Meet Sharon Downing of Quinoa Esta Bakery in Central Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Downing.

Sharon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
About 6 years ago, I was looking for a healthier option to replace fast carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes and traditional pasta. Primarily because fast cabs spike blood sugar. After doing some research, I found that quinoa was the perfect food. Quinoa is a resistant carbohydrate that stabilizes blood sugar.

About five and a half years ago my husband and I were in an Elimination diet. The diet restricts you to eating whole foods. You eliminate grains, meat, all dairy, sugar and all processed foods.

Quinoa was on the list of foods that we could have because it is a seed. One day, while on the elimination diet, I had a strong craving for a brownie. I felt that I should be able to bring dry quinoa seeds into a flour that I could bake with. I needed the brownie to be “legal”. The ingredients had to be in the list of approved foods.

After a few weeks, I had an acceptable brownie recipe. Creations that followed were pancakes and cornbread. One day I was making one of my quinoa creations when I thought to myself “If I want to have my cake and it too, so do other people.” The rest is history. Quinoa Esta Bakery was born. The same year the United Nations Harold the year of the quinoa.

The name of the bakery was chosen because at the time I was learning to speak Spanish. And of course, quinoa is primarily grown in South America. The name is a formal introduction of quinoa.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road for us has been a little bit of bitter and a whole lot of sweet

The bitter: I’ve had to work diligently to educate the community on the benefits of eating quinoa. It has been very difficult for people to conceptualize a desert made with quinoa.

The sweet: Four months after we opened, Lucy’s Healthy Marketplace brought in several of our ready to eat items. Their customers embraced our product right away. They have sold out of our items every week since that time. I remember the owner discussing with me what I wanted to do with spoilage. We have not had that problem.

What is also very sweet is the love we receive from our customers at the farmer’s markets we attend throughout the valley on Saturdays and Sundays. I personally receive a lot of thank you from our customers. Many say, they can now have some of the foods they love to eat again. Other say, I have turned them into great bakers.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Quinoa Esta Bakery – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Quinoa Esta Bakery produces a variety of freshly baked items and dry-mixes such as Fudgy Brownies, Turmeric Ginger Cookies and Peanut Butter Protein Bars. All our products are made with organic, non-GMO quinoa flour that is milled in-house.

What sets us apart from other companies is that we solely use quinoa flour as our sole source flour for baking and producing our dry mixes. We are one of a kind in the country and possibly in the world. Additionally, all our products are naturally gluten-free and vegan.

Our signature dessert is The Famous Raspberry Shortbread Bar. This product cannot be purchased in a dry mix. We bake the bars to order. By the end of 2015 we had sold over 10,000 Nationwide. To date, this is our bestselling product.

The beauty in our food is that it is delicious and healthy. Quinoa Esta Bakery started out as a quinoa bakery providing a variety of baked-to-order desserts. We quickly evolved into a gluten free and vegan food source for those who need to adhere to certain dietary restrictions.

Most importantly, our foods provide an excellent source of plant protein and fiber. Quinoa is a complete protein that provides the body with all nine essential amino acids. These unique food qualities aid the body in building healthy cellular structure.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Sharon Downing just released her book Food Drama Bakebook. This book can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or in Kindle format. We plan to continue to develop a line of dry mixes that give our customers the power to eat well and to become excellent bakers.

We also plan to establish farmer’s market franchises nationwide for health-conscious persons who are seeking to earn extra income by providing the community with healthier dessert options.

Our biggest change is that we have removed almost all our baked-to- order dessert items from our website. The Famous Raspberry Shortbread Bar is still available. All our dry mixes can be found and purchased online at quinoaestabakery.com.

Our newest biggest thing is the letsbakethis.com website. The site is more of an intimate interaction between the owner Sharon Downing and the customer. There you can find easy to prepare recipes and a list of the services provided by Sharon Downing.

Pricing:

• Sharon Downing’s Food Drama Bakebook can be purchased online at Amazon for $12.99

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.quinoaestabakery.vom
• Phone: 602 795-8802
• Email: sharon@quinoaestabakery.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quinoaestabakery/
• Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/quinoaestabakery/

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