Showing posts sorted by date for query syrup. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query syrup. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

NEW & Improved Clear Sugar-Free Pancake Syrup

This is a more advanced sugar-free pancake syrup formula.


You will need to source some CMC powder for this recipe. You can find CMC easily online.  CMC is useful for thickening many things, not just syrup. It is also a secret ingredient in some gluten-free and low-carb bakery items.

This syrup recipe is very easy to make, it just uses more specialty ingredients. It's a shame to make low carb pancakes or waffles for breakfast and then drown them in sugary syrup. You could add a touch of natural dark maple syrup to this base if you wanted to for more authentic flavor. Just be aware that the real maple syrup is sugar.

You could also add natural butter flavoring to this syrup, to taste.

If you do not yet have CMC, here is an earlier recipe for sugar-free pancake syrup from this blog. See it HERE. It will not be as clear but it is still a good choice.

Here at Kitchen Cheetahs, we like to have several options for making the same thing. Having various choices will make it more convenient for you too.


Clear Sugar-Free Pancake Syrup Recipe:

1 c. Table-top Sugar Replacement blend (or Lakanto Golden Sugar Replacement, to taste)
1/4 t. CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose)
1/8 t. Sea salt or BioSalt
7 T. Water, plus more. if desired
2 T. Vegetable glycerine
3/4 t. Mapleine flavor extract


Method:

Premix the Table-Top sweetener blend with the CMC powder.

In a small sauce pan pour the 7 T. water and vegetable glycerine. Stir to mix.

Add the Table-top Sweetener blend and salt. Carefully stir over medium-high heat.

Gently stir to dissolve, while bringing to a boil. It will start to bubble and then get a foamy appearance. Remove from heat. On my gas stove, this took 4 minutes total.

Let cool down a bit and then add 3/4 t. Mapleine flavoring, to taste.

If you want to thin the syrup further add more water one teaspoon at a time and mix in well.

Pour finished syrup into a jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator. The air bubbles will subside with time.


Note: The CMC that you will find and buy online will likely be different from what we have used. You may need to use more than what we used. The first time you make this syrup, make a batch 1/4th the size of this one to make sure you get it the way you like it. 















Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Crazy Good Low-Carb Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (with variations) - Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Guilt-Free!

First we nailed making delicious low-carb pancakes. Exciting. But, what we really love are Buttermilk Pancakes!


It took a little more experimenting until we nailed a fabulous buttermilk pancake recipe too.

Our buttermilk pancake recipe is similar to our regular low-carb pancake recipe. The gluten-free "flour" blend is the same, for example. The leavening system is different to allow for the acidity of the buttermilk. We were aiming for the ultimate fluffy pancake...and we got it! We are very excited to share this recipe with you. we are still in pancake recipe creation mode. We are experimenting with using different liquids in the pancake mix, like almond milk, soy milk, yak milk (just kidding).

We have even created cinnamon roll pancakes! Seriously, topped with our sugar-free Cream Cheese Frosting... You could be arrested for eating one of these in public, if you don't have enough to share! These are so over-the-top. You won't believe they are healthy. A recipe for these will be made available soon, I promise.

Benefits of this Buttermilk pancake recipe:

Tastes amazing!
Low carb
High fiber
Sugar free
Gluten free
High protein
Curbs cravings
Aids in weight loss
Helps blood sugar levels stay even
Good for athletic training
Can make dry pancake mix in advance
Can make pancakes in advance and freeze them


First get out all your ingredients first and pre-weigh them (weighing is best for consistency).

Putting together this dry pancake mix is SO worth the effort. You can easily make a bulk batch of this pancake mix. Just make sure you weigh everything accurately. When you are ready to make some pancakes, all you do is add some fresh buttermilk and egg. They are easy to mix up, easier to cook, and the easiest to e-a-t.

Your kitchen will smell wonderful as these cook. You and your family will feel satisfied for a long time after you eat these pancakes. They are high in fiber and high in protein too. These are also helpful for those who are aiming to slim down. They even taste great with just butter and no syrup. Most fake pancakes have to be drowned in syrup to be at all palatable.

These pancakes taste even better the next day. Just refrigerated or freeze them and when you want a quick breakfast, microwave a couple pancakes a few seconds to reheat them.

We hope you enjoy this recipe for years to come!

To see the original post on our Low-Carb Pancakes, click HERE.

See a sugar-free pancake syrup HERE.

See an improved clear pancake syrup HERE. (coming soon!)



