Author: Emma

Emma Baird is an award-winning writer, specialising in romcoms and fiction that focuses on relationships, and a type 1 diabetic. She is also the co-author of The Diabetes Diet, co-written with a doctor. Most importantly, she is the guardian of one very spoiled cat…

Low-Carb Chocolate Fudge

Emma1 Comment
Peanut butter, sweetener and cocoa powder.
Peanut butter, sweetener and cocoa powder.

Tis the Season to… Find your will power challenged by sugary temptation..?

If ever there was a time of year that is challenging for the low-carb dieter it is this one. The traditional treats of Christmas – cake, mince pies, pudding and an awful lot of chocolate – are all jam-packed with carbs and sugar.

A little wavering off course is perfectly acceptable, but if you do want to stay as low-carb as you can then low-carb baking and low-carb “treats” are the way to go.

A lot of the food that is around at this time of year is perfectly suitable for low-carbing and delicious anyway – hams, turkey, sausages wrapped in bacon, smoked salmon, fish starters and lots of cheese.

There are lots of recipes online for low-carb fudge, but most of them are American and they often use ingredients that aren’t commonly available here. I did, however, find this recipe on a Keto website and all the ingredients are easily available.

The recipe didn’t specify whether you should use smooth or crunchy peanut butter, so I went for smooth as I thought that would mimic the texture of fudge more closely. Meridian do a smooth peanut butter that has no salt or sugar in it and you’ll find this in health food shops. I chose Truvia as my sweetener, but Splenda could be used too.

This quantity makes about 55 pieces. Count roughly 2g of carbs for each piece. Although it isn’t as sweet as conventional fudge, it is very rich indeed. Low-carb fudge usually needs to be kept in the fridge – and this recipe is no exception. I recommend bagging the fudge up in small quantities and storing in the freezer.

 

Low-Carb Chocolate Fudge

  • Servings: makes 55 pieces
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Don't eat it all at once...
Don’t eat it all at once…

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 250g cream cheese
  • 1 cup smooth sugar and salt-free peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup cocoa (I used Bioglans Superfoods Cacoa Powder, but ordinary sugar-free cocoa powder is fine)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sweetener
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  1. Line a square baking tray (about 9-ins square) with baking parchment – you will need to line the sides of the pan too.
  2. Place the first three ingredients in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave in bursts of 30 seconds until the three ingredients are soft enough to beat together.
  3. Beat together well – the best way to do this is with a hand mixer, as the mix will separate out alarmingly if you use a wooden spoon.
  4. Add in the vanilla extract, sweetener and cocoa powder and mix well until it is combined.
  5. Put the mix into the lined tray. The easiest way to do this is tip it into the pan and use a palette knife to spread out evenly.
  6. Chill either in the fridge overnight) or place in your freezer for an hour or so until it has firmed up. Please note, this will not firm up as much as conventional fudge does and you will need to keep it in the fridge.

 

The Etiquette of Diabetes

EmmaLeave a comment
Do you do blood tests in public?
Do you do blood tests in public?

Do you inject in public? What happens if you are in a meeting and you suddenly experience a hypo (low blood sugar) and what do you say to people when you are invited to their homes for a meal?

These are the questions I have been asking of late, as I have been thinking of diabetic etiquette. My modus operandi for life is “do not make a fuss”. It’s the Brit in me. I shy away from behaviours that draw too much attention and I am not keen on putting people to trouble.

But health is important and being too polite to refuse a piece of cake that a friend has made means you run the risk of high blood sugars and feeling ill, politeness starts to look silly doesn’t it?

Let’s take a look at the different issues that come up when you are living with diabetes and how you can handle them.

So – injections in public.

Continue reading “The Etiquette of Diabetes” →

Low-Carb Recipes Around the Web

Emma8 Comments

cookingIf you are anything like me, you’re probably pretty happy to stick to some tried-and-tested low-carb recipes, but what if you want variation or want to try out low-carb versions of your favourite dishes to keep you on the straight and narrow low-carb life?

Luckily, we live in the information super age (sometimes a bad thing – step forward Google self-diagnosis…) and low-carb recipes are really easy to find.

So, if I’m in the mood to experiment in the kitchen, here is where I look…

BBC Good Food has a great selection of tried and tested low-carb recipes. I particularly like the prawn and chorizo frittata and the seafood curry.

