03.08.02 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
I'd bet that as the next two years march by, we'll be seeing an ever increasing
number of bread options for low carbers. The reason is simple, and two-fold...
first, as a people, we universally love the taste and versatility of bread.
And second, you can't beat the convenience of a sandwich.
So we keep baking and
testing here to give you our feedback on the good ones. The latest entry we
had the chance to try are the new Bread Machine Mixes from diet originator,
Atkins
Nutritionals. They've
introduced three new mixes for bread machine use (though like most, you can make them
without a machine, but we suggest you have a strong arm for the kneading!)
The varieties are Caraway Rye
Flavor, Country White, and Sourdough. Without hesitation, our favorite
is the Sourdough variety — especially if you really like the little kick from
classic sour dough. All were good, and all rose nicely, if sometimes unevenly, in
our bread machines.
They come in at 3 net grams of carbohydrate per slice (when sliced into 15 slices),
and the best virtue of these breads is that they are soy free. So if you cannot
tolerate soy, these might be your best option. Atkins blends low glycemic corn
starch with his wheat gluten, as well as
both casein and whey proteins, to get a classic bread taste
and consistency. This also means it browns more evenly when toasted.
It can go bad quickly (within 48 hours) if not refrigerated, so remember to
keep in cold. If you want, and you eat a loaf slowly, slice ahead of time;
then freeze half-loaves.
The Caraway Rye makes for a very good Reuben sandwich when grilled in butter
and the "White" bread can be made into a light wheat bread by adding 1/4 cup
unprocessed wheat bread to the mix (blend thoroughly) and an extra Tablespoon of
water. All three varieties are available from The Low Carb Connoisseur.
12.22.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Love Chocolate Morsels? If you're looking for a great Chocolate Chips to
make your favorite low carb baked goods, you'll want to try the Sugar Free Chocolate Chips from
The Low Carb Chef ... They're the semi-sweet variety
just like the famous Toll-House brand in mini-chips. And they bake beautifully.
We tried them in our Chocolate Chip Cookie
recipe, as well as adding them to the popular low carb mixes to make chocolate
chip brownies, chocolate chip muffins, and more. We also love 'em in our Mint Chocolate Chip
Ice Cream! Sweetened with Mannitol, they bake up nearly identically to the "real
thing". Discounting mannitol, they're less than 1/2 carb per serving, but most of
us will want to allow more like 2 carbs per serving... still a bargain and so
delicious!
As always, Low Carb Chef
Sugar free products are available at The Low Carb Dieter's Page.
12.03.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
It's certainly been a season rich with one of my favorite flavors -- Banana. First
DaVinci introduces their Banana Syrup, then Flax-O-Meal's fiber-rich Banana Walnut
mix (see review below), and now it's 
Banana Muffin & Pancake Mix! Make sure you make them both —
both the muffins and the pancakes. First, let's talk muffins: These make very
light (lady finger/sponge cake consistency) muffins. If you like an airy muffin,
these are for you. I personally like a very sweet muffin, so I add a smidge of
extra sweetener (use a liquid if you don't want to add any carbs.) And a couple of
tablespoons of your favorite low-carb fruit spread (like Keto marmalade or Keto
Pineapple Fruit Spread) make for a fabulous mixed fruit taste. Or add walnuts or
flax for extra fiber. Sprinkle a little Keto Sweet or Diabetisweet on the tops of
muffins for a "sugary" crown. As we always say, the best way to keep it interesting
is to be creative when you cook and bake — even with mixes.
As for pancakes, we think these make those great pastry types with a French crepe-like
feel. (And they come in at less than 2 carbs per pancake.) Drizzle with spiced butters,
whipped creams, and flavored syrups. And if
you can spare a few extra carbs, some thin slices of real banana make an indulgent
accent.
Keto Banana Muffin & Pancake Mix is available at Keto Foods - Life Services and soon from The Low Carb Connoisseur, netrition,
and The
Low Carb Dieter's Page.
09.03.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Ready for more options in muffin mixes? The new Atkins' Blueberry
Muffin Mix is a winner. Baking up
dense, hearty muffins with a sweet (but not too sweet) taste, they hungrily
eat up butter or cream cheese and can provide quick breakfasts on the go for
a week if you want to microwave a fresh one each morning.
Each 12oz box makes 18 muffins and requires the addition of water, eggs, oil
and butter. (By the way, we got the best results using a light olive oil or
a nut oil like almond or peanut.) The blueberries are freeze-dried natural without
sugar and bake into moist bits. The box contains two additional recipes — one
for scones (that comes out only "fair"), and one for Blueberry Lemon Poundcake.
The later is worth the price of the mix (though we suggest adding additional
Splenda or other sweetener.)
Easy and fast... the muffins come in at 3 grams each (after fiber) and the
cake comes in at 4.5 to 5.5 per slice (depending on added sweetener.) It's
available online from
The Low Carb Connoisseur.
09.03.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
This weekend we also had the chance to try the new Atkins Pancake & Waffle
mix. Like
the muffins, the pancake box contains recipes for additional options — in this
case, two varieties of crepes. The recipe for the "sweet crepes" is better than
either the "savory crepes" or the default recipe, and they're really exceptional.
But we have found another great use for this mix — mix it half and half with
parmesan cheese, add italian spices (and maybe a bit of garlic), and dip
your chicken in beaten egg and then this mix before frying. It's excellent.
As the standard mix, we liked the crisp edges you get with waffles better
than pancakes, but we were generally pleased with all variations.
