Lowcarbezine! 21 March 2001
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Hey, Gang!
Happy Spring! Happy Spring! Happy Spring! (And to you folks in the
southern hemisphere, Happy Fall! Happy Fall! Happy Fall! You folks at
the equator don't get a seasonal greeting; you get enough fun from
having warm weather all year round. ;-D) It's really here, too; the
weather was *glorious* today here in Southern Indiana. Took everything
I had to stay inside and write, I can tell you.
So since I wrote it, you'd best be reading it! ;-)
Read on!
Dana
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All contents copyright 2001 by Hold the Toast Press. All commercial
reproduction and/or use is expressly prohibited. As always, feel free
to forward Lowcarbezine! to any family or friends you feel might enjoy
it, provided that you forward it in its entirety.
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Lowcarbezine! welcomes reader input! If you have a question, a recipe,
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mailto:dana@holdthetoast.com All submissions become the property of
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let us know, and we won't! However, please note -- although I really
do read all my email my very own self, I get a *lot* of mail --
generally over 200 posts a day (not all of them about Lowcarbezine!), so
I can't promise to answer every post personally. Or I'll never get the
next book written!
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If you need a website designed or hosted, please check out the info on
Webbalah at the bottom of this newsletter! (Hey, *my* website looks
good, right?)
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Why Do They *CARE*?
Why does it *bother* people so that some of us do our best to take care
of our bodies?
"You're going to die anyway, you know!" Wow, news flash! "You could
still get hit by a truck!" Gee, thanks for the cheerful thought.
"Life's short! Why deny yourself?" Deny myself feeling fat, tired, and
cranky? What a loss. "My grandfather ate six donuts and smoked two
packs of cigarettes every day, and he lived to be ninety two." Bully
for him. Two of my grandparents didn't make it to 65, and I can't
borrow your genetics. Anyway, how did
granddad feel while he was here?
I've even seen one standup comedian -- I think it was Louis Anderson,
but I'm not sure -- rant on and on about those awful people who exercise
regularly, and how much he hates them. Said he was going to set up a
chaise lounge outside the window by the treadmills at the local health
club, and slarge about eating chips, just to piss them off. He seems to
have missed just who it is who is annoyed by whom. I bet those folks at
the health club never give him a second thought.
All of this reminds me very much of the reaction of some problem
drinkers if you don't want to match them drink for drink -- or even want
to abstain entirely. They take it as a personal judgment on *their*
habits, and get angry.
(I recall with a grin going to a reception at my prep school the winter
after I graduated, when home from college. I had had enough bad
experiences with alcohol in my first semester that I had quit drinking,
so at the reception I was wandering around with a can of Tab in my
hand. No fewer than a dozen people took it upon themselves to tell me,
"You can have a *real* drink, you know.")
I think that sense of being judged is what's going on with the
busybodies who are offended at folks who take care of themselves -- they
know, deep inside, that they're making themselves ill, but they don't
want to change. They see us making changes, doing what it takes to be
as healthy as we can, and it brings this conflict to the surface and
makes them uncomfortable. They're really judging themselves.
Truth to tell, I don't care what other folks do. Because of what I do
for a living, people regularly apologize to me for eating junk, yet I
*never* scold *anyone* for eating *anything*. Their body, their
choice. Or as I always explain when folks apologize for eating
whatever, "Hey, I'm information, not enforcement." The only thing that
will get me a bit riled is if people regularly and egregiously (Did I
really just use the word "egregiously"?) abuse themselves, and then
complain about not feeling well. I don't care if you drink a case of
Coke a day; I just don't want to hear about your rotting teeth and
diabetes, okay?
Yet a sizable group of people seems to care very much what *I* do,
enough to take me to task for it, and have ever since I "got" nutrition
like some people "get" religion -- a blinding bolt out of the blue which
changes the course of your life forevermore -- at the age of 19. And to
be honest, they do have a point.
