About Vegetable Glycerine in Sugar-Free Cooking

Here is some useful information about food grade vegetable glycerine.

We use food grade vegetable glycerine a lot here at Kitchen Cheetahs. It works wonderfully as part of sugar-free sweetening systems. We use it as the base of our home made Stevia Glycerite (a NOW brand copy-cat recipe). We use it in sugar-free syrups. in icings, salad dressings, in baked goods, among other things. We have used this basic ingredient for years and love it!

See it used here in our Super Low Carb Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce.

We highly recommend having it in your pantry, because it is in several Kitchen Cheetah recipes.

Review some of it's good features below...


FOOD GRADE VEGETABLE GLYCERINE:

* is made from coconut or palm oil (heating under pressure with water)
* is GRAS
* is approved by Health Canada
* does not affect blood sugar – perfect for diabetics
* does not cause tooth decay
* helps prevent dehydration
* enhances athletic performance
* helps prevent constipation
* used as a humectant for skin conditions, specially dry skin.
* medically used to prevent brain swelling (intravenous)
* medicaliy used to reduce pressure within the eye (intravenous)
* is an excellent food preservative
* is an excellent emulsifier
* is used in eye-drops for dry eyes (pharmaceutical grade)


VEGETABLE GLYCERINE  is classified as a "sugar alcohol"....  as is ERYTHRITOL and XYLITOL.


Stay tuned,

Leila & Nancy

The Kitchen Cheetahs

Super Low Carb Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce

This amazing secret sauce is intensely punchy & sweet & spicy & fragrant...

And here is an even lower carb version for the athlete!

Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce

Happy 4th of July! This zippy recipe is our gift to you. We thought you should have some fireworks for your mouth to go along with the exploding night sky.

My mom created this healthy sauce while living in the Fijian islands, thus the name. Many people have asked for this recipe but alas, it could not be acquired - UNTIL TODAY. Do you feel loved?

"Fiji Sauce" brings it all together.

Our original Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce is much lower in carbs and sugars than a traditional Thai sweet chili sauce and you can use our yummy sauce in much the same manner.

This lower carb version omits the ripe banana and orange juice called for in the original recipe. No xylitol is used either, because it has more carbs than erythritol.

My dad has a black belt in Judo and is an instructor as well.The many athletes he trains and coaches want this very version of our Fiji Sauce because of it's super low carb and high fiber content. It helps these athletes keep their body fat percentage down, yet allows them to have a sweet treat, usually forbidden in their strict diets. This sauce does make you feel like you are cheating, it is so delicious!

Erythritol is used as the main sweetener in this lower carb version of Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce. Stevia glycerite is used to enhance the sweetness further.

Our punchy Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce is delicious as a condiment with just about anything. It makes a great dip, topping, sauce, dressing... uhh, main dish?

My dad has some of this punchy sauce everyday with his lunch or dinner. It is a beloved staple here at Kitchen Cheetahs! The picture above shows my dad ready to dig into a plate of our favorite Chicken Bake, with a side of our Quinoa Tabouli topped with this Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce.


Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce Recipe:

10 ounces frozen raspberries
12 ounces frozen pitted cherries

Mix the fruits together and set aside to thaw to room temperature.

While the fruit is thawing make a Habanero Paste:
4 to 6 habaneros
1/2 c. granular erythritol

Wearing gloves, remove the seeds and and pith from the habanero peppers.
Finely mince habaneros and then smash with the 1/4 c. erythritol to make a very smooth paste.

Puree the above thawed fruit with:
The prepared Habanero Paste above
2 16-ounce jars of "fire roasted" red peppers and their juice
4 c. granular erythritol
1/2 c. whole psyllium husks
3/4 c. raw apple cider vinegar, or a little more (to desired tanginess)
4 T. FINELY grated frozen, peeled ginger root, to taste
1 to 3 t. fresh orange or tangerine zest, to taste (or 1 to 2 drops orange or tangerine essential oil)
3/4 t. sea salt or BioSalt, or a little more, to taste
1/2 t. turmeric powder
1/8 to 1/4 t. garlic powder, to taste

Pulse/grind into a medium smooth sauce. Do in batches to accommodate your food processor.
Put the processed mixture into a large non metallic bowl or pot.

Stir in:
1 1/2 c. water
1 c. vegetable glycerine (food grade)
Stevia glycerite to taste

Add stevia glycerite to taste. It will take quite a lot (don't be surprised) to make a very sweet sauce balanced by zip and tang.  

