Sugar Alcohols and You

By Sami

Sugar alcohols are used to sweeten all sorts of low-carb products including candies, baked goods, shakes and protein bars. You can even buy maltitol syrup or granular erythritol to do some of your own sugar-free baking. They can be a godsend for those of us who are very sensitive to sugars, or they can become a huge issue if we consume the wrong ones without knowing. The problem here is- not all sugar alcohols are created equal. Let's go over a list of all the sugar alcohols.

Erythritol
Isomalt
Lactitol
Maltitol
Mannitol
Sorbitol
Xylitol

Some of these you may recognize; like sorbitol, maliltol and xylitol. These are probably the most commonly used because they have some of the same properties as sugar. They can harden and crystallize like candy, they dissolve easily, they add bulk to baked goods while being relatively cheap. Unfortunately, these most common ones have been known to affect blood glucose.

Even though companies can claim their products are sugar-free if they use, say, maltitol- that does not mean your body can't turn at least a portion of what you ingest of it into glucose. The only reliable way to know which sugar alcohols are safe to ingest is to look at the glycemic index of each of these.

Erythritol - 0
Isomalt - 2
Lactitol - 6
Maltitol - 52(syrup) 36(powdered)
Mannitol - 0
Sorbitol - 9
Xylitol - 7

It's easy to see that maltitol is the main offender here. The syrup form is almost as glycemic as table sugar, and unfortunately, it's present in nearly every sugar-free candy out there- even ones that claim they're sweetened with erythritol.

It's a sad thing that the most commonly used sugar alcohols also happen to be the ones which will probably spike your blood sugar. But there is good news- erythritol (with a glycemic index of zero) is available in granular form for those of us who want to make truly sugar-free baked goods. A company called Wholesome Sweeteners makes bags of erythritol available to us under the name "Organic Zero."

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Zero

I love it for baking, although truthfully it does have some issues. Making hard candy out of it has been unsuccessful so far, it seems like it doesn't want to melt and harden into a sheet like sugar will. It also has difficultly dissolving in things, so I powder it in my Magic Bullet before using, and if you add too much to a recipe it has a tendency to fall out of solution and re-crystallize. All these issues aside, there are some advantages to using it. It will extend the life of your baked goods because it won't absorb moisture from the air and get "sticky," and like xylitol, it seems to be healthy for your teeth.

More Coconut Goodness

Ah, the coconut. Such a good friend to the low-carber. We've got coconut oil, coconut butter, and coconut flour. It seems like there isn't one thing a coconut can't do. On top of being versatile, it's high in good fats and thankfully low in carbohydrates. Which is why I was surprised to not have found canned coconut milk sooner. You see, when coconut milk comes to mind, I always envision this sickeningly sweet goop that Thai restaurants pile on top of my food. I never thought of it as a low-carb item. However, for the first time ever; I've come across this delicious, un-sweetened, coconut treat.

Best part? Ounce for ounce, it has less carbohydrates than heavy cream. Granted, not by much, but coconut milk lends so much more flavor and nutrients to recipes than its dairy counterpart. It's thick, creamy, subtly sweet, and slightly floral in flavor. This may be slightly disturbing, but I had to actually stop myself from eating it straight from the can.

So what can we use it for? Well, when I tasted it I just knew it was destined for ice cream. And this ain't gonna be the sugary crap you order after a meal of peanut-sauced noodles; it'll be low-carb approved. Stay tuned for the recipe tomorrow.

Almond Meal Pancakes/Waffles

By Sami

a stack of almond meal pancakes

I know you probably already know several variations of this recipe. It's one of the first things people make when they discover almond meal. For the people who haven't yet made these surprisingly fluffy little pancakes, here's the recipe.

¾ cup almond meal

pinch salt

¼ teaspoon baking SODA

2 large eggs

1 ½ tablespoons water

2 tablespoons Splenda or erythritol

dash cinnamon and vanilla extract (optional)

Oftentimes low-carb cooking relies on whipping egg whites or other time-consuming tricks for fluffiness. In this recipe, the baking soda is completely adequate for making your little cakes rise. And the prep is as simple as can be, just mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour the thick batter into a buttered, non-stick pan over medium heat. I tried these in a waffle maker also, they didn't come out as "crunchy" as your average waffle, but it definitely impressed my low-carb lunch guests.

pancake rising beautifully

Here's the carb and calorie count I roughly calculated:

Per entire batch:
7.5 net carbohydrates
800 calories

You should be able to easily make 5 or 6 pancakes from one batch, so don't let the carb count scare you away. My mother and I always stash the extra in the freezer for toasting and buttering later. Also; leave out the sweeteners and cinnamon for a personal size pizza crust. Just toast it well the next day and add your toppings.

Are You REALLY Counting All Your Carbs?

