This information or a variation thereof appears in my low-carb cookbooks to help people. I thought I would make a blog post with the same information and yet some, as some people don't understand when I say something like "Liquid sweetener to equal 1 cup sugar." They think sometimes that that must be an awful lot of liquid sweetener, when, in fact, depending on the size of bottle/sweetener strength I use from EZ-Sweetz, it is either 24 or 48 drops! Hope this information is helpful.
The newest sweetener on the market that low-carb and keto bloggers love these days is allulose and this is the product that has some fabulous blends for us to use. I cannot use erythritol. I have not used it for 7 years. It affects my sensitive bladder adversely. Instead, I like to use allulose or monk fruit/allulose blend. So, wherever I mention erythritol in a recipe, feel free to substitute an allulose blend of your choosing. Only reason I ever mentioned it as it is the darling of the low-carb world. However, it is horrible for me and I don't ever use it. After menopause it was a problem for me.
You may use your own preferred sweetener in most of the recipes. Using a zero-carb sweetener such as liquid sucralose or stevia, allulose and allulose/Monk fruit combinations, helps lower the carbs per serving of a recipe. Erythritol is problematic for a sensitive bladder. The little packets for sweetening coffee can be used instead of erythritol for a sweetener synergy, however, they do have carbs. Do be careful with xylitol as it can have a slight laxative effect and, more importantly, it is lethal for dogs. What is interesting is that the safety of sucralose has now been proven by scientists. They discovered sucralose in surface and ground waters and tried all their usual methods of trying to break down wastes in aerobic and anaerobic reactors for 48 hours and put sucralose through all the other methods to break down wastes as well – to no avail. Sucralose remained unchanged and the molecule does not break apart into chlorine compounds. Therefore, it is safe to say that sucralose passes safely through the body, unchanged, and that it is inert at high baking temperatures.
|
SPLENDA®
Granular equivalent |
SPLENDA® Packets |
EZ-Sweetz®
Liquid Sucralose |
|
1 cup
SPLENDA® |
24
packets |
24/48
drops |
|
3/4 cup
SPLENDA® |
18
packets |
18/36
drops |
|
2/3 cup
SPLENDA® |
16
packets |
16/32
drops |
|
1/2 cup
SPLENDA® |
12
packets |
12/24
drops |
|
1/3 cup
SPLENDA® |
8 packets |
8/16 drops |
|
1/4 cup
SPLENDA® |
6 packets |
6/12 drops |
|
2 tbsp
SPLENDA® |
3 packets |
3/ 6
drops |
|
2 tsp
SPLENDA® |
1 packet |
1/ 2
drops |
|
Sugar
equivalent |
Packets |
EZ-Sweetz® Liquid Stevia |
|
1 cup
sugar |
24
packets |
96 drops
(4/5 tsp) |
|
3/4 cup sugar |
18
packets |
72 drops
(3/5 tsp) |
|
2/3 cup sugar |
16
packets |
64 drops
(1/2 tsp) |
|
1/2 cup sugar |
12
packets |
48 drops
(2/5 tsp) |
|
1/3 cup sugar |
8 packets |
32 drops
(1/4 tsp) |
|
1/4 cup sugar |
6 packets |
24 drops
(1/5 tsp) |
|
2 tbsp
sugar |
3 packets |
12 drops |
|
2 tsp
sugar |
1 packet |
4 drops |
|
Sugar
equivalent |
Packets |
Natural
Mate®
Erthritol/Sucralose & Natural
Mate® Erthritol/Stevia |
|
1 cup
sugar |
24
packets |
24 scoops |
|
3/4 cup sugar |
18
packets |
18 scoops |
|
2/3 cup sugar |
16
packets |
15 scoops |
|
1/2 cup
sugar |
12 packets |
12 scoops |
|
1/3 cup sugar |
8 packets |
7 1/2 scoops |
|
1/4 cup
sugar |
6 packets |
6 scoops |
|
2 tbsp
sugar |
3 packets |
3 scoops |
|
2 tsp
sugar |
1 packet |
1 scoop |
You can find liquid sucralose (called EZ-Sweetz®) at Netrition, as well as a liquid Stevia/Monk Fruit blend and shortly several more EZ-Sweetz® products will be available on Amazon under the name, Natural Mate.® EZ-Sweetz has a pure liquid stevia product and are now launching Erythritol blended products on Amazon (under the brand of Natural Mate®) for baking: Powdered Sucralose/Erythritol blend and Powdered Stevia/Erythritol blend. Both products have 2x the sweetness power of sugar. The samples I have come in small bottles with a long-handled mini scoop for scooping the fine white powder. One mini scoop equals 2 tsp (10 mL) sugar, and the whole container is equivalent to 12.4 lbs of sugar (see table above). In addition, they have the granular form of erythritol/sucralose or erythritol/stevia combination which is so good in baking. 1 cup (250 mL) granular combination equals 2 cups (500 mL) sugar equivalent.