You see, taking care of yourself is a losing game. It is absolutely
true that I am going to die. Furthermore, I'm going to age before I
die; indeed, I've already started -- at this writing, I'm in the process
of growing out the gray hair that has been with me in ever-increasing
amounts since I was twenty. Years of wear and tear on my hands from
massage have left
me with very minor arthritis in the middle finger on each hand. No
matter what I do, I will progressively be weaker and older-looking and
less healthy, and eventually die. And, sad to say, so will you.
It is absolutely true that I could die tomorrow; I've been in a serious
car wreck within the past year, and seen my husband come within inches
of death from anaphylaxis a couple of years back; I am *painfully* aware
that the doors of death are all around us. But I have had *years and
years* of feeling great that no one and nothing can ever, ever take away
from me.
(I also, by the way, have the satisfaction of knowing that my injuries
in that car wreck were minimal considering the 40 mph impact; my bones
and muscles and connective tissue are strong, and that protected me. Of
course, I also have the annoyance of having aches and pains -- still! --
that are none of my fault. That's the sort of wear and tear on one's
body that is simply out of one's own hands. Dammit.)
It's also true that there is no guarantee that person X, eating right
and getting their exercise, will outlive person Y who eats junk, sits
around, and smokes like a chimney. Genetics are powerful. But there is
*every* guarantee that treating my body well helps me to look and feel
as good as my personal genetics will allow, and gives me the best
possible shot at a long and healthy life.
You see, the part of the equation I miss is the "So you may as well not
even try" part. Heck, lots of things are losing battles. My car is
going to wear out some day, no matter how well I maintain it. Shall I
give up on changing the oil?
Furthermore, I determined long ago that since I couldn't change the fact
of my mortality, I'd like to die of anything other than my own willful
buttheadedness. So I eat right, get my exercise, take my vitamins,
don't abuse myself, and wear my seatbelt (that last being a habit that
probably saved my life, and certainly saved my face, last June.)
Anyway, what if I *don't* have a fatal accident? Most of us don't, you
know. And in my family, despite my grandparents who died too young,
many of the women have made it to a great age -- my Aunt Bertha died at
age 97. She still had every marble intact -- mind as clear as a bell --
but her body had long since become a misery to her. Her younger sister,
my Aunt Betty, suffered through *years* of hellish back pain due to
osteoporosis before dying in her late 80s.
I don't want to go there. If God should grant me a long life -- and I'm
aiming at living past 100 -- I want to be in good enough shape to enjoy
it. And I believe I can. So much of aging is determined by habits,
rather than mere time.
I think of Peter Oroussoff, a teacher at my prep school -- he was of
Russian nobility, and had fled to the United States as a child, during
the Russian revolution. By the time I was at prep he was in his 90s.
Yet he was regularly seen walking the five miles into town -- and back
-- and he taught virtually until the day he died.
I think of Jack LaLanne, arguably the man who started the exercise craze
in America -- he had an exercise show on TV when I was *tiny*, back in
the early 1960s, and he was a body builder/acrobat back in the 1940s.
He's now in his late 80s, and in better shape than most thirty year olds
I know.
I think of a day during the first year of my massage
career when I worked on four new clients -- when you're new in the
business, they're all new clients! Three of them were men under 35, all
in terrible shape. The fourth was a retired airline pilot of 83 -- his
posture was erect, his step was light, his waist was trim, and every
muscle was toned. The man very simply looked *fabulous*. He told me
he'd been eating right and working out all of his life.
On the other hand, I think of a woman who was in my territory when I was
(briefly) an Avon lady. She looked pretty old to have the very young
children she had -- I would have guessed her as being forty five. You
could have knocked me over with a feather when she told me she was 29.
(Of course, I didn't let my surprise show. Would have been rude and
unkind.) And -- you guessed it -- she was out of shape, smoked heavily,
and never was without a can of sugary soda pop.
For that matter, I think of myself when I was a 19 year old who lived on
junk and had smoked for 5 years -- I couldn't run up a single flight of
stairs without gasping for breath. I *dragged* my carcass through this
world. I swear I had every ailment known to human kind -- from strep
throat to corneal ulcerations -- in the space of a year. Certainly felt
far older, physically, than I do now that I'm more than double that age,
but taking care of myself.