By Sami

One of the most common causes of LCHF diet failure or plateaus are caused by the dreaded hidden carbs. It's basically just what it sounds like. You might look on the back of an egg carton and note it says "0" for the carbohydrate count, but an egg really has .6 grams. Also food companies can get away with calling something "Fat Free" or "No Trans Fat" as long as there's less than one gram per serving. I know, it's crappy and unethical. But they do it, and you need to be aware of it.

And you may say, "so what? that's such a minuscule amount it doesn't matter." You might not think it adds up. But it does. Take my breakfast for instance:

2 coffees with 1 tablespoon heavy cream and 1 packet Sweet 'n Low each
3 eggs scrambled in butter

Okay, coffee and eggs. You might look at this and think it's a perfect zero-carb breakfast. But when you add up the "minuscule" amounts of carbohydrate in these items:

2 cups coffee = 1.6
2 tablespoons heavy cream = 1.2
2 packets Sweet 'n Low = 2
3 eggs = 1.8

That "zero-carb" breakfast suddenly turns into a 6.6 carb breakfast. That makes it a lot harder to stick to something like Atkins Induction Phase when you have to count the carbohydrates in these things as well as vegetables. If I added onions and peppers into my egg scramble, that carb count could easily creep up to over 10.

This can be especially bad if for instance, someone uses heavy cream in large amounts, say for low-carb ice cream or pots de creme. Because even though for one tablespoon it lists the carbs as zero, the .6 it really contains can add up. Here's a list of the "hidden carb count" found in some foods you probably eat:

Cream: 0.6g per tablespoon
Cheddar Cheese: 0.5g grams per ounce
Swiss Cheese: 0.9g per ounce
Eggs: 0.6g per large egg
Sugar-Free Jello: 1g per 1/2 cup
Coffee: 0.8g per cup
Most Artificial Sweeteners: 1g per packet
Hellman's Mayonnaise: .2g per tablespoon

Taking Gardening to a New Extreme

By Sami

I grew some oyster mushrooms.

Oyster Mushrooms Grown in Sami's Kitchen

This bag of substrate and mycelium cost 20 bucks at the farmer's market. Not only am I supporting a local farmer, but I get to have super-fresh oyster mushrooms for a couple weeks. Now I have to admit, they were a little chewy. And at 5 carbs per cup uncooked (these bad boys cook down a lot), you can't eat a lot of them without putting a major dent in your carbohydrate budget. But click the link below for an interesting study:

Oyster mushroom cuts blood glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure in diabetics

So if the food happens to lower your blood glucose when you eat it, do the carbs still count? Yes? Well crap.

Chalky Nectar of the Gods

Artisana brand Raw Organic Coconut Butter

"It tastes like sweet chalk," my mother says. Well, fine, Ms. Picky Pants. More for me. What I'm talking about of course, is coconut butter. But first let's talk about it's cousin, coconut oil.

If you've been around the internet, perhaps to Mark's Daily Apple, or any other low-carb/paleo blog, you'll know cooking with coconut oil is a good thing. It's full of yummy saturated fats, lauric acid, and MCTs (medium chain triglycerides). It holds up to heat well and doesn't have all the nasty Omega-6's that plague the more unsavory oils like canola (cue ominous music). Some people even recommend taking a tablespoon of coconut oil a day to improve hair, skin, immune system and metabolic health.

How a humble little fat does all this I don't know- but there are real studies out there saying it may be a helpful weight-loss aid because medium-chain-triglycerides are readily absorbed into the blood and used as energy as opposed to being stored as fat. Here's an explanation about this from someone smarter than I: http://www.nutritionreview.org/library/mcts.php

So the general consensus is that we need to eat more of it. Just one problem- it kinda tastes like oil. When you eat a tablespoon full of it- it's not the most pleasant thing ever, at least in my opinion. Of course you can cook your veggies in it, but it adds a sort of fruity flavor and aroma that doesn't go well with everything, especially super-savory dishes. And don't try to cook meat in it unless you're really brave.

So enter coconut butter. This is the most divine stuff ever. Instead of just oil, it's got lots of ground up coconut flesh in there, too. My mother likes to say it's chalky, but I prefer to call it delightfully chalky. Just imagine a delicious almond butter- except made with coconuts. A rich, fatty, coconut flavor with a mild sweetness. But be warned: if you're one of the poor souls (like me) who really need to exert an effort to control your portions, this might be your downfall. It really is that good. With this stuff you'll have no problem getting your daily recommended dose of coconut goodness.

So how many carbs is this treat going to set you back? Let's take a look.

For two tablespoons, it's only 2 net carbs. This stuff has an insane amount of fiber in it. You can't even find five grams of fiber in a bowl of most breakfast cereals. You'll also notice there's only seven servings in this entire jar. Yup, it's a small jar. And it's a little on the more expensive side, unfortunately.

The conclusion here is that coconut butter is good stuff. It's perfect for a quick, low carb dessert (if you don't mind the texture) and is surprisingly filling. Plus, we all probably need a little more lauric acid and MCTs in our diets, anyways. If I find any creative uses for this stuff (other than just diving into the jar spoon-first) then I'll let you know. 'Till then!