Buckle in, it’s a long post, but I wanted to share my “Why”, more on that later.

If you’re in this group and have never tried baking with Panda flour, I’d say now is the time to start, just grab a bag and try it. I’ve found it’s more forgiving and the texture of the bakes, be that bread or cakes or pastry, including the incredible suet pastry version, is perfect, like, and I shouldn’t say this, “real” bread/cakes/pastry.

I understand you may feel nervous about home baking, especially if you’ve never baked before, more so baking with a “different” flour like Panda. I also felt that way, but I’d watched so many of the videos on the channel that I decided it was time to give it a go. I initially bought a bag and a few other ready made cake mixes. It felt expensive, but as soon as I started using it and realise that you only use around a third of the quantity of conventional flour, and saw how far the first bag went, it doesn’t feel expensive any more. To be able to produce low carb/keto items that taste delicious is worth every penny.

What I found was that it was really easy to bake with and use, and, even the ones I initially cocked up whilst learning how my own oven performed, they were still very edible, just didn’t look great, so nothing was wasted.

I’ve now subscribed to the monthly subscription service as I’m so happy baking with Panda and the range of things I can make, that sometimes I’ve run out and been frustrated I can’t make something immediately, like cookies to satisfy a sweet tooth that evening. It’s a genius idea, and now we can add other items in at a significant discount, WINNER/WINNER! Mark has passed the postage saved on to us for the other items posted out in the subscription package. That’s made me try things I perhaps wouldn’t have. I’m a messy baker and the laminated sheets in the subscription are brilliant, and my free bag of Hot Cross bun mix was perfect timing.

I’ve just re-read this, and it sounds like an advert, it certainly isn’t. I reversed my Type 2 diabetes following a very low-carb and Keto diet, losing 28KG. After reaching a plateau I found Marks’s channel and started watching every video, but as I’d never really baked, other than with my Grandma and Mum when I was a kid, I was nervous about trying to produce some of the “sweet things”, and real sausage rolls and pork pies that I’d missed eating. Especially when I was missing taking them as pack up snacks to take to the cricket with my Dad! I decided to take the plunge and grab a bag of flour and follow the videos, and I’ve not looked back.

When I had gained a little more confidence at home, I booked on one of the first one-day masterclasses, and I think Mark and others will confirm, I went from a pastry-briusing thug to a gentle pastry rolling baker in the day. I’ve also been lucky enough to have a couple of one to one’s with Mark, working on a couple of personal ideas, to scratch the itch of my WHY. Ideas to help me take care of my Mum, who has Alzheimer’s and has been advised to follow a low-carb/keto lifestyle.

The first one to one Mark helped me to put my own oxygen mask on first, and we made things I enjoy, and I knew my Mum would also enjoy. My second day was very focused, playing with ideas to create a muffin and crumpet, and that’s how Mark created the puffet. We tried many variations, testing and tweaking. The best thing is, my Mum no longer asks for crumpets or “real muffins”, she now asks for “Those lovely new puff things or whatever you call them.” BOOM, a result as we’d struggled to persuade her to stop eating crumpets and English muffins as they always spiked her sugars and you saw an immediate impact on her cognitive skills for a few hours afterwards. The WHY was big enough, and we nailed those.

I guess what I’m saying is, a MASSIVE thank you to Mark, Ella and Emma for the Panda product they have produced by testing and tweaking for us. Not just that but also the variety of ready to go recipes and methods, videos and other tips on their website. As a subscriber the bonus masterclass videos are more depth, brilliant for nervous bakers. Panda, and now Panda 2, is a game changer in the low carb/keto baking world. I’d tried baking before with the usual Almond flour alternative, and never really liked the end results. Panda has changed that.

If you feel nervous about trying Panda, I felt that way too, but what I found was, give it a go, and the worst that happens is it doesn’t look right, but it will still taste great. Then, as soon as you’re comfortable with your oven and make small time adjustments with practice, you’ll have great tasting AND great looking bread, cakes and pastry. Invest in yourself and your own health.

Oh, if you’re worried what you’ll do when visitors pop in and you don’t have any “normal break/cakes/sausage rolls” DON’T worry, because even my very picky aunt said her lunch was delicious, and thanks for getting things in for me. HAHA, when I told her everything was made with that “weird flour”, she laughed, and said “I had no idea. It was delicious Allan, thank you.”

Grab a bag and give it a go, in fact, just subscribe to just one bag to get going, I guarantee you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll then also start saving on the other things Mark supplies, saving postage going forward and have access to the in depth videos, where Mark drops some little gems in, sharing so many useful tips.

A long ramble, but I think all of us are in this group as we all have a WHY. Panda flour has helped me scratch the itches of my WHY. Me and my Dad can still have our sarnies and pork pie and sausage rolls, and cakes at the cricket, and now my Mam’s blood sugars are far more under control, the fogginess of Alzheimer’s has been lifted, only temporarily, but lifted for as long as we can.