So you see, while the fight against aging and death is, in the long run,
a losing battle, there is a *whole* lot of wiggle room in that phrase
"in the long run." God willing and the crick don't rise, I intend to be
the healthiest, the most active, and the best looking old lady you ever
did see. And even if God ain't willing and the crick do rise, I'm going
to be as well as I can and look as good as I can *NOW*.
So I'm going to continue to continue, as the old song goes. I'm going
to eat healthy, avoid sugar, eat my vegetables. I'm going to do my
breathing exercises. I'm going to walk. I'm going to work out on my
Total Gym. I'm going to continue to invest more money in vitamins than
I do in the stock market (and these days, who could blame me?) I'm
going to wear sunscreen, and do my face exercises. And I'd be happy to
have you along.
Of course, you don't have to join me if you don't want to. We can still
be friends. Just don't give me a hard time about it, okay?
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Fascinating Reader Letter
Dear Dana,
Thanks for your great book, which I am currently reading, and your very
supportive website and newsletter.
My husband and I have been eating low carb for about 3 months now and I
must tell you a little story about the difference the change in diet can
make in a person's mental health.
My husband has been suffering from deep, chronic depression for at least
l5 years. Due to the associated uncontrolled fatigue and general
lethargy, it has been all he can do to drag himself to and from work
every day for all these years. This fatigue left little room for any
sort of home life, recreation, parenting duties or love life! The
horrible mood swings and irritability that he suffered from this
disorder made living with him almost unbearable. To be frank, if it
hadn't been for the fact that we have children together, I would have
been unable to stand it and would have considered him to be a hopeless
bastard and divorced him long ago!
The strain of living with a full blown hypoglycemic is unbelievable and
takes it's toll on all in his/her immediate circle. The worst part of
all is, we couldn't figure out what was wrong! He visited doctor after
doctor, including naturopathic doctors. He had a huge amount of medical
and fitness testing done. None of these highly paid professional
medical people could figure out the cause of the depression,
particularly due to the fact that he was tested at the level of
"professional athlete" in his fitness tests and bloodwork!
We have found that in the medical community in general, hypoglycemia is
either ignored, unknown or outright denied! This is hard to believe and
is an outrage, in light of the fact that the evidence of it's existence
is so obvious and widespread, with so many people suffering so much as a
result of it.
My husband spent countless hours exercising trying to get "fit" so that
he wouldn't feel so tired all the time, lifting weights and performing
aerobic activities up to 7 days a week (twice daily!) All that exercise
just made him MORE tired and irritable. He was on prozac and a whole
other collection of anti-depressant medications. I practically ended up
on prozac myself just from the stress of trying to cope with his
depression! Needless to say, all of this was NOT good for the
children. They have had continual problems
socially and with school work due to the tension and stress at home.
Thank God I "just happened" to find the Atkins diet. When I discovered
it, I had NO IDEA that it would end up being the answer to our prayers.
I simply went on it myself to lose weight, and ended up losing 25 lbs as
a result. My husband observed and liked the idea of my easy, non hungry
weight loss, so he tried the diet too. Practically overnight he became
a whole new person. No more fatigue... no more mood swings... unlimited
energy and a MUCH nicer person to be around. He's been rushing around
here cleaning and doing all the household maintenance jobs that have
long been ignored due to his fatigue!
I have read everything I can get my hands on about low carbohydrate
lifestyle. I found your website while researching diet information
online, ordered it, and I HIGHLY recommend it as one of the most
educational books on low carb lifestyle that I've had the privilege to
enjoy! Thanks for writing such an informative book in a highly readable
and humorous way!
Things are much better in our household since we switched to low carb
living. My children are much healthier and happier too, both physically
and mentally! Due to the overall change in emotional climate, coupled
with the terrific nutritional benefits of low carb eating, my children
are finally thriving both socially and academically! The marriage is
still on the road to healing. It's not easy to get over years of living
with a chronically depressed, irritable, moody person and learn to trust
and care again. From what I have read, there have been many marriages
and homes that have been destroyed due to this hidden cause! However,
for the first time in years one feels hope.