Pancakes work out to 3 grams each (after fiber) but the mix is 3 grams per 1/4 cup
for those of you determining carbs for using the mix to fry with.
It's available online from
The Low Carb Connoisseur or CarbSmart.
04.19.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
If you're a veggie fan, or better yet, a fan of classic ranch dressing, you're
probably going to simply love the new Spicy Vegetable Irene's Health
Bread — we did.
It was super soft and
fresh with cream cheese type spreads (as well as pimiento cheese topped!), but
it shines brightest when toasted or grilled.
It makes a better garlic bread than
their "garlic flavored bread" and it's yummy grilled in butter to make a club
sandwich or grilled cheese. The veggie flavor truly is a cross between a ranch
type dressing taste and Good Seasonings mix. Add to that, the bread boasts a subtle
sweetness from the whey that plays tantilizingly off the hint of vinegar. We really
loved this bread and if spicy veggies call your name, you probably will too.
They come in at 4 carbs per slice, so don't go overboard (though you might want to.)
No bleaches, conditioners or preservatives are used in Irene's Breads, and they
contain no soy.
All varieties of Irene's bread are available from The Low Carb Connoisseur Bakery.
04.05.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
This past weekend, we made pancakes, cookies, and cupcakes with the new
Soy Creations
High Protein Baking
Mixes, and after a little experimenting
to get the right mix, we really liked the outcome. They come in four varieties:
Blueberry,
Strawberry, Banana, and Apple Cinnamon ! And the best news is that
they are all zero carb!
They are made with SUPRO Brand
Isolated Soy Protein which means that while they are soy, they don't
taste like soy. (It goes without saying that those who are allergic or
sensitive to soy should not use this product.) They're sweetened with ace-k,
but since you'll be adding Splenda to most recipes using it, you'll get that nice
sweetener synergy that comes from the sucralose/ace-k mix. But the big plus
here are the flavors. They're very bold, so what you make with them will come
out tasting like Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, etc.
First up, we made Cinnamon Apple Cookies. We started with the recipe on the can
but weren't happy with it. We felt they were dry and lacked texture. So
we came up with this one that was
really good! For pancakes, the recipe on the can is a good one. We made the
blueberry ones and added some fresh blueberries to them (and topped it with
Estee Blueberry syrup.)
All four flavors are available
online at CarbSmart.
04.02.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Yes, it's true — we're actually doing a spotlight recommendation of
Atkins Bake Mix ! First, let's get a few things
out of the way — this is not the original formula, and secondly, ignore the
recipes on the can. You won't like the bread you make with it. But unless you
have a sensitivity to soy (this contains it), you'll benefit from having it
onhand in your low-carb kitchen.
Where Atkins Baking Mix shines brightest is as an "extender" to other flours.
It gets you great baked goods while keeping the carbs low. Here's an example.
We recently began work on a showy low-carb dessert for a dinner party. What
we came up with is our Cherry Springer! (A very cherry cake with a Zzzing!) Adding
the Atkins Mix to the almond flour it calls for makes it all come together
beautifully. At only 3 carbs per 1/4 cup, it's a great carb bargain!
The current formula is completely wheat and gluten free for those who have sensitivity
to these. We also find it works very well in many pancake and
waffle type recipes such as our Sweet French Waffles.
Beat a couple of Tablespoons into
a couple eggs, a little parmesan and your favorite spices
and you have a really good batter for frying meats or veggies.
I use it several times a month for our all-time favorite, Herb 'n Garlic Cheese Biscuits (people always ask if
they're the recipe from Red Lobster.) All in all, Atkins Bake Mix is a really
valuable tool in low-carb cooking and baking.
It's available online
from The Low Carb Connoisseur or CarbSmart.
03.29.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
As the low-carb bread machine mixes continue to add to their ranks,
our selections and choices continue to grow. And while we may have
to put in a bit more effort than those that can simply stop at
7-Eleven for a loaf of bread, we now have rich, delicious choices — many
of them far better tasting than those nutritionally striped
high carb versions.
This past week we baked up the two newest entries from
Ketogenics —
their Honey Wheat and their Pumpernickel Rye.
We thought both breads passed our tests nicely, but we all had a preference
for the honey wheat. Maybe it's simply that we've missed that honey-like
taste quite a bit. In addition to honey, it also boasts a rich buttermilk
and brown sugar taste. Yes, the flavors are artificial — no real brown sugar
OR honey here — but you'd never guess it. The crumb is softer than the rye
and the bread eats up butter. It's a great bread to serve with a meal.
Try it sliced with warm butter along side your Easter ham.
The pumpernickel rye has a more rustic appeal, but still offers up a slightly
sweet flavor that it gets from non-other than a raisin flavor. This bread is
at its best slightly warm (not toasted) with cream cheese. It's also great
grilled with butter and topped with mounds of lean corned beef and swiss cheese.
Don't forget the pickle!
Lastly, we liked very much the even-rise we got from both of these breads. They
came out looking perfectly bread-like with no shrinking or high-on-one-sides.
If you get 16 slices from a loaf, your carbs are
7 per slice, 5 of that fiber (so
2 net carbs per slice), but we found it was easier and more satisfying to get
about 12 slices per loaf. If you do too, count on 2.7 net grams per slice.
Ketogenics bread mixes are available online
from The Low Carb Connoisseur, CarbSmart or The Low Carb Dieter's
Page.
