Changing It Now

Ginger, Ginger Ginger…

After posting on the health benefits of Ginger on day 47,  I made brown rice and peppers with ginger, lentil soup with ginger, split pea soup with ginger, and now I’m trying a LARABAR called Ginger Snap. I love LARABARS because they are truly made with fruit, nuts and all things natural. The LARABAR, Ginger Snap is a new bar to me and I just tried one. They remind me of the 3 years I spent in the town of Bad Aussee in Austria. There was a Lebkuchen (Gingerbread) bakery where tourist’s would come to see the gingerbread made.

This LARABAR  Ginger Snap, is really good. It’s authenticly like the real gingerbread/gingersnap cookie only made with all natural fruit, nuts and spices. This all that’s in it: Dates, Almonds, Pecans, Ginger, Cinnamon and Cloves.

Compare the wholesome simple ingredients of the LARABAR to what’s in the cookie. Hugh difference!

The fascinating history behind Gingerbread .

Lebkuchen (Gingerbread)

“Germany’s world-famous Lebkuchen is a richly-spiced gingerbread  made with honey, flour, sugar, eggs, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, candied orange and lemon peel, marzipan, and  spices (cinnamon, ginger, aniseed, cloves, pimento, coriander, cardamom).

Although gingerbread has been baked in Europe for centuries, of all the European countries, Germany is the one with the longest and strongest tradition of baking flat, shaped gingerbreads known as Lebkuchen.

Lebkuchen were first baked in the city of Nuremberg in 1395, which is where we know the first Lebkuchen bakery existed.  In 1643 Nuremburg created a Lebkuchen Baker’s Guild, which began with 14 master gingerbread bakers who were required to make the gingerbread following strict guidelines.

Up until 1867, Lebkuchen was made by hand. Today most Lebkuchen is made by machine, however, many of Nuremburg’s bakeries still produce some of their Lebkuchen specialties by hand. Today around 2,000 Lebkuchen per minute are produced in Nuremburg by approximately 4,000 employees. Some are made by major companies and some by family-run bakeries, but all use traditional recipes passed down from generation to generation. The oldest gingerbread recipe from the 16th century is housed in the Germanic National Museum.

In 1996, Nuremberg gingerbread was declared a “protected geographical indication” and is authorized to use the EU stamp which means that only Lebkuchen from the city of Nuremberg can be called “Nuremberger Lebkuchen”

 

While I find the history behind “Lebkuchen” fascinating, I am sugar free and eating whole foods. I’m so excited to find a healthy choice in LARABAR.

 My beautiful daughter showing off  the Ginger Snap LARABAR.