I can't thank you enough for all your hard work, Dana! Keep up the
great work!
Sincerely with thanks, Linda
You are so, so welcome. I, too, have a family member who suffered from
severe depression, and found *tremendous* relief from good nutrition --
a low carbohydrate diet plus vitamin/mineral supplements -- and also got
off of Prozac.
Here's the deal: Proper brain function is *utterly* dependent on a
steady supply of fuel, and the brain can only use two kinds -- glucose,
and ketones. (Unlike your muscles, your brain cannot run on fat.) When
one eats a lot of carbohydrates, especially high-impact carbs like soda
pop and cookies and white bread and such --
the blood sugar goes on a roller coaster ride; when the glucose supply
to the brain drops, irritability and depression are virtually
inevitable. On a low carb diet, depending on which sort you choose, you
are giving your brain either a steady supply of ketones, or a supply of
glucose that your body is *making*, on demand, as your body needs it.
Either way, fuel supply to the brain stays nice and constant.
Another problem is low fat, low cholesterol diets, which have been
demonstrated to cause depression and irritability in laboratory
animals. Low blood cholesterol -- under 160 -- in men over 60 has been
associated with an increased risk of death from violence or suicide!
Since your brain is a very high cholesterol organ, and certain fats are
essential for proper brain function, this isn't terribly surprising.
A third problem is that a diet high in refined carbohydrates -- white
sugar, white flour, white rice, cornstarch, etc. -- systematically
strips
the body of certain nutrients, specifically several B vitamins, and the
mineral magnesium. How? Simple. Your body requires these nutrients to
process carbohydrate. Unrefined carbohydrate foods -- whole grains, for
example -- while they may not be great for your blood sugar, at least
carry along with them the nutrients needed for your body to utilize
them. Refined carbs do not. The result is that your body will use the
B vitamins and magnesium from the good stuff you eat (provided you're
eating any, of course!) (No, no. I know that *you* are, I mean the
hypothetical "you" who is eating all those refined carbs.) to process
the garbage.
The result is, of course, deficiencies in those nutrients. And all of
these nutrients have mental/emotional symptoms as part of their
deficiency pattern. (This is also why I refer to refined carbs as
"Anti-Food")
The upshot? A low fat, high carb diet, full of things like bagels and
muffins and pasta made from white flour, with maybe some nice sugary
juice to wash it down, is a diet that is *tailor made* to *create*
depression. Indeed, I would lay much of the bill for the Prozac
explosion of the '90s at the doorstep of the low fat/high carb diet
theory of the '80s.
This is *not* to say that if you are being treated for chronic
depression you can go on a low carb diet, take some vitamins, and assume
that you can drop your medication and be fine. It may well be worth
trying, but *UNDER A DOCTOR'S SUPERVISION*. Depression can kill you,
and it can, indeed, have causes other than nutrition. Don't be a dope.
But it is true, true, true that your brain is a part of your body, and
is *utterly* dependent on the food you give it to function properly.
Eat well, and be happy!
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Low Carb EASTER BASKETS Are Here!!!
Available in two sizes, both loaded with your favorite sugar free
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We also carry Dana Carpender's _How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost
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If you're Low Carb and Smart, you'll shop CarbSmart!
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Charity Pitch
Hold the Toast Press has been asked to participate in the local "Locked
Up For Good" fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
On April 12th, I'm to report to Charity Jail, and spend an hour "locked
up" at Fountain Square Mall, here in Bloomington, on the charge of
"having a big heart." (How'd they know?) I've been asked to raise
*$1000 bail*! (I think they think I'm a bigger company than I am...)
Guess if I don't raise it, I'll have to hang out at the mall forever,
huh?
Anyway, if you'd like to contribute, it's surely a good cause. Don't
make a check out to me, make it out to "MDA" or "Muscular Dystrophy
Association". That way you'll know I'm not just scamming you for money
or anything. Send it to: Hold the Toast Press, PO Box 6581, Bloomington
IN 47407. Tax deductible, of course.
As a massage therapist, I worked for a while with a little girl with
muscular dystrophy. It's a terrible thing; let's find a way to prevent
it.