03.27.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
When I first held these products in my hands, the first thought I had was, "Bet they
never figured they'd be marketing to low-carbers..." Bread products. I bet we use
more of them than your average non-dieter. Baking our own breads and bread-products is
something very few Americans seem to do much anymore. It's just easier to pick something
up at the bakery or the grocery. Well, since most of us don't have that option now
(and we're all rediscovering baking!), we need some specialty products that let us
get around some of the limitations of low-carb baking. And Lora Brody Products come to the rescue nicely!
First up (and the one I consider most valuable), there's Lora Brody's Dough Relaxer. If you've ever used the low-carb
dough recipes (or specialty bread mixes) to make pizza crusts, desserts, or breadsticks,
you know that the elasticity from our extra gluten can get out of hand. That's
where the Dough Relaxer really shines. You can put an end to dough that fights you
back! It's so versatile, we tackled a project we'd been working on for awhile.
We made a heavenly batch of very low-carb warm soft pretzels with Lora Brody's Dough Relaxer
and a can of Keto French Bread Machine mix. (Yes, we posted the recipe — it's
right here.)
Next up are the Bread Dough Enhancer and the Sourdough Bread Enhancer. If you've been having problems
getting your doughs to rise (or they shrivel afterward), then these are the
products for you. They can significantly improve the rise, texture,
crumb, crust, flavor and shelf life of lower carbohydrate breads. The sourdough
version can turn any dough into sourdough to get that great, unique taste. We
loved the results we got and even added some to waffles and pancakes for a
super "zing".
All three varieties come in 10-oz cans, have a shelf-life of 18 months,
and should not be refrigerated (Store tightly sealed in a dry place.)
They are available online
from The Low Carb Connoisseur, or CarbSmart.
03.12.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Next on the "It's about time we reviewed these" list is the plethora of
products from Expert Foods ! Many of you are already familiar
with them (or at least with some of them) and will need no introduction to
these little silver pouches. But for the hundreds of you who have written to ask
"What's not/Starch?" when they see it in one of our recipes, let's
give you a quick run down. The most popular products from Expert Foods (makers
of specialty baking ingredients with our low-carb kitchen needs in mind) are
not/Starch, not/Cereal, and not/Sugar.
So, what are these products? They're just what their titles seem to
imply — the not/Starch takes the place of cornstarch (and sometimes flour) in
applications where thickening is required — such as with gravies and sauces.
It takes a little experimentation at first to find the right ratio to get
your desired thickness (for example, although one teaspoon thickens much like
one teaspoon of cornstarch, one Tablespoon of not/Starch thickens like two
Tablespoons of cornstarch.) It's all fiber, so there are no carbs to add to
the finished dish.
Next comes not/Cereal, and that's one we use more
often than any other around here. It's easy to mix — add a Tablespoon to a small
amount of warm water and whisk to mix out lumps. Then add the remainder
of liquid (usually about 1/2 cup depending on how thick you like your
cereal) and microwave for 30-45 seconds. Whisk again. Then for an almost
zero carb bowl, add your sweetener (perhaps a Tablespoon of DaVinci syrup?) and
a splash of heavy cream if you like and enjoy. (A 1/2 cup
serving works out to be 1.6g carbohtydrates — of which 1.3g is fiber.) When you
can handle a few extra carbs, you can "add in" some goodies. The lowest carb
add-in is ground nuts. Add 1/4 cup ground walnuts or pecans (favorites here!)
for a nutty, rich cereal. Or add a small amount of regular high-carb cereal.
You can add just a teaspoon of quick-oats, cream-of-wheat, or baby cereal to
get a whole bowl that tastes very much like it was all the high carb stuff.
Just remember, with both the not/Starch and the not/Cereal, the secret's in
the whisking.
The third most popular product is the not/Sugar. It offers up the richer
"mouthfeel" that sugarless products sometimes lack. Remember, sugar doesn't
just add sweetness to dishes, it also adds texture and thickening. You
just have to keep in mind that not/Sugar is not a sweetener — it has no
sweetening power of its own. Think of it as the "other half" of artificial
sweeteners. Mix with Splenda and you get a more realistic feel in your baked
goods, shakes, etc.
We also evaluated the
Expert Foods Grits Mix.
Much like the not/Cereal, it
works best as an extender. Mix it with a small amount of REAL grits to get
a whole bowl of realistic tasting grits for a tiny fraction of the carbs.
So if you're a Southerner that loves their grits, you don't have to
miss out anymore. Again, it's nearly all fiber.
Expert Foods products are available
online at Netrition.
03.09.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
If you're looking for a bake mix that's more like traditional flour
than Atkins, but with lower carbs than say oat flour, then the new
Low Carb Chef Bake Mix might be for you.
It comes in a simple white
box-pak (as with all their products packed generic style to keep
costs down.)
But at approximately 12 carbs per cup of bake-mix, it's
pretty useful for making biscuits, pie crusts, etc. We tried the
biscuit recipe that comes with the mix, but found that using buttermilk
or sour cream made for better biscuits. We also discovered it was best
to whisk eggs thoroughly with the sour cream (or buttermilk) before
proceeding with recipe instructions.
But best of all, it made great
cinnamon raisin biscuits. Remember those from Burger King? Follow
their regular recipe but add 1/2 cup Splenda (or the equivalent in
liquid sweetener to keep carbs down) and a full teaspoon of cinnamon.