Low-Carb Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe:

Makes 4 medium sized pancakes (serves 2).

Dry Mix Ingredients:

13.0 grams (2 T.)  stirred coconut flour
11.0 grams (2 T.)  oat bran flour (finely ground)
11.0 grams (2 T.)  white almond flour (lightly packed)
8.0 grams (1 T.)  Hi-Maize brand resistant starch from National Starch **
4.0 grams (1 T.)  whey protein isolate
3.0 grams (1 T.)  psyllium husks (flakes, not powdered) ***
3.5 grams (1 t.)  gelatin powder (like Knoxx brand plain gelatin)
4.0 grams (1 t.)  Table Top Sugar Blend (or 1 1/2 t. of a 50:50 mix of erythritol and xylitol) ****
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  BioSalt or sea salt
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  baking powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  baking soda
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  konjac powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  Wheat Bread Flavor Powder, optional (a proprietary flavoring for GF breads *)


Wet Ingredients:

1 medium egg
1/2 c. fresh buttermilk


Method:

In a small mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together very well and set aside.

Preheat a 12-inch or larger non-stick skillet to 350 degrees (medium heat). Oil pan with coconut oil.

Whisk the egg until emulsified.

Add the buttermilk to the egg and mix together well.

Add the egg mixture to the dry mix in the mixing bowl and blend together until there are no lumps.

Immediately pour all 4 pancakes into the prepared skillet. Let them cook without shaking the pan.

The pancake batter quickly becomes thick, so they will not bubble like thinner pancakes do to indicate when to flip them over. You'll need to peek at the bottoms, and flip them when they turn nicely brown.

Cook the other side until they are golden brown and spring back in the center when lightly touched.

If you did not cook all the pancakes at once, do not stir the batter down. Just portion it with a food portioning scoop (an ice cream scoop) onto the oiled skillet. You may gently pat down the batter a bit with wet fingers. Again, do not shake the pan to settle the pancakes or they will be misshapen.

Enjoy with butter and a good sugar-free syrup or preserves.


Buttermilk Pancake Variations:

These pancakes are the ultimate when fresh buttermilk is used. However, that being said, all the rest of these variations taste terrific. I like to have a lot of versatility in my recipes, so that you can use what you have on hand. There are other variations too, like using unsweetened soy or almond milk.

1. With reconstituted buttermilk powder

Instead of fresh buttermilk use:
4 t. powdered buttermilk
1/8 t. guar gum
1/2 c. water

Mix together the powdered buttermilk and guar gum. Mix with the water to form a buttermilk. add to the medium sized egg and beat until foamy. mix into the dry pancake mix above.

2. With Powdered milk

Instead of fresh buttermilk use:
4 t. Non-Instant powdered milk
1/8 t. guar gum
1/2 c. minus 1/2 t. water
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Make your own sour milk by first mixing the powdered milk with the guar gum. Then mix the dry milk mixture into the water and vinegar. Let this sit about 5 minutes. Proceed to mix it with the beaten egg and add this to the dry pancake mix.


3. With fresh milk

Instead of fresh buttermilk use:
1/2 c. minus 1/2 t. fresh organic milk
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar
1/8 t. guar gum (mix with the dry ingredients)

Mix the milk and vinegar together and let it sit while you whisk your egg and get the pan ready. Proceed with the recipe above.



Tips: 

You may double the recipe and use only 1 extra-large egg.  It works fine if you use a 2-burner sized skillet to cook all 8 pancakes at once. 



Notes: 

*  "Wheat Bread Flavor Powder" is a proprietary flavor my mother created for all gluten free bread-type products. It is not available to the public (unless we get a large amount of requests for it...). You may add a touch of real butter flavoring instead,,,

** Honeyville grain carries the HiMaize Resistant starch. This ingredient is not absorbed like regular starch and is a wonderful ingredient for low carb, gluten free baking. You can use up to 25% HiMaize in your flour blends to cut carbs.

*** If you do not have the 1 T. psyllium husk flakes, substitute with 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder. The texture will not be quite as bread-like, but it is still good.

**** You may substitute Lakanto white sugar substitute for the tabletop sugar blend called for.

Looking for bubbles in these cooking pancakes is not an indicator of pancakes being ready to flip. Check the bottoms for doneness.

Lower heat is needed for cooking these pancakes, compared to regular starch-filled pancakes. Too high a temperature will burn the outsides before the insides are cooked through.

