are easy to make, transport well, are individually portioned and everyone loves chocolate chip cookies! And because these ones are made with healthy ingredients, you can feel good about sharing them with your family and friends too.
Me: Thank you, Deana, for creating these awesome products – and taking the time with me today.
Deana: Thank you! Enjoy!
About the Author: A Holistic Wellness Practitioner, Erin is a proponent for holistic and natural living. Her passion is guiding people to live healthier, happier lives: physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