Raisins can be carby, so buy the unsweetened variety (I get mine at the
health food store) and cut raisins into halves. Add 1/8 cup of chopped
raisins to the entire mix and you'll be surprised how great an impact that
tiny amount of raisins can have. (Of course to keep 'em very low-carb,
just make cinnamon biscuits.) Once done, spread with cream cheese/Splenda
mix for a breakfast pastry you'll really like.
You'll want to use the Low Carb Chef Bake Mix for "dusting" too. From
a pale powdery coating on meats (great on a buttery piece of veal!) to
dusting your work surface when making your favorite low-carb breads and
crusts. It's so reasonably priced, you won't feel like you're wasting
the mix.
The Low Carb Chef Bake Mix is available online at The
Low Carb Dieter's Page.
02.12.01 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Breaded and
Fried. Sound good? It's kind of
the American way, isn't it? When
we were low-fat dieting, fried anything was definitely out. And when
we started low-carbing, "breaded" fell somewhere between prohibited and "tried-but-soggy."
Well, if your hot button is a plate of super-crispy Southern Fried Chicken, or
Georgia-style pork chops, or just about anything else dropped in hot grease and
fried to decadent perfection, the new Crumbs fry mix are just for you! At only 3 carbs
per ounce, they deliver an outstanding
crisp with unique flavor that we promise not a single non-dieting guest will think
twice about indulging in! The crumbs come in three varieties — Original, Italian Style, and Cajun Style!
It won't surprise you that our first foray into Keto Crumbs was for classic fried
chicken! We made regular chicken pieces in original flavor, and chicken breast
tenders in both Italian and Cajun.
All were completely delicious and all fry up
without a drop of sogginess. They brown evenly and cook in sync with the chicken.
Do you have a Popeye's Chicken in your area? If so, you'll have a good idea
what the Cajun tastes like. It's spicy, folks, and really does pack a punch. With
this in mind, our next dish was fried catfish! We mixed 1/2 Italian Crumbs and 1/2
Cajun to get a lot of spice and a little heat. What a winner! Paired with a spicy
tartar sauce and our own Cole Slaw,
it was... well, Wow!
Ya gotta try these, folks! Get out your skillets and deep fryers and go to town.
You can order online from The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, CarbSmart, or from Life
Services.
12.11.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
There's something inherently comforting about Chocolate
Chip Cookies, isn't there? Especially when they are warm
out of the oven. While we've come across a few recipes
for a low-carb version of them (the best we've found is
here at our site), there's
still been nothing overly convenient. Some of have wished for a
quick-mix that fits into our
busy lives. In the "old" days (the dark sugar-laden days before
low-carbing), we could just pick up a mix in the baking aisle
at the grocery and bake up a batch likety-split. But until
now, there's been no option for that in the low-carb world.
Now there's
Chocolate Chip
Cookie mix in a
convenient can. This 7 1/2 oz can makes a batch of 36
cookies. The chips? They're real mini chips
and therefore melt as you'd expect. By neccessity, there
are less chips than you probably added in the past
since these contain sugar, but the sugar amount is small
enough as to not cause an insulin hit. (The cookies themselves
are sucralose sweetened. Only the chips contain the small
amount of sugar.)
The label directions call for addng oil, melted butter,
and water, which produces a pretty good cookie - especially
if you're a purist. About half the group fell into this
category and liked them as-is. I don't fall into that
category and I liked the batch better that we made a few
changes to. The changes? I poured vanilla extract,
6 drops of liquid Splenda, 1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar Twin,
2 Tablespoons heavy cream,
1 teaspoon glycerin, and 1 egg yolk into a measuring
cup and stirred well. I then added enough water to make
1/2 cup, and this replaced the standard 1/2 cup of water.
These came out with a richer, more Tollhouse type taste,
but some found them too sweet. You'll know how you like your
cookies. Either way, these will fix your Chocolate Chip
Cookie Jones. They're great packed in a lunch or take a
few to the movies with you!
products are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, CarbSmart, and of course
Keto Foods - Life
Services.
11.29.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
We reviewed Irene's Health Bakery
Bread last Summer when we had a
chance to try only a small
amount of it. But we felt this review was worth renewing because we
recently had a chance to use it in a few Stuffing recipes we cooked up
(it works in any traditional recipe you've come to love — just substitute
it for the high carb kind) and we made an excellent bread pudding with it
as well. Here's a repeat of our original review:
For a diet for which the media says we eat no bread, we surely do find lots
of ways to prove them wrong. We've reviewed bread mixes — both quick
breads and yeast raised, and we've brought you some great bread recipes
to make yourself. But the convenience of having a pre-sliced loaf of bread
on hand to grab for a quick sandwich is something many of us miss. Most
of the supermarket breads are very high in carbs — some are as much as 12-17 carb grams
per slice ! That's where Irene's Health Bakery Bread comes in. We found this
bread — baked in Northern Ohio — available online (see link below) — and enjoyed
trying out the three varieties
offered. It comes in White (very like a traditional
"Italian" white), German Rye, and Garlic. Each comes in at 4 carbs per slice
(18 slices to a loaf) and make great sandwiches! The white bread made an
unsurpassed grilled cheese and a tuna melt because it's strong enough to hold
the browning in a buttered skillet. We loved the German Rye made into a Reuben
(corned beef, swiss and sauerkraut), and the garlic was great with melted jack
cheese. We suggest you package 4-6 slice paks in Ziploc bags for the freezer and
thaw a package as needed to keep your bread very fresh.
Irene's Health Bakery Breads are available online
from
The Low Carb Connoisseur Bakery.
