Okay, we're about to discuss some of the things that go into our recipes. We thought it a good idea because sometimes a recipe works really well with one type of ingredient, but not with another.

For starters, our main oil is Canola. If we use another kind in a recipe it will be noted.
    Olive oil is of the Extra Virgin variety, which comes from the first pressing. It has more flavor and is considered a better quality over later pressings.
    For other fats Babs usually uses butter. She says she's heard too many bad things about hydrogenated fats and tries to avoid them whenever possible. Salted is used most of the time. Unsalted is best for baking because it doesn't have the salt to mask any funkiness. Some bakers also feel salted butter makes cookies tougher, however neither of us have noticed any difference.

Unbleached white flour with wheat germ is what Babs uses for most of her flour needs. While it's not as good as whole wheat, it is better that most white flours in that it's not bleached and has the germ added.
    We also keep soy flour in the kitchen, too, in case we should run short on eggs while baking. According to what we've been told one heaping tablespoon of flour mixed with a tablespoon of water is suppose to equal one egg. The problem we've found it that that much soy flour causes things to stick to the pans. Babs says she's going to try a heaping teaspoon of soy flour instead. We'll get back to you with the results.

Speaking of eggs, we like to use large size eggs. Most recipes call for that size. We prefer eggs from free range chickens and especially from those that aren't given antibiotics. Usually that's a good indicator that the chickens that did the laying were treated well. Stick with whatever is local in your area and try to get the freshest you can.

We are both big fans of Florida Crystals unbleached cane sugar. Some may argue that sugar is sugar and from a nutritional point they are correct. However, if you consider what the sugar refining process consists of (a lot of waste and sometimes chemicals) you might be able to see why we love the stuff.
    Another sweetener we've used occasionally is Sucanat, or dehydrated cane juice. It used to be a popular sweetener some years ago, but since it doesn't behave like sugar, when Florida Crystals came out it was quickly replaced.

Babs always keeps skim milk in the fridge. She can't tolerate anything with more fat (not that she tolerates skim very well, either). It seems to work well in all the recipes we've tried and since it's fat free, all the better! Sometimes she also gets powdered nonfat milk to make up just for cooking and baking.

Well those are the most of the things we show a preference for. We will add them as we go, if there are any more. I hope this info helps you in your cooking. Now go check out the recipes and have a good day!