My Story

Growing up I was very lucky to have 2 amazing grandmothers who were both fantastic bakers. I loved their desserts so much that I wanted to grow up and make my food just as good as theirs. It was their influence that started my lifetime love of baking. And did I love to bake! I developed a major sweet tooth and making yummy desserts using flour and sugar was EVERYTHING! Baking was a big hobby of mine, and I loved sharing my food with friends and family.

In 2018 my life changed dramatically. I got very sick and had health issues that affected everything but especially how my body processed food. I started having major issues digesting gluten and sugar. It was so hard to handle because I LOVE SUGAR!!! The idea of not being able to eat it without suffering was quite emotional for me.

But I knew I needed to listen to my body so when I would go to the grocery store and look for new foods to try, I found almost nothing in both grocery stores and even specialty stores. If I did find something gluten-free, it wasn’t sugar free, and if it was sugar free it wasn’t gluten-free. Trying to find a combo of both was next to impossible. To not have options out for my specific needs truly sucked!

In 2019 I came across some products that were labeled Keto. I didn’t know anything about it, so I looked it up. I learned that it incorporated gluten-free and sugar free elements in the food and although I wasn’t looking to start a Keto diet, I was just thrilled to know that I might be able to find food out there that I could eat. But when I actually tasted a few products, they did not taste good at all – like really bad.

So, I did the only thing I could do and that was to start making my own foods. Gradually I started trying out some recipes using almond flour, coconut flour and monk fruit to sweeten. To say that those beginning recipes didn’t turn out is an understatement. Baking with these ingredients is tricky and very different from the traditional flours and sugars. But I kept at it, refining my recipes until I started seeing some great results. It was quite joyous to finally be able to eat the foods I loved that my body could tolerate.

Eventually I started to share what I made with family and friends. The feedback was always positive, and jaws would drop when I’d tell them that my desserts were sugar/gluten free.

I started meeting more and more people who had the same dietary restrictions as myself, and even more people who had celiac and were diabetic. They loved the idea that I could make desserts and snacks that they could eat. Quite a few even asked me if I would make some for them to buy.

It got me thinking that I could offer desserts and snacks to those who had dietary restrictions and fill a very large hole in the food market and it would even work for those who didn’t have these issues but just wanted to eat a healthier diet without sugar.

And that’s how Baked by Kelly came to be!

I’m so proud and excited that I can offer my foods with anyone who loves great tasting snacks and desserts… and now can enjoy it without the guilt.