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Just In Time For Spring -- MORE New Years Questions!
For those of you who are just joining us, I asked four questions of my
readers this New Years:
What are you proudest of in the past year?
What did you complete this year?
What are you going to do this year simply because it gives you joy?
And what's your best low carb recipe or tip?
Got so many answers, I'm just coming to the end of them! Gotta do this
again. Nothing like writing one article that nets you a whole
*quarter's* worth of material...
So here's the answers from Dale in Oz:
Dana
(1) I am proudest of learning so many lessons and not living in
‘yesterday’. I don't make resolutions, but set intentions daily. Every
day I find something to be grateful for. Being able to turn those
darned cauli latkes over, or having a sweet apple omelet that has me
licking my plate. Not reacting to a problem as I would have
yesterday. Learning to laugh at anything, including spilt milk. I
discovered I am a great sewing teacher (after spending my life in
graphic design and marketing).
(2) It has been a difficult 18 months. After 20 years and 11 in the one
apartment, I had to sell all my material possessions as I had been
unemployed for so long. I moved in with my parents for a year and
learned painful lessons there. Before finally getting the courage and
trusting the work would be there, I moved back to Melbourne where
I was born and grew up. Where it all started, so to speak.
(3) This year I plan to live in today, and only today. I figure
yesterday died at midnight, and tomorrow isn’t here yet, today is it.
And to
continue to let go of what I don't need in my life any more. I am now
living closer to my three grandchildren and will be seeing them as
often as I can. Be the best sewing teacher I can. Run some image
seminars and gain more experience there. Get closer to moving to the
States, as this is my dream. My sister and three nieces are over
there.
(4) The best hint for me was after reading Don Ruiz’ Mastery of
Love, where he says (not quoted) often we are ruled by our head. So
when I have to go to the shops I get out of my head, and into my
heart. And I don't go near sugar or starches. I don't have a car and
public transport is how I shop. Often it is a long and tiresome day
where I forget to take water and nibbles, and then I am so out of it I
tend to have a sugar and starch snack. I have learned to forgive
myself and let it go, instead of dwelling on it; makes a big difference.
As well I am menopausal, and losing weight is a bitch. I don't take
HRT, but a natural remedy called Remifemin, which works for me.
Reading Laurie’s Low Carb cookbook helped me understand that is
isn’t necessarily me, but the bod. So again I don't beat myself up. I
learned after doing lowcarb for more than a year to finally test my
urine! Can’t believe I cannot go over 22g a day. At 22g (and
counting exactly) I turn pink, over, neutral, and under bright lilac. So
if anything, I have my confidence back, and a new measure to ensure
I stay pink and above. I feel so bloody great even when I wasn’t
losing.. No hot flushes and no depression (which was the biggie for
me after starting menopause), high energy, less sleep, a love of
cooking, no bloating and no gas. Who could ask for any more.
Favourite recipe
Sweet Apple Omelet.
(I found this when I was doing Weight Watchers years ago and have
changed it for Low Carbing)
3 large eggs and 2 dessert spoons of water (I use 800g eggs)
40ml (Aussie 2 tbls) of Splenda
1 large granny smith, peeled, quartered and sliced (I don't like any
pips or middle bits)
100ml of heavy cream, whipped
I microwave the apple for about 2-3 minutes. Halve that and put one
half in the fridge for another day. Heat am omelet pan or non stick
pan with a tablespoon of butter. Whip the eggs, water and splenda
with a fork until just mixed. Put into the pan and leave for about 30
seconds, then start to lift the edges and pour the loose bit under. Wait
until just done, you don't want this brown, or hard, and flip. Place the
apple slices over one side, then lift the other half over and leave for
about 30 seconds. Place the omelet on half the plate, and the
whipped cream on the other (in increments if you wish) and cut a
piece of omelet then add a teaspoon or so of cream. This is my
favourite low carb feel good food.
It works out about 12 grams depending on the size of the apple and
amount of cream you eat.
