Low Carb Freedom

Low Carb Pasta Sauce: Hunt's No Added Sugar

Different people have different tolerant levels for spices. Kids, especially, prefer less spicy foods. My husband and I adore an "off-the shelf" pasta sauce: Emerils, but it is VERY spicy. My kids don't like it, and with so many traditional pasta sauces just LOADED with sugar, and many lower carb pasta sauces going off the market, I was at my wit's end. (Low carb spaghetti and meatballs is one of my "quick -- I don't have anything to cook tonight dinners!" And without a canned/jarred sauce that was acceptable to the family, it was out of my "quick" repertoire.)

HOWEVER, Hunt's has now come out with a No Added Sugar Italian Style Sauce. It is your basic sauce and it is kid friendly! There are no "chunks" to snarl at and pick out, and it has a very mild flavor with 6g of net carbs. (Just take a look at some of the other sauces out there. It isn't uncommon to see 15g or even over 20g of sugar in a serving! Who needs that???) I tell you, companies should be pumping out the No Added Sugar products for kids!

Now, is it for me and my husband? No. But it is for my kids. I pair it up with Dreamfield's pasta, which you can always order here and have it delivered, even if it isn't in your local grocery store. Throw in a few frozen meatballs and some sausages, if I have them, and, with a salad, it is a complete meal. All I do is have two saucepans on the stove, one with each brand of sauce.

You may have to look for it though. For example, my local Market Basket doesn't stock it, but my MUCH smaller market, Crosby's, does.

Let me know your favorite low carb spaghetti sauce!

	Hunt's No Added Sugar Italian Style Sauce
Serving Size	1/2 cup
Calories	35
Total Fat	0g
Saturated Fat	0g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	610mg
Total Carbohydrates	6g
Dietary Fiber	2g
Sugar	3g
Sugar Alcohol	0g
Protein	1g
Ingredients	Ingredients: tomato puree (water, tomato paste), water less than 2% of: salt, soybean oil, dehydrated onions, carrot fiber, spices, citric acid, xanthan gum, sucralose, acesulfame, potassium, natural flavor

Notice it is flavored with sucralose, which is Splenda. I'm sure that this is the "industrial" Splenda, which isn't combined with dextrose as the filler, which is just another carb laden filler that is used for bulk. Why Splenda doesn't come out with another version without dextrose, I just don't know.

Low Carb Market Bay Gourmet Frozen Entree Tilapia Fillets

OK, specialized low carb frozen entrees are expensive, but sometimes you just want something you can eat quickly with NO prep time. I came across this in Market Basket on sale for $4.99 on sale instead of $5.29 regular price. I had to try it.

For those of you who haven't had Tilapia before, you are missing out. It is a cross between haddock and flounder, but it "stays together" better than flounder. I buy it all the time at Costco. Costco has fresh Tilapia at $4.99 a lb. and also large bags of individually frozen Tilapia in the freezer section. I have to check on the price again.

The Market Bay Tilapia came from Ecuador and it was farm raised. One downside to this is that you can cook it in a regular oven but not a toaster oven in the container that it comes in. I'm thinking that this might be a problem in a workspace if you wanted to eat it for lunch. The other downside is that it has a lot of sodium. If you forgo the convenience and make it yourself, you can control the amount of sodium.

Anyhow, on the upside, practically no carbs and the fish tasted delicious! There were two shrimp on top of each Tilapia and the spices were aromatic and tasty. A great, great quick meal for an individual. (Of course, I ate both pieces of the fish! Who could only eat one?) Also on the upside, the cooking times are for when the fish is at 38 degrees or defrosted, so if you took it to work when it was frozen, it would be defrosted by the time you ate it at lunch. (Hmmm.... that could be a downside if you wanted to eat it right away from the freezer. I'm sure you could cook it. If anyone tries cooking it that way, please let me know how it turned out for you!)

