Ladymug Cafe - Vegan, Gluten-free
Hi! My name is Valerie, and for years I've been planning my own business: a cafe named Ladymug which accommodates diabetics, vegans, and people with Celiac's.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself: I have a total of about four years of cafe/food experience, much of it being managerial experience. I had a food safety certification for a few years, which I will gladly renew once I have the funding to open Ladymug.
I live in Louisville, KY with my husband and our three cats: Izzy (pictured with me above), Tabby, and TJ. My husband is a type one diabetic, and I have several family members and friends with various dietary restictions as well. Talking with them and seeing how difficult it can be to have their needs met was a large part of what inspired me to pursue desserts that can be enjoyed by people with or without nutritional limitations.
Ladymug's Mission Statement
Ladymug aims to create a peaceful, accepting atmosphere where people with dietary restrictions can enjoy a drink and a dessert without worry. We also aim to create a fun, friendly, and fair space for both our customers and our employees.
Ladymug will serve espresso-based drinks, coffee, tea, and so on like other cafes, of course, but I'm proud to say that I've managed to figure out how to make some desserts that are gluten-free, vegan, and low-carb all in one so that people with dietary restrictions can enjoy desserts as much as the rest of us!
Gluten-free, vegan chocolate muffins: 11.6g of carbs per muffin
My goal for the desserts was to keep them around or under 15 grams of carbohydrates per serving (after subtracting fiber, since fiber does not affect blood sugar levels), and so far I've managed. The chocolate muffins you see above took a lot of time and effort (about 20 tries), but I finally got them to turn out and it was worth it! Other flavors of muffins include peanut butter, cinnamon maple, raspberry lemon, and almond poppyseed.
Espresso lollipop: 13.1g carbs (vegan and gluten-free)
Other flavors of lollipops include green tea, rooibos, maple, Earl Grey, and chai.
Some other desserts that have been finalized are aquafaba meringue cookies, peanut butter cookies, and coconut macaroons. I'm working on new recipes all the time, and I'm thiiiiis close to cracking vegan, gluten-free whipped cream!
Speaking of whipped cream, let me tell you a little bit about the drinks. Ladymug will be located in Louisville, Kentucky, and I've already got my coffee and tea suppliers lined up.
For the teas, I've chosen Louisville Tea Company, a family-owned company in Louisville that has been operating since 2012. Their teas are lovely and fragrant, and Ladymug will be carrying their Louisville Breakfast, English Breakfast (decaf), Gunpowder (green), Earl Grey, Indian Chai, Rooibos, Bluegrass Blueberry, and Bashford Bedtime teas.
The coffee and espresso beans will be from Sunergos, a local coffee roaster. They gave me a tour of their roastery and an explanation of the different types of beans and roasts, and they are clearly masters of their craft. I'll be proud to use their product at Ladymug once the doors open!
Ladymug will also be carrying a variety of syrups meant for flavoring coffee, including many sugar-free syrups to accommodate diabetics and people who are otherwise avoiding sugar.
The "Lady Limonana," my own little twist on a limonana, which is a blended drink that originated in the Middle East
Here's a link for anyone who wants to donate but only has PayPal available: paypal.me/valerieshort
All funds collected will be used to purchase equipment, and every little bit will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this far, and thank you even more if you decide to chip in!
