Heading back to work, and just returned from getting groceries and some of what I bought is prob not in your pantry; you may not even see it when you shop.
By Marsha
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
Midland, Michigan
August 30, 2019 2:16pm CST
I've been looking for no calorie, no carb brown sugar so I can make my own syrup is I want. I've made my own sugar before mostly when money was tight or when re realized we were out too late, after the pancakes were already done.
The basic recipe is equal amounts of water, sugar and brown sugar. I began using a little extra brown sugar to have more of a maple flavor. You bring the sugars and water to a boil and ones it's dissolved remove it from the heat. It can be served warm or cold and we then put it into the regular sugar bottles.
Recently two mylotters were talking about using dates as a sweetener maybe for ice tea but I don't remember.
My store has started carrying more choices of low carb products and today I found the Red Hill date sugar. It is 15 calories and made with dates and oat flour but it has no carbs.
I may use this with some erythritol sugar I got from Amazon. That sugar doesn't affect blood sugars and is made from tropical fruit.
I've also been looking for baking chocolate without added sugars. I found this Hershey's product today. It uses maltitol. I still have to see what that is but I hope it's better than the other choices.
Previously I've purchased a lot of different items. I have guar gum which is used to thicken things, arrow root and also monk fruit sweetener.
I try to keep cream cheese on hand along with heavy whipping cream and several bags of shredded and sliced cheese. I'll be heading back to work on Monday and I want to prepare and freeze items to make my prep time faster.
I will be sitting and freezing zucchini and summer squash. I'll be browning and freezing hamburger and blanching and freezing cauliflower.
I also bought some easy things like cheese sticks and jello/dream whip parfaits for my breaks at work.
I started keto a month before having my knee surgery hoping I wouldn't gain like I did with my first knee. Maybe once I'm back to work I will actually lose.
11 people like this
12 responses
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Aug 19
Ahh, as far as blood glucose is concerned all sugar is not created equally. I don't understand how the it flour doesn't have any carbs but that's what it shows. It does have 3 carbs of sugar but I think that's the natural sweetness in dates.
I'm guessing they don't have to include carbs if it doesn't affect blood glucose levels. I may check out the website and maybe learn more.
@NJChicaa (127135)
• United States
30 Aug 19
@MarshaMusselman It makes no sense that they say it has no carbs and the label shows 3 grams of carbs.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
31 Aug 19
You mention many things I have never heard of. I don't think date sugar is available here, I have never seen it in the stores. My husband has started using Stevia instead of sugar, but many of our stores don't sell it. His dietician recommeded Stevia instead of sugar.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
31 Aug 19
@sallypup My husband just started using stevia, he likes it, but he is still learning how to use it the right way. In the beginning things got much too sweet.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
This is the first I've seen the date sugar in my store and I'm thinking it should be called a sweetener but I'm still researching that. We started with selling just one type of stevia and now we have several. Just today I thought about getting some flavored stevia drops that were half off but I spent more than I thought and put them back.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502466)
• Italy
1 Sep 19
@MarshaMusselman I see the 15 calories "per serving" that is expressed in 1 "TEASPOON" and not 1 cookie. Those manufacturers are cheaters.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
5 Sep 19
@LadyDuck good point. I should have looked up info before purchasing them but maybe I'll find some good use for it. I may wait until I contact the manufacturer and request info. It gives the website for recipes but there are none for that one nor any info on how it's made.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
This is merely 15 calories per serving. Supposedly it is made or mixed with oat flour and still has no carbs which doesn't make sense. I looked at the manufacturers website and there's no info about this.
After doing a bit of reading dates are comprised of different forms of sugar but possibly doesn't raise blood sugars like the common sugar here.
I may have to write the manufacturer to find out why the oat flour and whether it's a sweetener or sugar since they are made differently.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
30 Aug 19
glad ya found what'cha were lookin' fer.
here's a link'n that malitol schtuff
https://www.dietvsdisease.org/what-is-maltitol-is-it-safe/
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
31 Aug 19
@MarshaMusselman i hear ya, hon. we'd be limited here's to what'd be 'vailable. too much hype'n foods these days though, jacks the prices sky-high coz they know they can get by with 't.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
My preference is to find something with a different type of sweetener but these chips are better than the others in our market. I could always order other brands online but they cost a considerable amount more.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (69176)
• Centralia, Washington
31 Aug 19
Careful on the malitol. For me, that stuff acts like a laxative and puts my system into hyper drive. I buy dates and soak them soft if they aren't already- I've made a tasty pumpkin pie just using dates for sweetener. I also make a tasty chocolate pudding using dates and banana for sweetener.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
I will watch my used of the baking chips. If I use any it would be a small amount at a time. I read about the problems with sweeteners which aren't fully absorbed by the body and that's why it affects people that way.