Gently heat and stir the sauce until it reaches 110 degrees F, to blend flavors and activate fiber.

Let sauce cool before transferring into mason jars. Put 1 jar in your fridge and freeze the rest.


Notes: 

Start with 1 t. of orange zest, stir in well and then taste the sauce. You can try adding a little more orange zest, but you dont want the sauce to taste like oranges... just be highlighted in a subtle way.
.
This sauce mellows and changes a little overnight. The heat mellows and the apple cider vinegar mellows, so make sure you use enough peppers and vinegar to give a strong punch to this sauce!

My mom prefers the flavor of our first version of Fiji sauce that used more fruit plus xylitol. She is on a super low carb diet right now and does not mind the few extra carbs in the fruitier sauce.

 Photos of the process:

Be very sure that the Habanero pieces are very fine so you don't bite down a piece of ultra-hot pepper....  This also ensures that the unique Habanero flavor is dispersed beautifully throughout the sauce.

HABANERO PEPPERS ARE CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS SAUCE ‼️(however, you may reduce  from 3  peppers down to 2 if you absolutely must)

Frozen ginger grates best! Use a very fine grater or a micro plane grater  so that the ginger is essentially powdered for Best results.

Psyllium husk's thicken the Fiji Sweet-Hot Sauce. It's a good idea to purchase organic psyllium if you can, as it is guaranteed to be clean.

Summer chicken snack: Coarsely shred chilled white chicken breast and serve with your favorite mayonnaise and a side of Fiji sweet hot sauce.It's super fast. Super quick. Super delicious!

Mayo and Fiji sauce dipped chicken

Chicken breast dipped in mayo and Fiji sauce - It doesn't get better than this.

3 1/2 quarts of Fiji sauce️️

Gorgeous birds eye view of the 3 1/2 quarts of Fiji sauce

Well, Hello Gorgeous!

Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.

The Secret Sauce! Our Famous Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce Recipe Now Revealed.

This amazing secret sauce is intensely punchy & sweet & spicy & fragrant!

Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce

Happy 4th of July! This zippy recipe is our gift to you. We thought you should have some fireworks for your mouth to go along with the exploding night sky.

My mom created this healthy sauce while living in the Fijian islands, thus the name. Many people have asked for this recipe but alas, it could not be acquired - UNTIL TODAY. Do you feel loved?

"Fiji Sauce" brings it all together.

Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce is much lower in carbs and sugars than a traditional Thai sweet chili sauce and you can use our yummy sauce in much the same manner.

There are some naturally occurring sugars from the fruits used in our sauce, but we add no additional sugar.

Erythritol is used as the main sweetener and then a little stevia glycerite is used to enhance the sweetness further. Optionally, you may also use a little xylitol too (see the notes below the recipe). We prefer the version that uses a combo of erythritol and xylitol. Xylitol has more carbohydrates than erythritol, but it is still sugar-free and enhances the sweetness nicely.

Our punchy Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce is delicious as a condiment with just about anything. It makes a great dip, topping, sauce, dressing... uhh, main dish?

My dad has some of this punchy sauce everyday with his lunch or dinner. It is a beloved staple here at Kitchen Cheetahs! The picture above shows my dad ready to dig into a plate of our favorite Chicken Bake, with a side of our Quinoa Tabouli topped with this Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce.

See an even lower carb version of our Fiji Sauce here!


Fiji Sweet Hot Sauce Recipe:

10 ounces frozen raspberries
12 ounces frozen pitted cherries
3 small "dead-ripe" (nearly black) bananas that have been frozen
4 T. frozen orange juice concentrate

Mix the fruits together and set aside to thaw.

While the fruit is thawing make a Habanero Paste:
4 to 6 habaneros
1/4 c. granular erythritol

Wearing gloves, remove the seeds and and pith from the habanero peppers.
Finely mince habaneros and then smash with the 1/4 c. erythritol to make a very smooth paste.

Puree the above thawed fruit with:
The prepared Habanero Paste above
2 16-ounce jars of "fire roasted" red peppers and their juice
3 3/4 c. granular erythritol
1/3 c. whole psyllium husks
3/4 c. raw apple cider vinegar, or a little more (to desired tanginess)
4 T. FINELY grated frozen, peeled ginger root, to taste
3/4 t. sea salt, or a little more, to taste
1/2 t. tumeric powder
1/8 to 1/4 t. garlic powder, to taste

Pulse/grind into a medium smooth sauce. Do in batches to accommodate your food processor.
Put the processed mixture into a large non metallic bowl or pot.