Grind the oat bran until very fine, unless you want more texture to your pancakes.

Making these pancake with just liquid egg whites is not a good idea. They won't act like, look like, or taste like pancakes at all.

Mixing in an additional t. dry egg white protein powder resulted in rubbery, eggy pancakes. Don't do it.

Using less oat bran flour results in a pancake with compromised texture. We do not recommend less than 2 T. oat bran flour for this recipe.

The added gelatin makes a nice, flexible pancake, nearer to a wheat-like texture.

Whey protein isolate is higher in protein and has mush less lactose in it than whey protein concentrate, and usually the lactose-intolerant can eat it in this recipe.

Shaking the pancake batter in the skillet will result in flattened pancakes that may also run together. Just pour them, or portion them with a food portioning scoop (ice cream scoop). If the batter has thickened a lot, gently pat the pancake batter down a tiny bit with wet fingers.


Pictures of the process:


Preheat the griddle with coconut oil.

Mixing the wet ingredients into the dry pancake mix.

Stir until there are no lumps.

Use the pancake batter immediately after mixing.

Portion pancakes with an ice cream scoop.



Flip when the pancakes are golden brown underneath.

Cook until the second side is golden brown. Pretty, aren't they?

Butter the fluffy pancakes.

Top with home made sugar-free syrup.

Dig in!

YUM

YUM..


Enjoy! 

Leila & Nancy.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Baking Sugar & Table-Top Sugar Substitute - The preferred Sugar-Free blend for the table in our homes.

This is the sugar-free blend we use the most for sprinkling onto berries, grapefruit, for making cinnamon sugar,  sweetening herbal tea, and other typical table sugar uses.

Kitchen Cheetahs Baking & Table-Top Sugar Substitute.

You can feel good about using this healthy sugar substitute. Our formula is better than Truvia, Just Like Sugar, Sweet Perfection, and other sugar-free blends of this nature. The reason why is because the blend of low-carb sweeteners we put in this formula are synergistic, so they enhance each other and taste more like real sugar.

The xylitol has anti-cavity properties, the erythritol has next to zero carbs, and the IMO is basically all an easily digestible fiber.

Our favorite Table-Top Sugar Substitute.

The xylitol, erythritol, and IMO powders alone are not sweet enough. We add stevia, a natural plant sweetener to amp up the sweetness level. You can adjust the amount of stevia used to suite your tastes (from 3 to 5 grams stevioside). We like to make this blend sweeter than normal sugar, so that we don't have to use as much. We want to caution you however to use only a tiny amount of stevioside powder. It is very potent and too much can create off-flavors in your sweetener blend.

2 tablespoons (20 g) of this sweetener mix has only 0.3 grams of sugars from the IMO. Note that less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving is considered "sugar-free" as far as nutritional labeling is concerned.

We will be doing much more formulating with this sugar substitute blend. We will be trying everything from baking brownies, cakes, cookies, and more. I will be doing tests with conventional tried-and-true recipes, where I only convert the regular cane sugar called for to this sugar substitute. We will see how this reacts with regular gluten containing baked goods. We are looking at texture, flavor, moisture, rise, and all the other things conventional sugar does for baked goods.

It is interesting to note that erythritol by itself has drying, firming, cooling characteristics, IMO powder on the other hand is very hydroscopic, warming and softening. Xylitol is cooling but texture wise it's pretty much in the middle. Our sweetener blend evens out all of these characteristics, making it more balanced for baking purposes.

Of course we will be testing many clean eating gluten-free recipes too, since this is our specialty! We will post many future recipes here, so keep checking back, things move fast around here!

Do you want to know why this blog is named Kitchen Cheetahs? 

I talk about my amazing mother a lot here. Iv'e shared with you the fact that she is a very successful professional food formulator. Well, one day, after I could hardly keep up with her and all her advancements on our Jiffy Cakes (she came up with almost 10 jiffy cake and muffin recipes in about 2 days), I exclaimed, " Mom. you move so fast! You are a Kitchen Cheetah!" We laughed and the name stuck.

I want to let you know that we are working on compiling healthy cook books. Our blog, Kitchen Cheetahs is picking up speed. It is fun seeing the growth and support we are gaining. Thank you for being a part of this growth. We aim to make the world a better place through our efforts. I know it's just good food, but... Who doesn't need to eat?

Please feel free to leave us comments on what kind of cook books you would like.

