By: Amy Cleary

Two Newfoundlanders’ quest to bring healthier treats to the table

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Chocolate chip cookies, raspberry jam, and brownies are some of the products decorating The Herald lunch room table brought in by Amanda Poisson and her mother-in-law Carrie Elgar, baked fresh that morning in the Paradise kitchen bakery they call Keto House Bakery.

Making a Change

The Herald had the opportunity to sit down with the creators, taste-testing and learning about the yummy products.

Anyone familiar with the keto lifestyle knows that keto friendly products are made from fat, almond flour, butter and eggs. 

The duo share that they have a quick and easy process to change familiar dessert recipes to keto friendly options.

“For me, I start out with a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Then I’ll go ‘I can’t use this’ because it’s not ketogenic. It’s not gluten free. It’s not low carb, whatever,” said Poisson. She then works the recipe until it’s perfect. 

The two women even have very young, energized and lucky taste testers that regularly sample each new and delicious treat.

“My grandkids love the cupcakes and you would never know that they are sugar free. It’s so good,” said Elgar.

Poisson started the bakery because of her own weight-loss experience.  

“It pretty much started with my own keto journey at first. I started my ketogenic lifestyle May 19, 2017. I just felt so heavy, tired and miserable. After some reading I was intrigued and wanted to challenge myself to quit the junk and eat healthier, so I dove in and learned as I went. I was amazed after only a short while how much energy I had! I was never bloated or tired. I felt like a million bucks! This lifestyle change has bettered my health so much that I wanted everyone who saw my results to know about it. And seeing all these people trying keto for themselves made me think these people are probably wishing you could go to a store and have a treat too. So eventually it lead us here; wanting to help those who want to cut sugar and be healthier by giving them easy choices to reach for instead of caving for the sugar-filled treats,” said Poisson

Addicted to Feeling Good

Once Poisson started on her journey to become sugar-free, the rest of her family followed behind. 

“We are both kind of doing this together with our family. My son lost over 30 pounds over a very short period. After, I was into it and I lost weight. It’s addicting when you feel good,” said Elgar.

Since Poisson has opened the bakery, business has been booming, she shares.  

“When we started this, we thought that this was going to be something very small and then all of the sudden everything is getting very big and moving very fast. Simply for Life, now we are going to be stocking their shelves. We’ve had another store in Corner Brook reach out and we also have our application in to get an industrial kitchen and to start making pre-made meals,” said Poisson.

They do plan on continuing to grow though, perhaps even opening up a store. 

“I think everyone would love to be able to stop in and get what they want anytime the feel like it,” said Poisson.

The brave duo have no fear that the demand will die out, however. 

“We kind of thought it was going to fade. Keto was always talked about. Even if the keto part dies out, people still don’t want to fill their bodies with carbs and sugar and there’s diabetes and gluten intolerance and gluten allergies. Our customers aren’t just keto, so if keto fades off a little it’s going to be okay,” said Poisson.

You can order any of Poisson’s products from her directly on Facebook page The Keto House Bakery.