The thing is normal sugar sold here cause inflammation which is the main cause for all illnesses but yet very few caution against that sugar. I'm not talking about you but others.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
@sallypup lol, that's exactly what I'm calling this trip into ketosville, my journey.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (69176)
• Centralia, Washington
31 Aug 19
@MarshaMusselman Thanks and good luck on your journey.
1 person likes this
@noni1959 (13048)
• United States
30 Aug 19
I'm having my first knee replacement the end of Jan and the second about three months after. I have to get my hand/finger/wrist surgery (Oct. 24th) healed up first. I'm trying to get some weight off too and not going full keto but been looking at the recipes for it.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
I'm not 100% keto either but I've been doing pretty well thus far. If you check out Instagram there are many there that share their keto recipes. I share ones I've made successfully or my adaptation to ones I find.
A lot of years are trying to get you to buy their keto wares in the way of pre-dinner meals, cookbooks and how to's. You can ignore all of that. There are a couple of blogs I follow that share recipes too.
What part of your hand was worked on our what did they do? I'm considering the possibility of needing my thumb joints replaced one day.
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
6 Sep 19
I have been looking for the sugar-free chocolate chips for a friend of mine. She loves chocolate and I am trying to get her to eat better considering she is a diabetic.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
10 Sep 19
That would be a great idea but I would think she may need to make several changes and not just with the chips chips. My husband's still eats treats that aren't good for him. He hated the shots n but won't make the necessary changes.
1 person likes this
@stringer321 (5682)
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
31 Aug 19
I found a good way to eat on breaks and even during work. I buy some nuts, of many kinds, dried figs, dates...I eat them as a snack. I can share them with people around me. That is a healthy snack, and sweet here and there. You are looking for sweet taste but with less carbs, but the sugar alternatives are also bad for you.
1 person likes this
@stringer321 (5682)
• Kiryat Ata, Israel
31 Aug 19
@MarshaMusselman what kinds of nuts?
Pekan ? Whole? Makadamia ? Bunduk ? Kashiu?...
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
@stringer321 almonds mostly. I also have pecans and cashews periodically. I used to enjoy a wasabi mix but we no longer sell the one I bought most often.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
I but easy things for snacking on at work like string cheese, jello and sometimes nuts. But I'm addicted to nuts almost as much as sugar so have to watch that.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
30 Aug 19
Sorry, but we'll have to agree to disagree. Because all sugars don't react in the body the same way.
I've discovered that much of what I've been calling sugar is in fact a sweetener. And sweeteners and sugars are not equal. Some sweeteners can cause has issued with some that ingest it.
I would rather eat something with a sweetener than something with one of the various types of sugar.
@acelawrites (19272)
• Philippines
1 Sep 19
It is really nice to know the ingredients of the food we are buying. We have to be conscious if they have lots of carbs or sugars; or artificial sweeteners like aspartame which is said to be dangerous when taken in huge amounts. Dates can be a good sweetener, but I haven't tried it; I only tried stevia, from stevia plant leaves which is a natural sweetener too.
1 person likes this
@YuleimaVzla (1857)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
30 Aug 19
Hello, it is interesting in addition to healthy the proposal to make your own syrup, besides that if you like, you can add some vanilla extract or some other flavor of your taste, with the canla it will be a unique aroma and flavor to your pancakes, if you are Coffee lover might also be interested in making your own artisanal coffee by roasting cornmeal until it is the color of coffee and ready you can strain your coffee naturally and also take care of your heart, good luck with that.
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
I won't be bothering to make my own coffee, but I may try a bit of the syrup and decide if I like mine more than the brand I've bought recently.
I don't know whether it's call it a healthier syrup since it will still contain sweeteners even if I don't use any sugar per se.
1 person likes this
@YuleimaVzla (1857)
• Maracaibo, Venezuela
31 Aug 19
@MarshaMusselman I think that everything depends on the sweetener you use, fructose for example is something natural, like stevia, but sucralose, sucrose, or other derivatives are not, so it is no longer natural even if it is zero sugar.
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
31 Aug 19
This is the first I've seen either one of these. I think Walmart might carry more low carb foods but they're a competitor and I try not to stop there too often.