We are thinking about cook book collections like:

Muffins (Gluten-Free & Low Carb)
Cakes (Gluten-Free & Low Carb)
Sugar-Free Candy Making
Meal Replacement Drinks
Low Carb Breakfasts
Salad Dressings
Herbal Teas
and more...

At this point, we are seeing how things naturally evolve.


.
Here is a yummy recipe using this sweetener: Crazy Good Low-Carb Pancakes.



Mom's Baking Sugar & Table-Top Sugar Substitute Formula:

Yield: 455.00 grams total, about 3 1/2 cups.

150.00 grams  xylitol (1x) *
150.00 grams  erythritol (1x) *
150.00 grams  IMO powder (not Inulin)
5.00 grams  white stevioside powder (80 to 90% strength) (stevioside intense sweetener)


Method:

Stir and sift everything together several times to totally blend so that there are no pockets of stevia in the mix.

Store air-tight. We like to store in a glass canning jar with the metal screw on lid. IMO loves to absorb moisture!


* (1x) - This means that the sweetener has been ground one time in a VitaMix blender (preferably the sweetener was frozen first, allowing it to be ground finer before heating up).




Tip:

An alternate method of blending the sweeteners is to:

Mix the xylitol, erythritol, and IMO powder together in a VitaMix blender on low speed.

Add the white stevioside powder to the sweeteners in the VitaMix and put the lid on tight.

Start blending on low speed, turning up to grind to a finer texture. Do not let the sugars heat up in the blender. Let the dust settle before removing the lid.


Tip:

You may use Lakanto's white sugar substitute instead of plain erythritol if you want to. It has a very nice taste and contains erythritol enhanced with their sweet monk fruit extract, so it is sweeter than erythritol alone. Adjust the stevia extract you add to the syrup to suit your tastes.


German Pancakes sprinkled with our homemade sugar-free Powdered Sugar.
To make this Powdered Sugar yourself - See THIS Post.


Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Crazy Good Low Carb Pancake Recipe - Gluten free, Sugar Free & FLUFFY!

We nailed it! We now offer you the recipe for the best wheat-free pancakes on the planet. I kid you not my pretties.

Amazing 'healthified" light & fluffy Low-Carb Pancakes!

My mom and I had a lot of fun working together on this one. We are very synergistic when we collaborate together. We mind meld and stuff, it's great.

She teaches me, and she tells me I teach her too. But personally, I think I only teach her stuff that's a variation of the stuff she first taught me. She may disagree on that point, however, I ask you this:

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

I can answer that one, "The Chicken".   Not that my mom is a chicken.

My point is, I am very grateful for how my mother has raised me and for what she has taught me. I feel she is woven into my very fabric. She still teaches me the most amazing things (like what makes the best flour substitutes, or how to make a heart-calming herbal tincture, or insights on the power of personal prayer). Happy Mother's Day again mom!

Anyway, the chicken came first. Because of my mom, you can now make the best healthy pancakes ever.

The ingredient list is a very creative one. We use several types of "flours" to get the flavor and texture of these pancakes right. Remember, we are professional food formulating maniacs, along with being gluten-free specialists and sugar-free specialists. I say this because I want you to know that we have done more than our fair share of formulating this kind of thing. You get to benefit from our years of trials, and years of learning about the properties of the newest healthy raw materials. Cool, huh?

For you, we wanted to create variations that use ingredients that are readily available to the consumer. This narrows our list of cool (and healthy) ingredients substantially. We have tried many variations and proportions with several different ingredients, and this is where we arrived.

We are excited to share this recipe with you because the recipes we found "out there" were not what we were hoping for. (See my Pancake Bedtime Story post) They were rubbery, way too eggy, soggy, spongy, slimy, gritty, heavy, mushy, bitter, fell apart, contained sugar, Were starch-laden, tasted like yucky protein powder, or otherwise weird tasting and weird textured. I'll skip breakfast, thanks!

But now, we can all enjoy light and fluffy guilt-free pancakes, and our family won't pull faces and run away hungry.

It is worth the effort to acquire all the ingredients we list here. If you have already been cooking with gluten-free, low-carb, paleo, or sugar-free recipes, you will already have most, if not all the ingredients for this recipe. You can even make this mix in bulk. We will post a bulk pancake mix recipe later, so please check back soon.

Benefits of this pancake recipe:

Tastes amazing!
Low carb
High fiber
Sugar free
Gluten free
High protein
Curbs cravings
Aids in weight loss
Helps blood sugar levels stay even
Good for athletic training
Can make dry pancake mix in advance
Can make pancakes in advance and freeze them


First get out all your ingredients first and pre-weigh them (weighing is best for consistency), or you can just measure them until you get yourself some good kitchen scales.

