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A well-known low-carber in the community answers your questions about everything from nutrition to family issues, stress, and heck — even your love life. She's been the "go to gal" for awhile now when people need a little advice. And who is she? Well, we're not telling. She remains anonymous so that she can better give very frank advice. She doesn't pull any punches. You can remain anonymous too if you want — Just think "Dear Abby" — you know, signing off like "Harried in the Workplace" or "Desperate for Carbs in Detroit". Send in your question to The Advice Lady at advicelady@lowcarbluxury.com.                                          It's Just Frosting on The Cake... Dear Advice Lady, I have a cooking question... I have been trying to find a couple of foolproof low-carb sugar free frosting recipes to ice some of the desserts I've made at the Low Carb Luxury site (the almond poundcake, the pumpkin snack cakes, cupcakes, etc.) Do you have some real basic recipes that are yummy and low carb? Thanks,       Frosting-Loving Faye

Dear Frosting Faye — I adore a great frosting too... It truly is the "icing on the cake". There are many good low carb frosting recipes out there and several here at this site, but I'll share with you (all) my two personal favorite recipes I make regularly. Each recipe I've listed below uses Splenda — the "granular" kind that measures like sugar — but you can use a mix of sweeteners, including some liquid to further reduce carbs. The second recipe calls for part Splenda and part Diabetisweet, and I find it works much nicer if you really use both separate sweeteners rather than all Splenda. Creamy Bakery-Style Frosting 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin 1 Tablespoon cold water 1 cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup Splenda Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in a small bowl, allow to set 3 minutes to soften. Place bowl containing softened gelatin over another filled with hot water (like a double boiler); set aside until gelatin dissolves into a clear liquid. ( If hot water cools before this happens, discard it, and replace with more hot water. If you prefer, gelatin may be dissolved in a small saucepan over low heat. ) Beat cream and vanilla together until peaks form. While beating, pour in dissolved gelatin. Beat until thick. Use immediately or store refrigerated. Makes 1 3/4 cups frosting. Total carbohydrate in recipe: 19 grams. Divide by number of cake pieces frosted. For cake cut to 8 pieces, frosting adds 2.3 grams carbohydrate. Carolina Cream Cheese Frosting 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature 1/3 cup Splenda 1/8 cup Diabetisweet 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond or peach extract 2 cups heavy cream Use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to whip the cream cheese until smooth. Reduce the speed and stir in the sweeteners and the extracts until the mixture is smooth and well blended. With the mixer on low speed, add half of the cream. Use a rubber spatula to remove any unmixed cream cheese from the bottom of the bowl. When the mixture is smooth, gradually add the rest of the whipping cream. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff. Use immediately for the best decorating texture. Makes Frosting and/or filling for an 8-inch cake. Total carbohydrate in recipe: 25 grams. Divide by number of cake pieces frosted. For cake cut to 10 pieces, frosting adds 2.5 grams carbohydrate. VARIATIONS: Chocolate Frosting: Add 2 squares melted and cooled unsweetened baking chocolate. (Add additional sweetener to taste if desired) Lemon or Orange Frosting: Stir in 1 tablespoon grated lemon or orange peel. (Add a few drops of food color to match if desired.) Nutty Coconut Frosting: Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract or flavoring, plus 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut and 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans.                                                                                      What about "Malanga"? Dear Advice Lady, Could you please email me the nutritional information for Malanga? Thanks, V. Betterly

Dear V, Thanks for asking a good question, V... We don't email answers directly, rather we answer them here in the newsletter so that everyone can benefit from the replies. Malanga is most common in Caribbean Markets, Cuba, etc, and in the Mexican Market. In the Caribbean, malanga is often used as a natural thickener, because of its high starch content. In this statement, you probably begin to see that they are not appropriate for low-carb diets. Depending on where in the world you find it, malanga is either also known as, or is a close cousin of taro or dasheen (high-carbohydrate staples in the Pacific islands, Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, and parts of South America), as Tannia, Malanga Amarilla, Yautia Amarilla, or Cocoyam in Cuba and Puerto Rico, or as asmalanga, tannia, yautia, or tequesc-amote in southern Mexico. The starch content is high — about 60-70%. The malanga comes in at 65 grams of carbohydrate for 1 cup cooked (and only 1 gram of that is fiber.) I'm afraid, Miss V, that malanga is not a staple you can indulge in while low-carbing.

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