And also, may I say, thank you thank you thank you thank you for
your newsletter. Friday is the day it arrives in Australia, and it is my
fave day. I usually read it, then being impatient, I print it off and
reread it again and again during the week. I have used a lot of your
recipes and have to say it is the highlight of my week. Thank you for
the time and effort you put into it.
I have said this to you before, we in Australia do have a hard time of
it. The feeling isn’t that great for low carbing. And even though we
now have GNC stores who offer some of the protein bars, the aussie
dollar is so bad, the price is $6 plus for one bar. Atkins protein
powder is $50 for one container. My sister (in LA) can’t believe we
pay $50 for 2 1/2 lbs of Aussie unflavoured whey protein powder!
Darrell Lea only has the Splenda bar on sale, and I have asked and
asked for other products to no avail. As yet we don't have
SteviaPLUS, just Stevia, which can't be cooked over 170 degrees
Celcius. My health shop is inquiring as to when we might expect the
new Stevia.
On the plus side, Swiss Miss Diet Choc is available
freely, but I make my own with cocoa, splenda, hot water and leave
it in the fridge and use as choc topping. We have ‘new fashioned
pork’ which is free of any fat, and cut just like beef. Great chicken,
beef, veal, beautiful eggs, the best cream at 45% fat and just cream,
no thickeners. Cheeses to die for. And we have just banned all
European beef and by-products, including beef cubes, makeup with
collagen, etc. because of mad cows disease. However, the envy is
there when I see what products are available in your newsletter, or
my sister lets me know via email. Get over it Dale :-)
Happy 2001.
Dale
Thanks, Dale!
Re the inability of folks in other countries to get low carb specialty
products: If anyone out there is an entrepreneur, with venture capital
to spend, there is a *huge* business opportunity waiting for you. I
regularly get emails from, in particular, readers in Canada, the UK,
Australia, and New Zealand, plaintively asking if I know where they can
buy all those wonderful low carb products I review. Even if American
companies will ship to other countries, the currency differences, the
shipping, and the customs duties run the prices sky high. Sadly, I do
not know of companies serving the low carb dieters of these nations;
wish I did. But the market is there, for anyone who wants to exploit
it!
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Reader Review of _How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost Forty Pounds!_
Get the whole scoop without reading ALL the books!
I've been low carbing for about 8 months, and have read LOTS of the most
recommended books. I could have saved myself a great deal of time
learning the different approaches if I'd read Dana Carpender's book
FIRST! Now I know what to concentrate my reading on. Just ordered
another copy to give to my sister and her family, so that
they can learn more, too.
amy in tucson
Thanks, Amy! One of the things that thrills me most is when someone
tells me they found my book so helpful that they bought a copy for a
friend or family member. :-)
You can read this and 24 other reader reviews of _How I Gave Up My Low
Fat Diet and Lost Forty Pounds!_ at Amazon :
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966883101/lowcarbohysoluti --
and of course, you can also order the book!
If you'd like to read the first chapter of the book for FREE, plus find
a bunch of other useful low carb info, visit:
http://www.holdthetoast.com . You can also see my smiling face and my
before-and-afters.
Or, for that matter, you can visit
http://www.webbalah.net/carbsmart.html , and order
_How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost Forty Pounds_ from Carb Smart,
where it's at a discount. Low Carb Grocery has it at a discount, too --
http://www.lowcarbgrocery.com .
If you'd like to buy the book from a bookstore, you'll probably have to
special order it. If you're in the USA, this shouldn't be a problem --
just tell them that you want to order _How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and
Lost Forty Pounds!_ by Dana Carpender, and that the ISBN is
0-9668831-0-1. You could also tell them that they can order it through
Baker and Taylor; one of the country's biggest book wholesalers. We do
ship to Canadian bookstores.
If you're outside of the US, your best bet is to order from Amazon.com.
We can ship internationally from here at Hold the Toast, too, but we're
not set up for it big-time like Amazon is. If you're a book wholesaler
outside the US and interested in carrying _How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet
and Lost Forty Pounds!_, we'd love to hear from you!
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What sort of travel are you planning for this spring? Make it a
cruise!
A cruise is a *perfect* honeymoon -- you can travel to several romantic
places, taking the hotel with you!