Again, putting together this dry pancake mix is SO worth the effort. When you are ready to make some pancakes, all you do is add some water and egg. They are easy to mix up, easier to cook, and the easiest to e-a-t.

Your kitchen will smell wonderful as these cook. You and your family will feel satisfied for a long time after you eat these pancakes. They are high in fiber and high in protein too. These are also helpful for those who are aiming to slim down. They even taste great with just butter and no syrup. Most fake pancakes have to be drowned in syrup to be at all palatable.

See the next version of pancakes we created, Buttermilk Pancakes, HERE

We hope you enjoy this recipe for years to come!



Low Carb Pancake Recipe:

Makes 4 medium sized pancakes (serves 2).

Dry Mix Ingredients:

13.0 grams (2 T.)  stirred coconut flour
11.0 grams (2 T.)  oat bran flour (finely ground)
11.0 grams (2 T.)  white almond flour (lightly packed)
8.0 grams (1 T.)  Hi-Maize brand resistant starch from National Starch **
4.0 grams (1 T.)  whey protein isolate
3.0 grams (1 T.)  psyllium husks (flakes, not powdered) ***
3.5 grams (1 t.)  gelatin powder (like Knoxx brand plain gelatin)
4.0 grams (1 t.)  Table Top Sugar Blend (or 1 1/2 t. of a 50:50 mix of erythritol and xylitol) ****
1.2 grams (1/4 t.)  BioSalt or sea salt
2.8 grams (1/2 t.)  baking powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  konjac powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  Wheat Bread Flavor Powder, optional (a proprietary flavoring for GF breads *)


Wet Ingredients:

1 medium egg
1/2 c. cool purified water


Method:

In a small mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together very well and set aside.

Preheat a 12-inch or larger non-stick skillet to 350 degrees (medium heat). Oil pan with coconut oil.

Whisk the egg until emulsified.

Add the water to the egg and mix together.

Add the egg mixture to the dry mix in the mixing bowl and blend together until there are no lumps.

Immediately pour all 4 pancakes into the prepared skillet. Let them cook without shaking the pan.

The pancake batter quickly becomes thick, so they will not bubble like thinner pancakes do to indicate when to flip them over. You'll need to peek at the bottoms, and flip them when they turn nicely brown.

Cook the other side until they are golden brown and spring back in the center when lightly touched.

If you did not cook all the pancakes at once, do not stir the batter down. Just portion it with a food portioning scoop (an ice cream scoop)

onto the oiled skillet. You may gently pat down the batter a bit with wet fingers. Again, do not shake the pan to settle the pancakes or they will be misshapen.

Enjoy with butter and a good sugar-free syrup or preserves.



Notes: 

*  "Wheat Bread Flavor Powder" is a proprietary flavor my mother created for all gluten free bread-type products. It is not available to the public (unless we get a large amount of requests for it...).

** Honeyville grain carries the HiMaize Resistant starch. This ingredient is not absorbed like regular starch and is a wonderful ingredient for low carb, gluten free baking. You can use up to 25% HiMaize in your flour blends to cut carbs.

*** If you do not have the 1 T. psyllium husk flakes, substitute with 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder. The texture will not be quite as bread-like, but it is still good.

**** You may substitute Lakanto white sugar substitute for the tabletop sugar blend called for.

Looking for bubbles in these cooking pancakes is not an indicator of pancakes being ready to flip. Check the bottoms for doneness.

Lower heat is needed for cooking these pancakes, compared to regular starch-filled pancakes. Too high a temperature will burn the outsides before the insides are cooked through.

Grind the oat bran until very fine, unless you want more texture to your pancakes.

Making these pancake with just liquid egg whites is not a good idea. They won't act like, look like, or taste like pancakes at all.

Mixing in an additional t. dry egg white protein powder resulted in rubbery, eggy pancakes. Don't do it.

Using less oat bran flour results in a pancake with compromised texture. We do not recommend less than 2 T. oat bran flour for this recipe.

The added gelatin makes a nice, flexible pancake, nearer to a wheat-like texture.

Whey protein isolate is higher in protein and has mush less lactose in it than whey protein concentrate, and usually the lactose-intolerant can eat it in this recipe.

