Paka Baking Mix Review

I received these two boxes of Paka Baking Mix from Silver Fern Brand for free in exchange for my honest review.  I only expected to be sent the lemon bars mix so I was pleasantly surprised to see the blueberry muffins as well!

Silver Fern Brand currently has a baker's dozen of Paka Baking Mixes that are good for healthier breakfasts or desserts.  All the mixes are lower in sugar (therefore carbs) and calories as well as higher in protein and fiber content.  All but the pancakes are gluten free. Silver Fern Brand created their own proprietary sweetener called Kakato that includes an added boost of dietary fibers and probiotics. Other key ingredients are whey protein isolate, oat bran, whole algal flour, acacia gum, and flaxseed meal.  Pricing of these is about the same as what you see in the store for other gluten free baking mixes.

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Sunday I made both mixes so I could bring them with us to DC this weekend.  I want to have some healthy snacks for the road and evenings.

I started with the Lemon Bars.  I've eaten lemon bars before but never made them (as far as I can remember).  The crust was pretty easy to whip up and I didn't even have to mix it up as long as the instructions said.  I popped the crust into the oven and worked on the filling.  (To me the filling is something on the inside so I found it odd that's what it was called.  Searching recipes online I see some others calling this a topping instead.  Neither name seems fitting but I don't know what other name would work better.)

Once the bars were baking I started on the Blueberry Muffins.  My silicone muffin pan must be a little small because the box says that this mix makes 12 muffins.  I emptied the rest into one of the pans I normally use for banana bread so it wouldn't go to waste.  Austin laughed at me because I'd forgotten to keep the same bowl to use for both mixes, resulting in needing a second pair of hands (his) to scrape the glass bowl.

I don't know what it is about me and baking desserts (other than Austin's birthday cakes) but I seem to burn the bottoms every time.  Whether I've used a spray or a liner it still happens.  I embrace the suck (I can't remember where I heard this phrase but it seems fitting) with my baking skills and still enjoy what I prepare.  Austin wouldn't try any.  I think Benny was only eating them because they were there.  It must be an opposites attract type situation because he prefers the lemon bars and I prefer the blueberry muffins (and I'm not much of a blueberry fan).

It's been a while since I had lemon bars before so I don't have anything to compare but they didn't have an overpowering lemony taste.  Silver Fern Brand's Lemon Bars do have a cheesecake like flavor.  I cheated a bit and used lemon juice from a bottle instead of a fresh one so I'm not sure if that changed anything.  I mixed the lemon bar crust and filling by hand with a spatula and whisk.  The Blueberry Muffins didn't turn out light as shown on the box because I used the blender, therefore squishing some blueberries in the process.

What flavor(s) of the Paka Baking Mixes would you try first?

If your baking skills are worse than than mine or just want other dessert options, Silver Fern Brand also has chocolates and popcorn available that are boosted with fiber and probiotics.