11.21.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Been missing croutons on your caesar salad? That crunch is hard
to replace, isn't it? Been wishing you could still make crouton-based
stuffing for that holiday turkey? Well, you can stop wishing. The
new Better Croutons
from Synergy Diet's Bakery comes in at only 6 carb
grams per ounce (an ounce is a lot of croutons!)
They come in several
varieties — Plain
, Italian,
Garlic, and Parmesan.
We made a sample batch of
Turkey stuffing with a mixture of the Plain and the Italian with plenty of
sage and other traditional stuffing fare and we thought the result was hard
to tell from the high-carb variety!
And the Parmesan are superb on a Steak Caesar
Salad. The Garlic variety are just garlic-y enough to offer a real 'kick'
without being overpowering and we enjoyed these on grilled chicken salads.
Synergy has also formulated easy to use packaged Bread Crumbs.
These are offered
in Plain, Italian, and
Chicken flavors and offer the same
carb count as the croutons.
Their fine crumb makes for a great coating for
meats. We mixed 2 parts oat flour with 1 part Plain and 1 part Chicken bread
crumbs for dusting lean boneless pork chops. What we got were nutty, buttery,
crispy chops that everyone enjoyed. The bread crumbs (especially the Italian)
also make a really great meatloaf add-in, as well as a "filler" (use the Plain)
for salmon patties and crab cakes!
To get these very versatile Better Croutons and Better Bread Crumbs,
Visit Synergy's Low
Carb Bakery
to order!
11.09.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Just in time for the holidays — introduces
their newest variety of
yeast-raised machine bread mix — Cinnamon Raisin! Over the last year,
we've learned to improvise and experiment with many of the new mixes
and have made a pretty good Cinnamon Bread, but this one tops them
all without skipping a beat.
We made three loaves at our last meeting, and here are the results.
The first we made using the directions on the back of the can — word
for word. It made a very good loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and everyone
was pleased.
With the second, we took a cue from a few folks that commented they liked
their bread sweeter and we added 1/4 cup granulated Splenda to the dry
mix. For those wishing more cinnamon, we added an extra teaspoon of that
as well. We also altered the wet ingredients as follows: Instead of using
2 teaspoons of oil or melted butter, we added 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon
sweet almond oil to the bottom of the bread machine pan. Then we beat
1 egg in a small bowl, added it to 9 ounces of 105° water (instead of no
egg and 12 oz water.) We mixed it together well and added 1 teaspoon vanilla
extract and 1 teaspoon butter extract. We then poured it over the oil in
the pan and added the dry mix to the pan (floating on top of the water/egg
mixture.) We sprinkled the included yeast on top and put it through our usual
bread process in the machine.
Everyone agreed that while the "original" loaf was very good, the second
version was phenomenal. The egg in the mix gives rise to a bread so large
that if our machine had had a cycle for a 2-pounder, we would have used
it. The bread top smacked the top of the bread machine window / top. (We
use West Bend Deluxes, but check your bread machine's manual to adjust
your settings and your ingredient addition order as is proper for your
particular machine.)
The third loaf, we decided to make "bakery style". We made the mix
according to directions through the kneading cycle. Then we removed the bread
and laid it out on a counter (lightly oat-floured and covered with waxed
paper.) We flattened it to a long rectangle about an inch thick. We
brushed melted butter across it, sprinkled it liberally with Splenda and
Cinnamon and then rolled it up to re-form a loaf shape. We put it back into
the machine to rise and bake, but I believe it would have worked just as
well to have finished it in a traditional oven too.
The final version came out moist and decadent and reacted like a true bakery
style "swirl" bread. It takes more work this way, and
will cost you a few
additional carbs because of the added Splenda, but it's so worth it.
This is another product so exceptional, we've added it to our
Thanksgiving Menu
recommendations
The first two loaves both made superb French Toast with a cinnamony twist.
The second loaf made the best toast with butter. The third was the best soft
and warm and was great with cream cheese.
products are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, and of course
Life
Services.
10.31.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Pick up an Atkins Advantage Bar and look at the ingredients. Near the
top of the list, you'll find "glycerin." Then check your other bars.
From Doctor's Diet to Protein Revolution, you'll note that glycerin is
a useful and oft-used ingredient. In baking, it can keep cookies and
brownies moist and even gooey. And while it's used often in the food
industry, many home-cooks don't know about it, or understand how to use
it. In fact, when I first pulled the bottle out of the bag at a review
panel meeting, someone asked me, "are we making soap?!"
Because baking while keeping things very low carb requires a little
'magic' in the kitchen, we want you to be able to use all the tools at
your disposal to this end.
Glycerin — derived from vegetables
or coconut, is not actually a carbohydrate
and is not classed as one. For the majority of people, it causes little
or no insulin reaction, making it a useful tool in our low-carb kitchens.
Taste a little on your tongue and you'll see it seems a cross between a
light vegetable oil and a sweetener (and it is moderately sweet.)
However, we do advise you to use it judiciously, as we do with sugar
alcohols. In appreciable quantities it can cause some people to stall
their weight loss (one of the reasons why the protein bars stall some
people — especially if you over-indulge.) However, since in recipes, a
small quantity gives great results, you'll probably be able to use it
to great advantage.
We've posted a few new recipes to get you started and give you an idea
of how and where to use vegetable glycerin. These are the ones we
made — and really enjoyed — at the meeting. They are:
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, and
Pineapple Bars!