Shaking the pancake batter in the skillet will result in flattened pancakes that may also run together. Just pour them, or portion them with a food portioning scoop (ice cream scoop). If the batter has thickened a lot, gently pat the pancake batter down a tiny bit with wet fingers.


Tip: 

I doubled the recipe because all I had were extra-large eggs. I used 1 extra-large egg.  It worked fine, although the 2nd batch of pancakes were more ragged looking because the batter had thickened up and I did not pat the batter down with wet fingers. Not the end of the world, they still turned out great!


Photos of the process:


Mix the dry ingredients together first.

Whisk the egg then add in the water.

Add the egg mixture to the dry pancake mix.

Mix until no lumps remain.

Using a food portioning scoop to measure out each pancake, without deflating the batter.


I flipped the pancakes with an unusual amount of grace... Not.

A nice fluffy stack of pancakes.



That was so good! :)



Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.


Monday, May 4, 2015

Chia Blueberry Sauce - Sugar-Free (Healthified)

Try this healthy variation of blueberry sauce.


This is a very delicious and very easy sauce to put together. It is loaded with antioxidants and fiber. Since it is sugar-free, you can enjoy it knowing that it won't spike your blood sugar.

The beautiful thing about this sauce is it seems dessert like and very more-ish, yet it is great as a yogurt topping for breakfast, or on low-carb ice cream for dessert. there are many uses for this versatile sauce. You will not feel deprived, trust us!

We also like that you don't have to cook this blueberry sauce to death. It tastes F-R-E-S-H.

Also note how we keep using a blend of sugar-free sweeteners on this blog. That is because the blends we use are synergistic, which means they enhance each other's sweetening power along with tasting much more like conventional sugar. Cool, right?



Chia Blueberry Sauce Recipe:

2 boxes (22 to 24 ounces total) fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
2 c. "Old Orchard" brand no sugar added Cranberry-Raspberry Juice
1/4 c. dark chia seeds
1 to 2 t. very finely powdered psyllium husks
4 to 6 T. erythritol, to taste (or Lakanto white sweetener)
4 to 6 T. xylitol, to taste
Fresh lemon juice and/or Vitamin C powder, to taste
Stevia Glycerite, to taste


Method:

In a small saucepan place the blueberries, chia seeds, and 2 c. juice.
Mix together and let thicken 30 minutes.
Barely cook the mixture.
Powder the psyllium husks very finely in a Krups seed mill.
Mix the psyllium husk powder with the erythritol and xylitol.
Add the psyllium mixture to the hot berry mixture and still very will until fully dissolved.
Let berry mixture cool.
Add fresh lemon juice and /or Vitamin C powder to taste.
Add Stevia glycerite to taste.
Chill the berry sauce overnight.
If the sauce thickens up too much, just add more juice to reach the desired consistency.
Use as a topping for cheesecake, yogurt, ice cream, etc...


Variations:

This Blueberry Sauce can be made with less juice and be used as a sugar-free blueberry pie filling!

Or, Make it less sweet and it could become a tasty blueberry Danish Pudding.

Or, mix it with any kind of sugar-free syrup to make a blueberry pancake syrup!

There are lots of options for the blueberry lover...


Enjoy,

Leila & Nancy.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Sweet Perfection Copy-Cat recipe (All-Natural Sugar Substitute)

This is an all-natural,  super simple sugar-free formula to make at home. 

IMO powder - A fabulous sugar substitute.

We like to make our own Sugar-Free sweeteners. We make several intense sweetener blends, bulking sugar blends and several mixtures combining both bulk sweeteners with added intense sweeteners. We make many different formulas for different applications. It gets complicated, but we love it.

We already have posted some sweetener blends on this blog that you can make yourself:

Stevia Glycerite (Now brand Copy-Cat)
Copy-Cat Truvia
Low-Carb Vanilla Sugar
Low-Carb Brown Sugar
Low -Carb Pancake Syrup #1

We love IMO powder and (IMO Syrup). We also love erythritol, and xylitol. We love using stevioside (stevia), although not usually alone. We also love monk fruit extract and citrus extract. There are more, but most of them are not available to the public. We would LOVE to introduce them to you, maybe with time, we will be able to be a source for you.

Make a small batch of sweetener at first and then try sweetening mild herbal tea with it or try it in a smoothie. It's easy to adjust. Its easier to add more IMO that it is to reduce the amount of stevia, obviously.

Look online for IMO powder, monk fruit extract, and pure, white stevioside extract.