Stir in:
1 c. water
Stevia glycerite to taste

The sauce should be sweet and tangy.
Gently heat and stir the sauce until it reaches 110 degrees F.
Let sauce cool before transferring into mason jars. Put 1 jar in your fridge and freeze the rest.


Notes: 

Instead of the 3 3/4 c. erythritol called for you may use 3 c. erythritol plus 3/4 c. xylitol. This is our favorite sweetener blend for this sauce.

This sauce mellows and changes a little overnight. The heat mellows and the apple cider vinegar mellows, so make sure you use enough peppers and vinegar to give a strong punch to this sauce!

 Photos of the process:

Be very sure that the Habanero pieces are very fine so you don't bite down a piece of ultra-hot pepper....  This also ensures that the unique Habanero flavor is dispersed beautifully throughout the sauce.

HABANERO PEPPERS ARE CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS SAUCE ‼️(however, you may reduce  from 3  peppers down to 2 if you absolutely must)

Frozen ginger grates best! Use a very fine grater or a micro plane grater  so that the ginger is essentially powdered for Best results.

Psyllium husk's thicken the Fiji Sweet-Hot Sauce. It's a good idea to purchase organic psyllium if you can, as it is guaranteed to be clean.

Summer chicken snack: Coarsely shred chilled white chicken breast and serve with your favorite mayonnaise and a side of Fiji sweet hot sauce.It's super fast. Super quick. Super delicious!

Mayo and Fiji sauce dipped chicken

Chicken breast dipped in mayo and Fiji sauce - It doesn't get better than this.

3 1/2 quarts of Fiji sauce️️

Gorgeous birds eye view of the 3 1/2 quarts of Fiji sauce

Well, Hello Gorgeous!

Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.

Summer Hibiscus Punch (Sugar-Free) & Hibiscus Lemon-Lime-ade

Hibiscus blossoms make a truly beautiful & thirst-quenching summer beverage.

Summer Hibiscus Punch

Hibiscus is naturally tart and makes a beautiful ruby toned beverage.You can use it alone or mix it with citrus. Here are a couple of ways that I mix hibiscus with fresh citrus juices.

You can brew bulk dried hibiscus blossoms in a french coffee press. Pour in boiling water and let it steep 15 minutes or so. Strain off into a jar. Add more boiling water to the used hibiscus blossoms in the French coffee press and let steep a while, strain off into the jar of hibiscus tea. Chill.

I like to make a strong hibiscus concentrate and keep it in the fridge for easy use. I then dilute it with water and/or other fruit juices and sweeten to taste.


Summer Hibiscus Punch (serves 1):

This is a simple cold ,drink consisting of 2 cups cold brewed hibiscus blossom tea and 1 lime juiced. I then add a few drops of stevia glycerite , to taste. Add ice, and you're good to go!

Lovely Hibiscus  Lemon-Lime-ade: 


Yield: 1 gallon.

 Mix together 2 cups of strong hibiscus tea plus the juice of 1 lemon and 2 to 3 limes, add 3/4 c. sugar and stir well to completely dissolve.. Top off with water and ice to make 1 gallon. Then add a few drops of stevia glycerite, to sweeten to taste. Garnish with 3 thin lemon slices and a few spearmint leaves.

To make sugar-free: Sweeten with 1 c. erythritol and then finish sweetening it with a bit of stevia glycerite, to taste.

Enjoy,

Leila.
 

Our Favorite Gluten Free Pretzles

Our family actually likes these better than regular gluten pretzels! 

These pretzels have a nicer crunch, and a wonderful taste, almost like they have a bit of malt flavor to them. We lightly crush these pretzels and use them to top our tasty protein puddings. Use anywhere you'd like a crispy topping. Of course they are great for munching while watching a movie...

Glutino makes these and we only like them in the form of the sticks. We do not care for the twists, they just aren't the same... weird, I know. They are a bit pricey, just under $10.00 a bag, but we still prefer them over regular pretzels for an occasional treat. Try them and see what you think.

See our Chocolate Protein Pudding HERE.
See our Butterscotch Protein Pudding HERE.

Here's pictures of our Favorite Gluten Free Pretzels:

The ingredient list.

:
Enjoy,

Leila.

Summer Confetti Macaroni Salad (sugar-free)

This is a colorful classic macaroni salad with a great balanced flavor.