Vegetable Glycerin can be found in most health food stores. If
you can't locate it, it can be ordered online from Miss Roben's (do
a search for "glycerin".)
10.05.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
There's barely a day that goes by that someone doesn't write
and ask me for substitutions for flour in this recipe or
that. Many people believe there's one magic low-carb product
that is a universal substitute in all cases, but most of you
know that's not the case. In reality, different options net
different results. We use nut flours, alternate grain flours
(from oat flour to soy flour) and then there's the "protein
powders." They are a varied group indeed and can be egg-based,
dairy-based (milk protein), whey-based, or soy-based — or any
combination thereof. They can also be playing fast and loose with
the title, and the ingredients, so you'll want to be a dilligent
label-checker!
I've gotten the best results in the widest variety of recipes by
using either whey protein, or soy protein isolate. They are usually
between 1 carb and 0 carbs per 1/3 cup measure.
Several of the people I cook for often cannot tolerate soy, so
I was looking for a good quality whey protein powder whose ingredients
and carb counts I could trust. I found the
Ultimate LoCarb Whey from Biochem. (the "Natural" flavor) and
brought in a couple of cans
for the group to bake and cook with. We were pretty pleased with it
and felt we got good consistent results. It contains 99% pure whey
protein isolate, plus a faint vanilla flavor (not sweet, just smooth),
plus xanthan gum and beta carotene. It contains no lactose, so those
with an intolerance need not worry.
We found it works best in a mixture with most things — as we expected —
and had good results the following ways: When dredging meats, we mixed
4 parts whey protein with 1 part oat flour and got good browning and
flavor. It was good mixed half and half with crushed pork rinds for
breading meats and vegetables alike for frying. But our favorite use of
it was in making bread. In the Multi-Grain
Bread Machine Bread recipe at the site, it worked exceedingly well.
We also found it to lend a firm "German style" to the Gabi's World-Famous Bread recipe when we
used it in place of the soy flour (and it lowers the carb count too!)
It also made a tasty and crumbly version of the Basic Low Carb Pie Crust.
And for the holidays, try it in our Christmas Cookies recipe.
Biochem's Ultimate Lo Carb Whey comes in at approximately 2.5 grams per full
cup and is available from The Low Carb Connoisseur.
09.17.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Yes, it's true ... we're reviewing another bread machine bread.
(new-to-the-diet visitors often comment that we eat a lot of
bread for people that don't eat bread.) This time it's the
Carbolite Bread Mix. We've been waiting a bit
on this one to get some additional testing done before publishing
the review, but now that we're done, we can give it a pretty good
review.
What we discovered is that this mix makes a pretty good "white"
bread, but that it works even better if you add a tablespoon or
two of something "extra" (a little wheat bran, a little oat flour,
some seeds, some sun-dried tomatoes, etc.) It tends to taste a
bit sweet (we think they likely add a little too much Splenda to
their mix), but that one of these additions seems to neutralize it
and makes for a very interesting and different bread.
Their package directions list the addition of yeast (not included)
as "optional". It's not optional. You need the yeast. So remember
to add a packet of rapid rise/highly active yeast. (In every case
we used the SAF Perfect Rise Gourmet yeast (see review here for it),
but I think any good yeast would do.)
Bake the same as all other low-carb bread machine mixes and you
should get between 14 and 18 good slices from the loaf, netting a
3 to 4 grams per slice count depending on what extras you add. (The
package lists 2 carbs per slice, but you have to slice them very
thin for that count and add no extras — adjust your counts accordingly.)
Each box contains two polybags each making one loaf.
The best thing about this bread is that it holds a very elastic shape
after initial kneading, so if you wanted to make hamburger buns or
cinnamon rolls, it would shape nicely (and its natural sweetness would
make it ideal for the later.)
Carbolite Bread Mix is available from The Low Carb Connoisseur or from The Low Carb Dieter's Page.
08.21.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
I wonder how many of us would still count bread among our favorite items even
though we're low-carbing... Doesn't the whole world seem to revolve around it?
In much of the world, lunch means a sandwich ! So as evidenced
by our entire category of bread recipes and large quantity of low carb
bread mixes (most of which we've reviewed), it's apparent that steering clear of
most carbs doesn't have to mean giving up bread! And finding the perfect loaf
that still meets our very low carb requirements is a continual pursuit. The latest
entry is now one of my favorites, and most of the group's
number one favorite (including
my husband's.)
The kitchen magicians at
have come up with two amazing yeast-rasied
mixes made for your bread machine! They offer a classic French Loaf (which is absolutely a true
french bread!), and Sourdough Rye - just what my Reuben sandwich
craving has been needing. We had no problems at all making these loaves high
and perfect. In fact, the French Loaf rose so high, we were worried it might
smack the top of the bread machine top. (It didn't — but we're talking really
high, folks!)
A little experimenting proved
these breads were quite versatile for adding additional
ingredients such as cheese, or Splenda and cinnamon. An herb mix was great in the
sourdough. We also found them to toast nicely and to make great breadcrumbs.
Haven't had fondue in a while? Get out the old fondue pot because this bread held
onto the cheese like a pro. Now I'll have the challenge of finding some new
fondue recipes! Let me know if you have a low-carb favorite!
Don't have a bread machine? While I'd say if anything will get you to buy
one, this will — you'll be pleased to know they include instructions
for making it with conventional oven directions. Each loaf makes 16 slices
and comes in at only 2 grams of carb per slice. The yeast is included — tucked
inside. These breads are so good, we bet they'll have a hard time keeping them
in stock!
products are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, and of course
Life
Services.