Sweet Perfection contains:

99 % Oligofructose from chicory root fiber (a prebiotic fiber that doesn't increase blood sugar)

1 % Organic stevia

Serving size: 1 t. and contains 3 calories and 3 g fiber.
Each 20-ounce bag costs $22.95 and contains 3 cups.


To duplicate this I use:

99%   IMO powder (like VitaFiber from http://www.bioneutra.ca/faq.htm)
1%   95 to 98% pure stevioside powder (without maltodextrin or other bulking fillers)

Method:

Mix ingredients together Very well. Putting in a blender on very low speed works great.
Store air-tight and use as you would sugar.



A newer Sweet Perfection formula contains:

99.5% Oligofructose from chicory root fiber
Organic stevia
Monk fruit


To duplicate this I would try:

99.5%   IMO powder
0.5%   Combined intense sweeteners:
      0.3%   95% to 98% pure stevioside powder
      0.2%   Lo Han Guo (monk fruit) concentrate powder

Method: 

Premix your intense sweeteners.
Dilute a tiny amount in water and see if you like the ratio of stevia to monk fruit. Adjust as desired.
Mix VERY well with the IMO powder.
Store air-tight.
 

Note: IMO stands for isomalto-oligosaccharide


Sweet Perfection's label.















Have fun experimenting!

Leila & Nancy.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

DIY Copy Cat Low Carb Brown Sugar Recipe - using Erythritol

Make your own EASY LOW CARB BROWN SUGAR 
(with 2 varitions)

There are some brown sugar imitations on the market, but maybe you are like me and want the convenience of being able to quickly make your own. Making your own saves you money too, always a good thing. Most Of the "brown sugar" replacements on the market use artificial sweeteners in them too. I don't know about you but I avoid artificial chemical sweeteners. I think sugar is better for me than those, but that's my own opinion...

Anyway, erythritol is the base I have chosen for this healthy, low carb brown sugar replacement. You could also use part xylitol if you want to. Xylitol is a lot sweeter that erythritol (about 90% as sweet as sugar) but isn't quite as low carb as erythritol. Another thing to note is that when you combine sweeteners, they are synergistic with each other, enhancing each others sweetness. SWEET!

You may also want to put in the tiniest amount of a high quality white stevioside powder (a high intensity natural sweetener) to up the sweetness of your blend. Just add the stevia very slowly and mix it together VERY well. Write down your formula so you can easily remake more.



LOW CARB BROWN SUGAR Recipe:

Difficulty level: Easy Peasy

1 to 2 c. Erythritol, granular
1 t. Blackstrap molasses


Method:

In a bowl of a food processor, thoroughly mix the blackstrap molasses into the granular erythritol.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in your pantry for future use.

If you want a lighter brown sugar, just mix in more erythritol.

Remember to write down your proportions for future reference.


Lower Carb Variation:

2 c. Erythritol
2 t. Yacon syrup
A pinch stevioside powder, to taste



NOTES:

Traditional brown sugar has 276 calories per 1/2 cup (71.1 g carbs).
The Lower Carb Variation with yakon syrup has only 7 calories per 1/2 cup (2.8g carbs).

Blackstrap molasses is darker and more flavorful than regular molasses, so you need only half as much, which lowers the carb count of this sweetening blend even more.

Use a natural high intensity sweetener, or a blend of two (like stevia and luo han guo) to increase the sweetness level, if desired.

Erythritol has only 6% of the calories of regular sugar.

Erythritol has about 60 to 70% of the sweetness of regular sugar.

Erythritol is best used as a bulk sweetener in part of a sweetening blend.

Erythritol is not quite as soluble as sugar, it takes a little more heat to dissolve it.

Erythritol has a much higher gastric tolerance than any other sugar alcohol, up to 3.5% is safely used in beverages, for example.

Erythritol will not activate yeast in baking applications. Use a little additional fructose to activate and feed the yeast, and then your dough will rise normally.



Note: You could use Lakanto's golden granular zero-calorie sweetener instead of the plain erythritol for best flavor.



Future Project: I want to make a brown sugar blend that is as sweet as regular brown sugar using a combination of:

erythritol (bulking sugar)
oligosaccharides (inulin chicory root fiber) (bulking fiber)
stevia extract (high intensity sweetener)
luo han guo (monk fruit) (high intensity sweetener)
natural color (carob or cocoa powder)
natural flavor


I'm thinking about 70% erythritol, 20% inulin, and just a kiss of everything else.

