paleomamabakery-blog

[paleomamabakery-blog]

This is my sad, sad oven and hand mixer!

Paleo Mama Bakery Kitchen Expansion Fundraiser

Paleo Mama Bakery needs your help to expand their kitchen space and keep up with the demand for Paleo treats! Allow me to explain…

In September of 2014, I opened Paleo Mama Bakery, a small bakery business based in Madison, WI. My goal was to create tasty treats for others with conditions and allergies such as myself, or for those who simply wanted something made from real, simple, healthy ingredients. My products were all dedicated to being free from grains, gluten, soy, refined sugars, and most free from dairy. 

I decided to start out small by renting out a shared kitchen space with no store front. My intentions were to sell my products online, and offer pick up twice a week from the front office where I rented out my kitchen. Ideally, I wanted to get my products into a store or two in Madison, but I knew that may take some time. Little did I know that my products were going to be in such high demand from the moment I opened for business. Within one month of opening, I was already lined up to wholesale my products to a large grocery retailer in Madison. To make a long story short, I have now been open for 10 months and my products are carried in eight local stores, one restaurant, and one online market. In addition, I’m also going to be supplying a large hospital very soon….!

With almost 20 different products, I was keeping busy with the demand for my treats. About two months ago, I finally hired on an employee part-time, to help me keep up with my orders. Some days were difficult to keep up with my orders, due to my shared kitchen status. I didn’t always have access to my kitchen space. However, this past month I have been granted full access to the kitchen I have been baking out of, which is a HUGE relief for me. This means I will be working in a GLUTEN-FREE kitchen space, and my goal is to eventually have it certified as gluten-free. It also means that I have a larger kitchen expense–much higher rent, and more equipment to purchase.

 For those of you who haven’t been in my kitchen space, you probably have no idea what I am working with. All those cookies, cupcakes, graham crackers, chips and pecans that you love so much? I bake those all in a counter top oven that only fits three (yes, 3!) sheet pans at a time. 

All that delicious cookie dough and everything else made from a batter that needs to get mixed?– I mix that all with a handheld mixer. (We are talking about mixing 13-15 quart sized bowls of dough all by hand.) This is hard work! 

Within the first month of my opening, I had already developed carpal tunnel in my hands from the extensive hand mixing. My body has been begging me for an appropriate industrial mixer.

Obviously, the small oven and the hand mixers are things that I have made do with, as a more ‘commercially appropriate’ version would be much more costly. In addition to all of these expenses, last week one of my main freezers broke and I lost a lot of product that had thawed out inside of it without my knowledge.

I’m not typically someone who feels comfortable asking others for help. In fact, I’m the type who finds greater satisfaction in helping others–which is why I opened Paleo Mama Bakery in the first place. However, I know there is a great demand for my product line to continue to increase and for my market to spread further than just to Madison. I want to be able to provide a healthy way of eating to others, and in order to do that, I need to feel that my use of time in the kitchen is well spent–that I can bake 10 trays at a time, rather than 3. And that I can get a good night’s rest without my carpal tunnel bothering me every night, so that I can perform my best each day that I bake.

My ultimate goal for my dedicated gluten free kitchen space is to be able to afford to purchase the following:

*An additional commercial freezer *A double convection oven *1-2 industrial mixers *Additional storage shelves and supplies

For all of you that have been supporting me so far– whether it be buying my products, sending me encouraging emails, telling your friends about my bakery, or just having faith in my business plan– I truly appreciate you all so much. This is the first time in my life that I have loved doing what I do. They say it’s not 'work’ if you enjoy doing it. Well, I definitely enjoy every moment of what I do, and I don’t consider this work. It is my passion and it is what I live for. Thank you all for believing in me, supporting me, encouraging me, and lifting me up every step of the way. And thank you for taking the time to read about my journey…..I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us next :)

If interested in helping me reach my goal, please check out my Fundraiser on GoFundMe. Thank you!

http://www.gofundme.com/z3baprg

[paleomamabakery-blog]

Paleo Mama Bakery Kitchen Expansion Fundraiser

Paleo Mama Bakery needs your help to expand their kitchen space and keep up with the demand for Paleo treats! Allow me to explain...

In September of 2014, I opened Paleo Mama Bakery, a small bakery business based in Madison, WI. My goal was to create tasty treats for others with conditions and allergies such as myself, or for those who simply wanted something made from real, simple, healthy ingredients. My products were all dedicated to being free from grains, gluten, soy, refined sugars, and most free from dairy. 