07.14.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
We love chocolate. We love to bake with it; we love it in shakes, we love
to flavor with it. But many of our "old-days" chocolate options are not options
anymore because they come packed with plenty of sugar. I've found that Nestlé Choco Bake (pre-melted unsweetened chocolate) is really a great
solution. I don't have to worry about melting squares of chocolate and trying to get
ingredients mixed before it cools or while it's too hot.
At 4 grams per packet (after fiber reduction), it's a great carb bargain too, and
since one packet equals 1 ounce (1 square) baking chocolate, it's foolproof for
measuring as well. It doesn't need refrigeration and has a long shelf-life.
It's available in the baking aisle of most groceries.
07.11.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Well, with all the bread making we're now doing (Imagine that! Making lots of breads
on a low-carb diet!!) we've had to experiment with a lot of different
yeast brands and varieties. We've worked with Fleishmann's, Red Star, Hodgson's Mill,
and many others and we find that we consistently get a better product and better rising
when we use the SAF Perfect Rise Gourmet
Yeast in our baking.
Made by LeSaffre, the yeast comes in Two-Strip Packets, Vacuum Packed
Yeast Bricks, and resealable zip closure Zip Packs. For measuring convenience, we
prefer the 2-strip packets. In or out of the bread machine, this is the best yeast
we've used, so we give it a strong recommendation.
If you can't find it in your store,
visit their website. They even
offer a form to print and give your grocer so they'll know you want them to carry it.
07.11.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
Everyone that reads our entries here on a regular basis knows that I am a fan
of the Gabi's Bread Recipe and make it
often. But I was pleased to discover that the Ketogenics Low Carb Bread
Machine Mixes come in a close second, and since
they sit on your shelf in ready to make boxes, there's a real plus there.
We made several loaves and did a little experimenting. We added cheddar cheese
to the mix and foccacia topping 15 minutes before end of bread cycle. We liked
this cheese bread the best. We also made a loaf with added sweetener (we used liquid
sweetener as part of the water) and swirled a cinnamon/Splenda mix through it. For
the cinnamon bread we finished by adding melted butter and sprinkled splenda on top
of the hot, finished bread. In all its incarnations, it was pretty good.
Our favorite result was when we sliced the cheese bread version, buttered it with
softened butter, a little garlic powder, and freshly grated parmesan - then under
the broiler for 30 seconds or so. This bread is at its best as a base for
getting creative. Slices run between 2 and 5 grams each depending on how you make
it, and are well worth it.
To order online, visit
The Low Carb Connoisseur.
05.23.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
(Review written by Richard):
With the third iteration of their tortilla, La Tortilla Factory has gotten it exactly right. Very
tasty and low-carb, their Whole Wheat Tortilla is really versatile! I wrap all sorts
of stuff in these. Peanut butter and sugar-free jelly, tuna
salad, and many other items can be rolled up to make a great snack or meal. My son (with
much boldness!) takes these into Taco Bell; tells them "he has a wheat allergy" and
can't use their tortillas; and asks them to make him burittos and wraps from these. They
oblige and he gets his food prepared in their steamers — cheese melted and all!
Whether you
have the nerve to do this as well is your call, but even if you take home their steak
gorditas etc and transfer the contents to your LC tortilla, you still have a terrific
treat! Each Tortilla contains 12g carbs and 9g fiber for a net carb count of 3g.
To order online, visit
The Low Carb Connoisseur.
05.19.00 :: Product
Recommendation & Review:
They did it! They made a Blueberry Pancake (and muffin) mix that is
sweet, scrumptious and full of real bits of blueberries. Wow. has outdone
themselves this time! Blueberry was the flavor
of pancakes that were always my favorite and that what I missed most, and these
are not only super-easy to make, but they taste like a trip to IHOP!
We made the entire can worth and did half as pancakes (on which we tried several
flavors of syrup), and the rest as muffins. We decided to make both standard
size muffins as well as the new popular (bite-size) mini-muffins. While both were
great, most of us preferred the mini-muffins. These will make it into a lot of
fast-pack lunches! Spread with sweet creamy butter for a great treat. Yum!
products are available from
The Low Carb Connoisseur, The
Low Carb Dieter's Page, and of course
Life
Services.
05.14.00 ::
The people at Expert Foods are (pardon the pun) experts
at innovative ideas for cooking and baking. And with the introduction of their
new "Cake-ability", they've hit on another winner.
This amazing mix allows you to mix 1/2 cup of their product with your favorite
nut flour, eggs, sweetener, and liquid (water, soda, DaVinci, etc), and
voila — you have a cake with a texture
that very closely resembles commercial cake-mix textures for an exceptionally low
carb cake! And if the liquid you use is DaVinci Sugarfree Syrup, you may not need
to add the carbs from granulated sweeteners.
We tried making the cakes with three different nut flours — almond
(we used a very fine ground blanched almond flour), which gives the most traditional
texture and taste; pecan flour, which gives a rich praline flavor to cakes and is
super with spices like cinnamon, cloves, etc.; and with macadamia nut flour, which gave
us the most moist results, and a sweet nutty taste. You can always mix your nut
flours, too.
When I was a kid, we always knew we'd been very good when Mom
made us waffles. It was more effort than simply pouring pancakes,
and while griddle cakes are great, there's something so "Home Sweet
Home" about waffles. Soft and hot on the inside, and hints of
crispness at the edges of those golden little squares. They hold
melting rich butter in their rows of small pockets and stand up
to syrups, whipped creams, and fruits.
