I never thought I would be upset to learn that I needed to eat more sweets! I was a little over 3 months pregnant when I hopped onto the scale at my doctor’s office to discover I had not gained any weight. Not as much as a pound! That’s when I started to cry. Of course, we all know that when you’re pregnant your emotions can run away with you. But I should explain that my tears were partly a reaction to my first son being born underweight because of a complication in utero. He is absolutely fine now, perfectly ornery, and the complications that caused him to be underweight were not in any way related to my weight gain. Quickly, my doctor came to my side reassuring me not to worry, but then just as quickly proceeded to tell me to begin a new diet: one that included many high calorie foods from my “guilty pleasure” list. When I replayed the afternoon for my husband, aside from sharing his concern, he had two words for me: “DOUGHNUT PLANT”.

Doughnut Plant is the maker of the fancy doughnuts that have become a favorite treat for us at Dean & Deluca, and they also have their very own shop hidden on the Lower East Side.  So the next morning I made a beeline for 379 Grand Street to check out the Doughnut Plant digs. Of course, if you don’t want to hoof it all the way to the Lower East Side, you can also find them at Zabar’s, Joe’s Art of Coffee, Citarella and Oren’s Daily Roast. The Doughnut Plant story is a compelling one of how the owner, Mark Isreal, started in a basement tenement building — a one man show, baking all night and then bicycling his deliveries by day. The fact that his Grandfather was a baker, starting in WWI and that some of these very recipes live on today adds to the richness of these extraordinarily tasty delights.

Aside from the cool history, the doughnuts are just superior! Take the vanilla bean cake doughnut, made from scratch with real vanilla bean, a personal favorite of mine.  Or the peanut butter glazed jelly-filled square doughnuts with jams made of fresh, seasonal fruits — amazing! All of the doughnuts are made with all natural ingredients, free from trans fats, preservatives and artificial flavorings. Now, I know that doesn’t make them the ultimate health food snack, but it sure makes me feel better when I reach for my second doughnut!

By the way,  I did manage to gain plenty of weight in the past couple of months, and not from an entirely ‘doughnut diet’, either!

-Kristin