I decided to start out small by renting out a shared kitchen space with no store front. My intentions were to sell my products online, and offer pick up twice a week from the front office where I rented out my kitchen. Ideally, I wanted to get my products into a store or two in Madison, but I knew that may take some time. Little did I know that my products were going to be in such high demand from the moment I opened for business. Within one month of opening, I was already lined up to wholesale my products to a large grocery retailer in Madison. To make a long story short, I have now been open for 10 months and my products are carried in eight local stores, one restaurant, and one online market. In addition, I'm also going to be supplying a large hospital very soon....!

With almost 20 different products, I was keeping busy with the demand for my treats. About two months ago, I finally hired on an employee part-time, to help me keep up with my orders. Some days were difficult to keep up with my orders, due to my shared kitchen status. I didn't always have access to my kitchen space. However, this past month I have been granted full access to the kitchen I have been baking out of, which is a HUGE relief for me. This means I will be working in a GLUTEN-FREE kitchen space, and my goal is to eventually have it certified as gluten-free. It also means that I have a larger kitchen expense--much higher rent, and more equipment to purchase.

 For those of you who haven't been in my kitchen space, you probably have no idea what I am working with. All those cookies, cupcakes, graham crackers, chips and pecans that you love so much? I bake those all in a counter top oven that only fits three (yes, 3!) sheet pans at a time. 

All that delicious cookie dough and everything else made from a batter that needs to get mixed?-- I mix that all with a handheld mixer. (We are talking about mixing 13-15 quart sized bowls of dough all by hand.) This is hard work! 

Within the first month of my opening, I had already developed carpal tunnel in my hands from the extensive hand mixing. My body has been begging me for an appropriate industrial mixer.

Obviously, the small oven and the hand mixers are things that I have made do with, as a more 'commercially appropriate' version would be much more costly. In addition to all of these expenses, last week one of my main freezers broke and I lost a lot of product that had thawed out inside of it without my knowledge.

I'm not typically someone who feels comfortable asking others for help. In fact, I'm the type who finds greater satisfaction in helping others--which is why I opened Paleo Mama Bakery in the first place. However, I know there is a great demand for my product line to continue to increase and for my market to spread further than just to Madison. I want to be able to provide a healthy way of eating to others, and in order to do that, I need to feel that my use of time in the kitchen is well spent--that I can bake 10 trays at a time, rather than 3. And that I can get a good night's rest without my carpal tunnel bothering me every night, so that I can perform my best each day that I bake.

My ultimate goal for my dedicated gluten free kitchen space is to be able to afford to purchase the following:

*An additional commercial freezer *A double convection oven *1-2 industrial mixers *Additional storage shelves and supplies

For all of you that have been supporting me so far-- whether it be buying my products, sending me encouraging emails, telling your friends about my bakery, or just having faith in my business plan-- I truly appreciate you all so much. This is the first time in my life that I have loved doing what I do. They say it's not 'work' if you enjoy doing it. Well, I definitely enjoy every moment of what I do, and I don't consider this work. It is my passion and it is what I live for. Thank you all for believing in me, supporting me, encouraging me, and lifting me up every step of the way. And thank you for taking the time to read about my journey.....I can't wait to see where this journey takes us next :)

If interested in helping me reach my goal, please check out my Fundraiser on GoFundMe. Thank you!

http://www.gofundme.com/z3baprg

[paleomamabakery-blog]

My Inspiration for the Paleo Mama Bakery

After being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease 8 years ago, and seeing the adverse effects of the drugs I was prescribed, I decided to research a more natural approach to healing my body.

I found many sources linking diet to chronic illnesses and diseases, and I realized that it was my diet that needed to change before anything else. At this time, I eliminated all grains, refined sugar, and most dairy from my diet in an attempt to start healing my body from the inside out. Within days I was already feeling better; my symptoms had subsided and I had more energy!

The diet was difficult to follow at first, but the benefits encouraged me to stay strong and persevere. I have always had a sweet tooth for my entire life, so giving up sugar was the hardest part. I realized that if I wanted something sweet, I wasn’t going to find anything at the grocery store that was compliant with my diet. Instead, I was going to have to make it myself! And that’s when I started developing a real passion for baking. 

Planning meals, experimenting with recipes, and hearing others’ success stories have helped me be successful with the Paleo diet during my journey. Today, I can proudly say I am med-free, currently symptom free, and feeling great.

Hopefully my success story will help encourage you on the path to a new, healthy you!