	Market Bay Tilapia Fillets with Shrimp Marinara
Serving Size	6 oz. Servings in container about 2
Calories	130
Total Fat	4g
Saturated Fat	1.5g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	65mg
Sodium	490mg
Total Carbohydrates	3g
Dietary Fiber	2g
Sugar	0g
Sugar Alcohol	0g
Protein	20g
Ingredients	Ingredients: skinned tilapia fillets water, diced tomato, shrimp, white onion, sweet red peppers, Parmesan cheese, garlic, hydrogenated vegetable oil (soya), balsamic vinegar, salt, dry basil, dry oregano, black pepper

Great Low Carb Tortilla Chips -- Cape Cod All Natural -- At Christmas Tree Shops Now

I just found these chips a few months ago. Both of my kids preferred them to the Trader Joe's brand of low carb tortilla chips for some reason. I don't know, maybe because they were round and more expensive? Or they came in a real cute purple bag? Whatever the reason, they will be out of luck at the end of this year when the current supply runs out because they stopped making them a month ago.

I called the corporate office to find out why they were no longer available at my local Stop & Shop, and the marketing person said that they had stopped selling across the country, and were mainly selling only in New England, so they decided to stop producing them. As stated above, a lot of the leftovers went to Christmas Tree Shops.

So, while these were good chips, and at $2.99 were less expensive than most low carb offerings (but not the Trader Joe's chips, which are $1.99 a bag), they couldn't make it. This is quite sad for a lot of people. While I have a Trader Joe's around the corner and can get a steady stream, most people don't. And Trader Joe's doesn't sell online. I use the tortilla chips in place of crackers for cheese as well as for salsa. So, if someone knows of other good low carb chips available in other parts of the country, please post below to help out others.

	Cape Cod Reduced Carb Tortilla Chips	Trader Joe's Soy & Flaxseed Tortilla Chips
Serving Size	1 oz. (28g/10 chips)	1 oz. (28g or 7 chips)
Calories	140	130
Total Fat	6g	8g
Saturated Fat	.5g	1g
Trans Fat	0	0g
Cholesterol	0mg	0mg
Sodium	110mg	50mg
Total Carbohydrates	11g	13g
Dietary Fiber	2g	5g
Sugars	0g	0g
Protein	9g	6g
Ingredients	stone-ground corn, soy protein, vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, or soybean oil), sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, oat bran, salt.	stone ground yellow corn, soy grits, brown flaxseed, corn oil or sunflower oil, sea salt, water, trace of lime.

Premade Shrimp Scampi Review -- It is Low Carb

I just reviewed a great product that I found at Costco, carnitas, that had a simple ingredient list and it tasted just great. This SeaPak Shrimp Scampi also comes from Costco, it tastes just fine, but typing in the ingredient list, all I could think of was...... Shrimp Scampi is really easy to make with fresh butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley, and some white wine, why eat all of this other stuff when you don't have to?

It tastes OK, carbs aren't bad at 4g, pair it with some Dreamfield's Linguine and a nice white wine for a truly sumptious meal, but if you have the time, just make your own and skip the hydrogenated canola oil. Costco sells uncooked shrimp with the tail on that works just fine.

Update: I have to give the company kudos for NOT including rice or noodles with the meal though... that would make it unacceptable for low carbers. You would be paying for the ingredients that you wouldn't eat.

	SeaPak Shrimp Scampi
Serving Size	4 oz. (about 8 shrimp, 8 servings per container)
Calories	370
Total Fat	35g
Saturated Fat	6g
Cholesterol	85mg
Sodium	640mg
Total Carbohydrates	4g
Dietary Fiber	0g
Sugar	0g
Protein	12g
Ingredients	Shrimp, water, soybean oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: partially hydrogentated canola oil, salt, lecithin, artificial butter flavor, beta carotene, citric acid, maltodextrin, garlic powder, onion powder, dehydrated red bell pepper, hydrolyzed soy protein, torula yeast, lemon peel, dehydrated parsley, malic acid, natural butter flavor, corn syrup solids, natural flavor, artificial flavor, lemon juice solids, autolyzed yeast extract, sodium bisulfate (as a preservative). .