Rudi's breads use no hydrogenated oils. They use instead organic high oleic expeller-pressed sunflower
oil which is cold pressed without the use of chemical solvents.
Hey! More great low carb brownies on the market. This time, it's the
Low Carb Chef's own Aunt Paula's Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Mix! Easy to mix,
and very low carb were the first things that attracted us to these. So when we found
they bake up very chewy and gooey (our favorite way to make brownies), we knew they
were going to make this product spotlight.
We liked them best with nuts added (both walnuts and pecans were good!) They come in
at 1.64 effective carb per brownie (and that's for a pretty big brownie!) They're
sweetened with an effective mix of low glycemic whey sweetener, Lo Han fruit concentrate,
and maltitol.
We just love it that there are more and more quick-and-easy mixes for the low
carber who spent their "learning to cook" years using Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines.
It's great to be able to grab a quick mix when we need to make quick desserts and
don't have time to make them all from scratch.
Okay, with the first product up in this review, let's not mince words... You
need to buy, make, and completely enjoy these delicious brownies. The
new Atkins Fudge
Brownie Mix are
simply out of this world.
Next up, we tried the Atkins Corn Muffin & Bread
Mix. We were anxious
to try them because most of us grew up on cornbread, corn muffins.. corn everything.
We've had some decent luck making cornbread-like substitutes which aren't bad, but
my goodness, this was nearly impossible to tell from the real thing. With a true
corn taste and a rich buttery flavor, these are delectable with warm butter.
I couldn't resist having one with my favorite Yoder's Sugarfree Apple Butter and I
sure felt like I was cheating. Again, we highly recommend them. One note, they
suggest a bake temp of 400°F, but we found 375°F for 5 minutes less worked better.
We also found they worked better with foil muffin cups than paper ones.
By now, we were in a baking frenzy [grin], and went for the yummy sounding
Atkins Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin & Bread
Mix. We weren't
disappointed, and they are a chocolate lover's dream. Rich with a dutch-style
chocolate flavor, these are light, sweet muffins that don't need any dressing up.
Last month we discovered the wonderful little Low Carb Cookies from
Pleasantville
Cookie Company,
and recently we got the chance to take their bake mix out for a spin.
In their included recipes, they suggest making "Sweet Fried Chicken" with the
bake mix. At first, I questioned how good that could be. But my husband reminded
me that in our high carb days we used to make a crunchy sweet chicken with crushed
Frosted Flakes. So we tried it... and wow, it was unique and delicious.
You can also add some thinly sliced almond to the coating if you make "oven-fried
chicken!"
And now, a new set of pancake and waffle mixes hit the low carb scene! From
Carbsense comes two new mixes:
Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix and
Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix, both in traditional box packaging.
Our favorite way of making these pancakes was to add small curd
cottage cheese, a bit of Splenda, and some vanilla extract to the mix's recipe to make
Cheesecake Pancakes. Top 'em with strawberries and they're divine!
Our youngest (honorary) member, 11 year old Julie, had a suggestion that worked so
well, we have to share it... When making waffles with them, we added club soda instead
of water (and a bit of almond oil) for great Club Soda Waffles (aka
"Angel Waffles".)
Then we broke open the Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix... They made a faintly sweet,
lightly nutty tasting pancake which we enjoyed, but they shine best as waffles.
Our favorite waffle variety we made that day was by far, our Gingerbread Waffles
made with DaVinci Sugarfree Gingerbread Syrup in place of water. (If you can't find
the Gingerbread flavor, try using English Toffee flavor with 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger...
you can find DaVinci Syrups at 
This month, The Low Carb Chef introduced their new low carb
Superb Wheat Bread Machine
Mix. So of course
we got to work trying it. When using their recipe (on back of pouch), we got
a nicely sized loaf of light wheat bread with a crisp crust and medium-soft texture.
We liked our results even better when we used 3/4 cup water (rather than 1 cup)
mixed with 1 well-beaten room temperature egg, and almond or walnut oil rather than
vegetable oil. This resulted in a softer, higher loaf. (Always remember to
follow your machine's instructions for adding ingredients, but never allow low
carb breads multiple knead or rise cycles.) This bread does not come with yeast
packet (hence its lower price), so you'll want to have a good fresh rapid rise yeast
on hand. 
They're good with any of your favorite low carb syrups, of course, but we also found
that with a spritz of sweetener and cinnamon in the batter, they are very good
alone, or with a handful of berries. And they're a good batter base as well...
Put some finely diced cooked cauliflower and onion in the mix with a shake of
black pepper, fry the cakes in butter and top them with sour cream for a great
side dish.
Great news in the world of cookies!! 
You can, if you have the time and want to, play with the mix a bit. For instance,
we made a batch of the Chocolate Chip cookies with coconut added (and used the
coconut oil — which is semi-solid like shortening.) These were very scrumptious.
We also found the Peanut Butter cookies were just as good with Almond or Pecan butter
(we added broken pecans to the latter.)
We highly recommend these cookie mixes and think they're a great idea to keep
(several bags!) on hand in your pantry for when that warm cookie urge hits. Directions
are included and we do recommend using a non trans-fat shortening.
And just so you know they're easy... the 9 year old son of one of our members made
a batch by himself (way to go, Jason!!) and they came out great. (I promised him his
name would appear!) 
They're available from