Erythritol - Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that seems to be innocuous as far as causing digestive upset unless it is in a combination product, when sometimes there can be a problem. It does have a slight cooling effect on the taste buds; however, this is minimized by using smaller amounts. Erythritol has a glycemic index of zero and has no effect on blood sugar. Erythritol often crystallizes out of solution when cooled, but can be recombined when reheated. Granular and powdered versions are available at Netrition.com. Erythritol is mostly excreted through the bladder and is problematic for people with a sensitive bladder. Recent studies have shown erythritol to be problematic and dangerous for people with CVD.
Just Like Sugar® is made from chicory root and contains calcium and vitamin C. It has none of the strong aftertastes of stevia or other artificial sweeteners. It keeps ice cream soft, makes perfect caramel sauce, makes cookies soft on the inside and chewy on the outside. It tastes great, has zero calories and can be used cup-for-cup instead of table sugar.
Monk Fruit is made using the pulp of the fruit which is fermented and that removes the sugars but leaves the sweet taste. It is 200 times sweeter than table sugar, so you need use only very tiny amounts or it could taste bitter.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that does not require insulin to be metabolized by the body, however, it can increase flatulence and it can have a laxative effect. Xylitol is DEADLY for dogs. It causes prolonged hypoglycemia. Don’t use it if you have dogs in your home.
Steviva Blend® and Truvia® are blends of erythritol and stevia. There may be a laxative effect for some people but if you can tolerate them, they are wonderful. Again, erythritol is now being flagged as a health hazard.
Oven temperatures can vary and that means baking and cooking times are only a guide. An oven thermometer is a good investment. It's a good idea to set the timer for 5 to 10 minutes less than a recipe suggests. Eggs used are the large size.
Click the photo below to view the products! 
Low-carb Internet Store: Bob’s Red Mill® certified gluten-free oat flour, and coconut flour
and unflavored gelatin (NOW® brand) are available at http://www.Netrition.com. There are
big differences in brands of coconut flour and that can affect baking. I use Bob’s Red Mill® coconut flour and recommend it for my bake mixes. You can find things like Lily’s sugar-free
chocolate chips, imitation honey, coconut powder or heavy cream powder (use
instead of whole milk powder for lower carbs), verified gluten-free Anthony’s® buckwheat flour and oat fiber, Carbquik® and Carbalose® flour at
Netrition or Amazon.
Baking with almond flour versus almond meal yields a lighter color and
the crumb of baked goods is finer. Grind sliced almonds in a coffee bean
grinder. Honeyville Grains® has wonderful, finely-ground almond flour. I keep a
25-lb box in our chest freezer or I freeze the almond flour in large, sealable
and airtight plastic bags. Also Oh Nuts!®
has convenient-sized and sealed bags of
blanched almond flour. Nature’s Eats® has well-priced, blanched, finely-ground almond flour conveniently
packaged in 2-lb (907 g) packets.
Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mixes 1 and 2 (As an aside, I don't use Bake mix 1 anymore as xanthan gum can cause intestinal distress for some people, including my husband.): Oat flour and almond flour in the bake mixes are both proven heart-healthy ingredients. Oat flour reduces cholesterol. It has now been ascertained that oats are Paleo. Stones used to grind oats were found, dating back 32,000 years! The coconut flour and xanthan gum provide fiber and fiber is heart healthy as well. Gelatin is so healthy to consume for a variety of reasons as a quick Google will prove – for lovely strong nails too! A teaspoon of gelatin in herbal tea an hour before bedtime will help you sleep well (gelatin lowers body temperature). Compare the heart-healthy Splendid Gluten-Free Bake mix 2 with bleached all-purpose flour which contains alloxan, a chemical used to induce diabetes in lab rats, let alone the gliadin. Gliadin is a protein in wheat that stimulates the appetite for more of it and gives the person eating wheat a “reward” - a euphoric feeling such as one apparently gets from opiates like morphine and heroin. Actually 1/4 cup (60 mL) white flour = 24 g carbs and now compare 1/4 cup (60 mL) Gluten-Free Bake Mix = 5.7 g carbs (Splendid Gluten-Free Bake Mix is 4 times less carby than white flour!). My nutritional analysis is based on using ground almonds and oat flour from Arrowhead Mills and Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour. The program I used is FoodSmart. These bake mixes may be used in place of Jennifer’s other bake mixes in her Splendid Low-Carbing Series of cookbooks in most recipes. See instructions below bake mix recipes. Keep at room temperature for weeks in an airtight, sealed container; freeze or refrigerate for longer storage. The bake mixes are interchangeable! Grain-free options: Anthony’s® Organic Buckwheat flour, a seed and not a grain is an amazing product for baking in that it has a fairly nice texture and mild flavor. Quinoa flour, if toasted, is an option as well. See Grain-Free Bake Mix, or the newest Keto Bake Mix. You can use leftovers to "bread" chicken, meat, fish and vegetables - mix the bake mix with Parmesan cheese (the kind in a can) for the tastiest breading! Nothing ever gets wasted, so not to worry. I keep my Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2 on hand all the time. I created the Keto Bake Mix to be fully interchangeable with Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2 with one caveat - you need 1/4 cup more bake mix for more than 1 cup you are replacing of the Bake Mix 2 in recipes. Do read the instructions to ensure your baking success. Honestly, I created the bake mixes to take the guess work out of replacing white flour in our favorite recipes and coming up with low-carb versions. I feel almond flour and coconut flour on their own are inferior to using one of my bake mixes and my bake mixes are inferior to using half and half in combination with Carbalose flour (it is not gluten-free and I don't use it, to be fair, but my experiments with it were amazing) which you can buy online. Hope this helps at least one person out there who has taken the time to read all of this information. :)
Whey Protein Isolate is the highest quality whey protein product that one can buy. Whey protein isolate contains approximately
90 percent protein with only trace amounts of fat and lactose. Do not buy whey
protein that is high in concentrates as the texture and taste is all wrong for
baking and confections. Also check the sugar count; some brands add too much
sugar to make whey taste like candy and get one hooked on their product…and
that sugar isn’t going to help your waistline. Some contain products that can
cause migraines. Jay Robb® is a superior weight loss brand (pricey) that uses stevia to sweeten
their whey. It is sourced from
grass-fed cattle (no growth hormone), only sweetened with stevia, has 25 grams
of protein per serving, no sugar, no aspartame and no artificial colors or flavors,
no casein, MSG or gluten and it is cold filtered. Also, GNC carries a nice brand – Gold
Standard Whey – I like the French Vanilla Cream. Nowadays I buy my whey protein from Walmart (online): Equate Whey Protein Supplement in Smooth Vanilla flavor. I don't bother with unflavored, but you can buy unflavored if you prefer not to have the sweeteners in it. It has 5 grams of carbohydrate for 2 scoops (50 g).
Usable Carbs or Net carbs equal total carbs minus fiber. The reason for this is that the value for
total carbohydrates in nutritional programs is actually the carbohydrates plus
the fiber. Fiber is not a
carbohydrate. Both Dr. Michael Eades and
the late Dr. Atkins gave the green light for using net carbs. Often, I get asked to show total carbs. It is a simple matter of addition - look at the net carbs and the fiber and add those two together to equal total carbs (net carbs plus fiber = total carbs).