I'm just thinking out loud... on paper, er, computer screen.



Have a great day,

Leila.



Monday, March 16, 2015

Successful sugar-free caramel experiments today!

Sugar Free Caramel experiments in the Kitchen Cheetah Test Kitchens


Imagine a dab of rich, buttery, creamy smooth caramel on your finger tips, just waiting to be tasted...

That's what I got to do today. CARAMEL.

We have been working on formulating a delicious sugar free caramel, not an easy task. Today, great progress was made towards our goal!

Years ago, when my husband and I owned a gourmet candy manufacturing business, I experimented with sugar-free caramel and toffee. At the time, maltitol and maltitol syrup (sugar alcohols) were pretty new to the market and I experimented with those. I was only somewhat satisfied. I had to add some other natural ingredients to create caramelization (also known as the maillard reaction). Sugar alcohols do not caramelize on their own, which is a problem for sugar-free candy manufacturers. Artificial flavors and colors are used to achieve a caramel-like look and taste - but they don't really fool you.

Maltitol causes gastric distress in most people, but was an improvement over mannitol. Sugar alcohols cause gastric distress in general. Xylitol is generally better tolerated than maltitol, plus xylitol has many health benefits. Still, you only want to eat it in small doses.

Erythritol is generally tolerated the best out of all the sugar alcohols. However, erythritol recrystallizes much quicker than regular sugar does, leading to grainy caramel, grainy marshmallows, grainy fudge - yuk. Erythritol also does not brown, so you can't make caramel with just erythritol.

There are some newer, healthy sugar alternatives on the market now, which we are experimenting with. We are very close to reaching our goal of a delicious, natural sugar-free, chemical-free caramel that is firm enough to wrap in caramel wrappers, or dip in our sugar free chocolate. SO EXCITING.

I just had to share!


Freshly made sugar-free caramel.

This caramel has a nice rich color and caramel taste!

Sugar-free caramel experiment - after the cold water test. Nice texture :)

Stay tuned!

Author, Leila.

Friday, February 27, 2015

EASY & Delicious Low Carb Pancake Syrup - Sugar-Free


Make your own TASTY Sugar Free Maple Syrup


Why ruin perfectly good low-carb pancakes with sugar bomb syrup, when you can easily make this healthy version yourself? 

I will not use commercial syrups that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners, and I hope you don't either. The healthier versions are expensive and hard to find, BUT, once you stock your healthy pantry, you will never need or want go back to buying pancake syrup. Party!



Low Carb Pancake Syrup Recipe:
Ingredients
1/2 c. xylitol 
1/2 c. erythritol (or Lakanto Golden Zero-Calorie Sweetener)
1/4 t. glucomannan (Konjac) powder (up to 1/2 t. for a thick syrup)
1/4 t. xanthan gum or guar gum
1/4 t. BioSalt or sea salt (recipe on blog), to taste
2 c. purified water
2 t. maple flavoring
1 t. real vanilla extract
1 t. butter flavoring, optional
1 t. stevia glycerite , to taste (recipe on blog)

Instructions 
   1.Premix the xylitol, erythritol, glucomannan, xanthan or guar gum, and salt. Sift or whisk   together well. This prevents the glucomannan and xanthan or guar gum from clumping. 

  2.Place the sweetener/gum mixture in a small saucepan, on the stovetop. Add the water with stirring. Heat on medium heat until sweeteners are completely dissolved, stirring frequently. Do not boil.

   3. Remove from heat. Add the flavorings to taste.

   4. Add the stevia glycerite, starting with 1/2 t. and adjust to taste (note that a little stevia goes a long way).

   5. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.


Notes 

  1. You may use just xylitol or erythritol if that is all you have. The sweetening profile is improved by combining the 2 sweeteners however.
  2. You may use just the glucomannan to thicken the syrup. Start with only 1/2 t., adding up to 1 t. for a thick syrup.
  3. If the syrup isn't as smooth as you would like, pour the syrup into a blender and gently blend together a few seconds.
  4. I would start with 1/4 teaspoon glucomannan. If you want a thicker syrup, add up to 1/4 t. more and blend it in a blender, it will thicken nicely.
  5. Note that erythritol is tolerated much better by most people's digestive systems, compared to other sugar alcohols.  Erythritol is also lower in carbs than xylitol, but xylitol is sweeter. Mixing the 2 is synergistic.
  6. You can omit the butter flavoring and just stir in 1 T. organic butter at the end. 

Enjoy, Leila