How about having your family reunion on a cruise?! Sounds easier -- and
more fun! -- than having them all to your house, doesn't it?
But who needs hassles, guess work, and details? Vacations are supposed
to be *fun*! Let Cruise Horizons plan your cruise for you, and all
you'll need to do is play!
Call Patty at Cruise Horizons for the vacation of your life!
1-800-529-AHOY
Check out Cruise Horizons website at http://www.cruisehorizons.com .
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Dr. Lainie Turkin of Michigan reports that she continues to lose weight
on her low carb diet using the carb blocker SLENDERPRO and has
drastically reduced her appetite with the GENEVA WEIGHT LOSS GUM from
Dr. Kanter's website http://www.justsaynotocarbs.com 1-800-428-3328
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Product Review
Jams and jellies. Cocktail sauce. Apricot chutney sauce. Plum sauce.
Barbecue sauce. Pickle relish. Chili sauce. Ketchup. All condiments
that, in their traditional forms, are *loaded* with sugar. One of the
more difficult things for low carbers to adjust to, I find, is that they
may have their burger, but not the ketchup to go on it; they may have
their ribs, but no barbecue sauce.
Low carb condiments, anyone? All of the condiments listed above are now
being made by the Jok'n' Al company of New Zealand.
This is, to my mind, a remarkable line. I haven't tried every item in
it, but I have tried several of their products, and every single one has
been virtually indistinguishable, both in taste and in texture, from its
high carb counterpart. The cocktail sauce tastes like cocktail sauce.
The plum sauce tastes like plum sauce. The raspberry preserves taste
like raspberry preserves. And so on. If you didn't know that these
were Splenda sweetened, reduced carb products, you would never guess.
Now, these products still do have some carbs. You can't use them in
huge quantities. But you can certainly use them more liberally than you
could the regular stuff.
For instance, one tablespoon of Heinz ketchup has 4 grams of
carbohydrate in it, while Jok'n' Al ketchup has only 2 grams, half as
much. La Choy plum sauce has 6 grams of carb per tablespoon, while
Jok'n' Al plum sauce has only 2 grams. Heinz cocktail sauce has 14
grams of carb in a quarter-cup serving, and Del Monte's cocktail sauce
has a whopping 24 grams! Jok'n' Al cocktail sauce -- which my husband
enjoys very much with his shrimp -- has just 6 grams in a quarter cup.
Not dirt-low, perhaps, but a real improvement. And very, very tasty.
These products are not sugar free, since they are made with fruits that
contain naturally occurring sugars. Some of them also include small
amounts of fructose or polydextrose, or both. However, all of these
products are *much* lower in carbohydrate than the standard variety, and
if you use them in the small serving sizes indicated, they can add a lot
of flavor to your diet without adding too many extra carbs. If you're
on a really strict carb intake, you'll still need to be careful.
By the way, Jok'n' Al also makes a few dessert-like products -- they
have a reduced carb apple sauce, which I haven't tried, but may -- I
love apple sauce with roast pork! -- and a reduced carb lemon curd
(like a soft lemon pudding), which was a *big* hit with the Low Carb
High Life Cruisers. Indeed, the cruisers agreed that Jok'n' Al lemon
curd in a sugar free meringue nest was as good as lemon meringue pie,
any day!
Only drawback is that these products ain't cheap. They're imported from
En Zed, and since they're moist products in glass jars, they weigh
heavy; shipping must cost Synergy Diet -- who introduced this line to
the US -- an arm and a leg. Add to that the fact that these are
specialty products, and we're talking $4 for a small bottle of ketchup,
or a small jar of jam or jelly. I'm not criticizing Synergy Diet, here;
again, I suspect that much of that high cost is due to the cost of
importing. Just stating that if you're on a strict budget, these
products may not fit into it.
That being said, however, *everything* that I have tried so far from
this line -- and I've tried 8-10 products -- has been very, very good.
If you've got the money, they're worth it, at least to keep on hand for
occasional use. Good stuff.
Check out the whole line at http://www.synergydiet.com .
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That's it for this week! See you next week!
Dana W. Carpender
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