The website uses easy-to-find ingredients and users often rate the recipes and make comments about additions they made, or substitutions, which can be very useful. And the measurements are UK ones, which you don’t often get in a low-carb recipe search.

Allrecipes.co.uk (you can also check out allrecipes.com if you want American measurements) is another site offering a great selection. I like the Cobb Salad and the lasagne recipe that uses courgette strips instead of pasta to make this popular classic.

The Food Network website has an extensive collection, as you might expect. There aren’t carbohydrate counts included for recipes, though, and look out for sometimes liberal interpretations of “low-carb”. I love spicy food, so the sound of this chicken satay definitely appeals.

If Christmas is on your mind (yikes, how am I going to resist roast potatoes/stuffing/mince pies/chocolate – insert your carb of choice), then lowcarbdiet.co.uk has a whole section with lots of ideas – from indulgent breakfasts to dips, starters, main courses and puddings. There’s a very helpful carb count for each recipe too.

There are numerous bloggers offering wonderful low-carb recipes, as you might expect. Here are links to just a few of them…

Where do you go to find low-carb recipes? We’d love to know…

 

Pic thanks to Nemo on Pixabay.

 

Coconut Chicken fry

Emma2 Comments

Lovely idea for chicken.

skd's avatarAromas and Flavors from my Kitchen

tender coconut and chicken tender coconut and chicken

I remember as a young child, my grand mom used to live in a little town and we used to visit her in our summer vacations. She was a very sweet lady, like most grand mothers are and I really used to look forward to those yearly visits. In those days, the only way to visit her was by train. After a week or ten days of having fun, lazing around and enjoying, when it was time to return home, she would pack a lot of goodies and mangoes for us.

One particular memory , I associate with this journey is that she would always pack ‘ Coconut Lamb fry’ for our dinner in train. Maybe, because it was dry and non messy and tasted good with breads/rotis or rice. Whenever, I make this dish I always remember her. This can be tried with lamb as well as…

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7 Ketogenic Thanksgiving recipe ideas!

EmmaLeave a comment

Some great ideas for Thanksgiving/Christmas low-carb recipes from Happy to be called mom…

Bethany's avatarHappy to be called mommy

In past Thanksgivings, where I was eating low carb because of gestational diabetes, I just had to refrain from eating much at potlucks or get-togethers, and I felt so deprived on a low carb/ketogenic diet.  This was because I didn’t know of any alternatives to the things I most wanted to eat. This thanksgiving, however, after doing a lot of research, I am going to be feasting and enjoying myself WITHOUT feeling deprived. There are so many alternatives to the typical carby treats…and they are not any less delicious than the real deal.  Here are some of the things I’ll be making or eating this year:

1.) Pork rind stuffing

Click here for recipe.
pork_rind_stuffing

2.) Jalapeno Cheddar Bacon Deviled Eggs

Click here for recipe.

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3.) Ricotta dressing

(if you use sage and poultry seasoning instead of spinach, or on top of it, it will taste like dressing.)

Click here for recipe.
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4.)…

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Sugar and Disease – Coincidence or Reality? By Ruth Buttigieg

Emma9 Comments

17616-sugar-lips-pvOver the past few year, sugar has been a main focus of media outlets. There have been TV programmes dedicated to debating the positives and negatives of sugar. However, rather than shedding some light on the topic, they have added to the confusion.

So, how does sugar impact our overall health?

Unfortunately, the terms sugar and carbohydrates are often used interchangeably and thus create more confusion than needs be. To clarify, in food science, sugars can be either simple (examples such as glucose and fructose) or complex (such as lactose, starch & dietary fibre) carbohydrates.

Granulated sugar on the other hand, is made up of sucrose – a complex carbohydrate molecule consisting of glucose and fructose in a 1:1 ratio).

Carbohydrate Metabolism

Carbohydrate digestion starts in the mouth through salivary action, however, the majority of digestion happens in the intestine through the action of a series of enzymes.  This degradation is needed as it allows for carbohydrates to be absorbed easily through the intestinal lining.

The main digestive difference between simple and complex carbohydrates is that simple carbohydrates do not need further digestion and thus are absorbed in their entirety.

Continue reading “Sugar and Disease – Coincidence or Reality? By Ruth Buttigieg” →

Low-Carb Granola

Emma4 Comments
Bored of this? Surely not...
Bored of this? Surely not…

Are you bored of bacon and eggs for breakfast yet..?! While we might be able to put forward a compelling case as to why it is impossible to get bored of bacon and eggs, we do understand that from time to time, variety is necessary.

