Blog : Sweets by Charity

This weeks guest blog post was written by Charity of Sweets by Charity.  Her blog blossoms with delicious food related articles.  I have a particular soft spot for local food making one of my favorite articles : 5 Star Food From a Filling Station where Charity interviews Chef Point Cafe, Franson Nwaeze.  Her post is below, and make sure to stop by the blog and tell her hello!

Food Blogger Friday

Sweets by Charity

Author : Charity

Many of my favorite memories growing up happened in the kitchen: the first time I made sourdough bread with my grandmother, making Christmas sugar cookies with my cousins, getting busted by my mother in grade school for using the oven to make cupcakes when she wasn’t at home. Years later, I’m the first one to make cupcakes for a birthday, I always come to meetings armed with baked goods, and I truly believe that a great dessert is the easiest way to put a smile on someone’s face. I have always dreamed of opening a bakery one day.  Writing this blog is my way of getting started early on that dream, and combines two of my favorite activities, writing and baking.  I am currently a Graduate Student at the University of Florida, pursuing a Master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication.  Since starting Grad school last August, I found that it’s a bit more stressful at times I thought it would be. Okay, it’s a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.   For me, baking is the perfect stress therapy and a great way to bring a little calm to the craziness that is my life. 

I have never claimed to be a baking expert, but I do love making simple and fun, but unique and beautiful sweets, and let’s face it... I’m a broke college kid, so I do it all on a budget. Although I’m obviously not a health food blogger,  I do love to show my readers how to satisfy their sweet tooth without sacrificing their diet... everyone should be able to have their cake and still fit into their skinny jeans.  I have so much fun sharing my tips and tricks with readers, and I love seeing how they take my recipes and make them their own!  Right now I’m just having fun with my blog, and sharing my baking adventures with my readers.  Who knows where it will lead in the future?

One thing you should know about me, is that I am 99% indecisive, 100% of the time.  Asking me to pick my favorite food would be like asking me to pick my favorite child... that is, if I had any children, but you get the idea.  Growing  up, I could answer that question with zero hesitation: “rocky road ice cream”.  I was eight, my life revolved around ice cream.  While rocky road still makes the top ten on my list of favorite foods, my palate has slightly matured, but not much.  When narrowing down my favorite food, I can at least get it down to a genre.  Being a native Texas girl, I love a good steak, and I adore great barbeque: ribs, pulled pork, potato salad, cole slaw, and ooooooh the peach cobbler.  Give me a good barbeque dinner, and all is well with the world.

5 Favorite Things: 

I’m new to the blogging world, but a few of the posts I’ve written so far stand out as my favorites.

1. Low Calorie Blackberry Lemon Tart 
Everything tastes better out of a martini glass... that’s the theme behind this delicious, low calorie blackberry lemon tart!

2. Mock Apple Pie Ever had a problem getting in your daily serving of vegetables?  Maybe you have some picky eaters in your household who turn their nose up at anything green? This secret ingredient apple pie is the perfect solution to your problem!

3. Peachberry Dump Cake
Okay so it’s definitely not healthy, but it’s my absolute favorite easy dessert fix.  This five ingredient Peachberry Dump Cake is to die for I love looking around the web at other food blogs to gather ideas and get inspired.

These two sites round out my 5 Favorite Things:

4. One of my favorite baking bloggers is Baker Bettie. She recently made the switch to all-natural baking and offers some great recipes and suggestions for baking and treating your body right. Plus, her photography looks good enough to eat! 

5. I love Hungry Girl!  If you haven’t already been following Hungry Girl (I used to live by the Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 recipe book),  she is the queen of low calorie substitutions for your favorite comfort foods.  Whether she’s using pumpkin in place of the high calorie oil and eggs in her baked goods, or using Fiber One cereal as a faux-fry coating, Lisa Lillien, AKA Hungry Girl, is where I turn to for low calorie baking inspiration. 

Starting my blog has been such a fun and wonderful experience; I’ve been trying new things, meeting new friends, and finding delicious ways to alleviate stress.  I hope that you’ll follow along with me as I continue on my blogging journey, sharing my baking adventures every step of the way.  If you have a recipe request, suggestion, or just want to chat, send me an email at sweetsbycharity@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter - @charityhitt , or on Flickr- sweetsbycharity,  and of course I hope you will check out my blog and follow me at http://sweetsbycharity.com.

Happy Baking!

~Sweet Charity~

* I was not paid by the manufacturer to review this product - I just like it! I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255. Images Courtesy of Sweets by Charity.