Summer Confetti Macaroni Salad

This pretty pasta salad makes a nice side for summer picnics and celebrations. I love having more crisp, colorful vegetables in my pasta salads. I really don't want to eat just plain macaroni slathered in mayo... If you are like me, you will love this recipe. I also like that it has enough vinegar to give it a bit of zing and enough erythritol to cut the bite of the vinegar, then our BioSalt pulls it all together.

You may use gluten-free pasta, if desired. If you are going dairy-free, omit the sour cream and replace it with mayonnaise. And of course you can adjust the diced vegetables to taste.




Leila's Summer Confetti Macaroni Salad Recipe:

1 pound pasta or gluten-free pasta (macaroni, ditalini, or small shell pasta)
3/4 c. real mayonnaise
1/4 c. sour cream (omit if dairy-free is desired and increase the mayo to 1 cup)
3 T. white wine vinegar
3 T. erythritol
1 1/2 t. dry mustard powder
1 t. sea salt or BioSalt, to taste
1/2 t. onion salt, or more to taste
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper, to taste (about 50 grinds)
2 to 4 T. fresh minced parsley, to taste
1 c. finely diced celery (4 ribs)
1 c. finely diced red bell pepper (1 whole pepper)
1/2 c. finely diced peeled carrot (1 large carrot)
1/4 c. finely diced red onion
1/2 c. minced scallions, about 6, optional
1/4 c. diced radishes, optional

Garnish:
Paprika
Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, optional

Method:

Cook the pasta aldente, rinse and drain extremely well. Set aside to cool.
Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, and erythritol together, until erythritol is dissolved.
Add the mustard powder, salt, onion salt, garlic, and pepper, mixing in well.
Add the minced vegetables and then the pasta and gently mix together. Taste.
Chill overnight for the best flavor.
Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.
Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika. Top with tomatoes, if desired. Serve cold.

The dressing and vegetables mixed together.

Freshly mixed pasta salad.

Delicious!

Enjoy,

Leila.

Amazing Meatless Moussaka - You won't believe how good this is!

This beautiful main dish has 3 delicious layers of flavor and texture. 

This is one of my all-time favorite main dishes.The topping is so rich, creamy and wonderful, and perfectly compliments the robust tomato-based sauce underneath. The eggplant doesn't know what hit it. You will be shocked at how good the eggplant tastes here.

Eggplant seems to be the new darling in the low-carb world. Although the flour in this recipe negates that a bit...but it's SO worth it! I have not yet tried a gluten-free flour, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

This is a classic recipe of my mothers. I remember her serving this Meatless Moussaka to guests and it always got rave reviews. Many people swooned over this very recipe, telling her that she really must open up a restaurant. This impressed me as a child. I knew I liked her food but this is about the time that I figured out that she was a really amazing cook. I enjoyed seeing people make such a fuss over my mom. She may have had a marriage proposal or two over this recipe, I know she did over her tender buttery scrambled eggs!

If you so desire a marriage proposal, I suggest you invite your suitor over for a nice romantic dinner featuring this main dish! Even if you are already married, they may propose again!


Mom's Meatless Moussaka Recipe:

RED SAUCE:
5 c. tomato juice
3/4 t. cinnamon (you may cut to 1/2 t., if desired)
1 T. honey
1 pound minced mushrooms, browned well in 1/4 c. real butter
2 onions, chopped and sauteed until clear in 2 T. olive oil
2 t. sweet paprika
1 t. oregano
1 t. salt, to taste
1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper

MORNAY SAUCE:
2/3 c. white flour
1/2 c. real butter
4 1/2 c. milk
4 T. sherry
1 t. onion salt
1 T. Romano cheese
1 T. Parmesan cheese

EGGPLANT:
2 large eggplants, sliced in 1/2" thick rounds
beaten egg to dip eggplant slices in
oil (olive or deodorized coconut) to brown the eggplant
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese


Method:

RED SAUCE:
Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and gently simmer until thickened and flavorful.

MORNAY SAUCE:
Make a roux of the butter and flour. Cook on low 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and cook gently until thick.

EGGPLANT:
Take the 1/2" round slices of eggplant and dip into the beaten egg and brown in oil on both sides.
Pat the eggplant briefly with paper towels.
Overlap eggplant slices in a 9 X 13-inch pan.
Sprinkle 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese over eggplant.

Assembly:

Pour prepared red sauce over top the eggplant in the pan and shake gently to settle the sauce.
Bake eggplant at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes.
Take out of oven and pour prepared Mornay sauce over-top.
Bake at 425 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
Serve hot.


ENJOY!

Leila.