Step forward low-carb granola! This is perfect if you’re craving crunch (often missing from low-carb regimes) and it will certainly provide you with a nutritious and filling breakfast.

For other low-carb breakfast ideas, why not check out the Diabetes Diet?

Low-carb Granola

  • Servings: 10
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

  • 1 cup flax seeds

    Eating this granola might make you slightly nutty...
    Eating this granola might make you slightly nutty…
  • 1 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup chopped almonds
  • 125g of butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  1. Chop the nuts in a food processor to the size you like. In a large roasting pan, mix together flax seeds, sunflower seeds, coconut and nuts. Drizzle with melted butter.
  2. Stir in cinnamon, vanilla power and sugar substitute. Toast in the oven at 325 degrees for half an hour, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes.
  3. For breakfast, add thick Greek yoghurt mixed with a little flax oil and double cream, and top with a few berries and toasted flaked almonds.

Makes 10 servings, roughly 13g total carbs per serving (9g fibre) and 11g protein. Check your yoghurt and berries for the appropriate carb counts.

PUDDING IDEAS FOR GRANOLA

  • Granola is good mixed with melted better as a chilled cheesecake base. To do this chop to a very fine consistency.
  • It also makes a good crumble topping.
  • Mix some with extra ground almonds – about half and half, maybe some extra coconut too. Use raspberries as the base or stewed rhubarb or stewed apples and bake about 15 mins. This is good with low-carb custard, low-carb vanilla ice cream or lots of double cream.

Walnuts pic – flickr

Bacon and eggs pic – Wikipedia

Carbohydrates & Cardiovascular Disease – A Response, by Ruth Buttigeig

Emma2 Comments

CVD 2014 so far has been a rocky road for carbohydrates. The media has come out voicing  concerns against the consumption of carbohydrates, especially sugar, in the diet.

However, there is still much opposition to the issue of reducing carbohydrates in the diet,  such as this article published in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society by Ian  Macdonald, a member of the European Scientific Advisory Council for Coca Cola Europe,  The Nutrition Advisory Board for Mars Europe and the Mars Scientific Advisory Council  for Mars, Inc.

In this article, the author begins by stating that carbohydrates are necessary as a fuel  due to the body’s dependence on glucose to supply the brain, red blood cells and other tissues with energy. By making such a statement, the author is deliberately neglecting the biochemical fact that the human body is able to run on other dietary fuels such as protein and fat.

Non-Carbohydrate Precursors

In light of this statement I refer you to the Biochemistry textbook written by Berg, Tymoczko & Stryer 2012(1). In particular I refer you to Chapter 16.3 “Glucose can be synthesised from non-carbohydrate precursors”; Chapter 21 “Glycogen Metabolism”; Chapter 22 “Fatty Acid Metabolism”. This textbook is on the required reading list for the majority of university modules that deal with biochemistry and the human body.

Continue reading “Carbohydrates & Cardiovascular Disease – A Response, by Ruth Buttigeig” →

The healthiest little LCHF cupcake and the quickest little deconstructed cheesecake… ain’t they the sweetest?

EmmaLeave a comment

Seeing as it’s a Sunday a bit of sweetness is nice (thanks to the Low Carb is Lekker website)…

Low - carb is lekker's avatarLow - carb is lekker. A Proudly South African Low carb, High fat, Survival Guide

Watermark - 10 minute choc-cherry cheesecake

DECONSTRUCTED CHOC CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

125g (half a block) cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup cream

1 1/2 Tbsp Xylitol

Zest of one lemon

Juice of 1 small lemon (about 4 Tbsp)

1 cup of frozen cherries or any fresh or frozen berries of your choice.

Chocolate:

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup coconut cream or regular cream

4 Tbsp cocoa

3 Tbsp xylitol

Method:

For the cheese cake mousse:

Cream the cream cheese, xylitol, zest and lemon juice in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer.

Slowly pour in the cream while mixing on low at first, and as soon as the cream starts to thicken a bit mix on high for about two minutes or until stiff peaks form.

Cherries:

In a saucepan on medium heat, allow the cherries to stew for about 4 – 5 minutes and the sauce to reduce a bit.  I did not add…

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