Low Carb Carnitas

Man, oh, man -- being from the Northeast, I first found out about carnitas at a great burrito place in Cambridge, MA, Boca Grande. They used to make the best burritos (and I'm sure they still do), right in front of you, with big amounts of rice, beans... and carnitas! (And being a Northeasterner, I don't even know if the correct way to say it is carnita or carnitas.) Anyhow, Carnitas is pork, slow cooked in spice, and it literally falls apart.

When I saw the large carnitas package at Costco, in the prepared foods meat case, I practically flipped! This was perfect! Just make my own, with low carb wraps, cheese, and black soy beans (the lowest carbohydrate beans -- and they taste great!) Just skip the rice, or, if you are on South Beach, use brown rice.

However, this traditionally cooked carnitas was so good, I didn't even have time to put it in a burrito! I just ate it plain! My husband, on the other hand, preferred it in a burrito.

I'm in a quandary right now though. Last time I went to Costco, they didn't have it in my store. I called the distributor and they say it is sold through Costco and Sam's Club only. I have an email into Costco to find out if they are just out or if they have stopped carrying it. Please let me know if you can find it in your Costco or Sams Club! I have to make a special trip somehow and stock up!

	Del Real Foods Carnitas
Serving Size	4 oz. (32 oz. in container)
Calories	290
Total Fat	18g
Saturated Fat	8g
Cholesterol	130mg
Sodium	410mg
Total Carbohydrates	0g
Dietary Fiber	0g
Sugar	0g
Protein	33g
Ingredients	Pork, Water Solution (Salt, Maltodexrin, Sodium, Carbonate, Sodium Acetate, Sodium Citrate) Garlic.

Update: I have a love/hate relationship with Costco. They are making me write a note in the book, then I'll wait weeks and weeks or months for a response for them just to say -- we have discontinued the product. Nyah, nyah, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Thank you for e-mailing costco.com.

This is an automated message based on your choice of the subject line,
"Warehouse Product Information".

Currently, we do not have warehouse product information  through
e-mail.   We encourage you to visit your local Costco warehouse to obtain
this information.

To obtain information on products available via the web, please visit our Web site
at www.costco.com.

Thank you,
Costco Wholesale Corporation
customerservice@costco.com

Low Carb Oreos are back!

According to this fascinating article on Oreos:

The low-carb Oreo also didn't last, but that had more to do with a fad-driven marketplace than with science. When Kraft ditched the low-carb Oreo, it took the same cookie and put it in a new box touting a hotter diet trend.

And with that, the Oreo CarbWell last month became the Sugar Free SnackWell's Oreo.

It also details the history of the trans fat warnings and how Oreo has responded. Read the whole article.

(As an aside: I wish some other companies would bring back their low carb offerings as sugar free and give them wider distribution and a more sane price point -- specifically Heinz ketchup!)

Update to the Low Carb Discontinued Product Watch: Carb Countdown Yogurt, Sahara Carb Counting Pitas, Total Protein, Hershey 1g

Updates on:

• Atkins Carb Countdown Yogurt
• Yoplait Carb Monitor Yogurt
• Sahara Carb Counting Pitas and Wraps (breads)
• Hershey 1g candy bars
• Total Protein Cereal

Click here for all the low carb product news. Remember, I have been keeping this Low Carb Discontinued Product Watch since February and the newest entries are in purple.

Low Carb Yogurt: Moove Over Sugar by Stonyfield or Dannon Light'n Fit Carb Control

OK, OK, Atkins Carb Countdown Yogurt and Yoplait Carb Monitor Yogurt have been discontinued. There are still options out there!

First, you can buy Dannon Light'n Fit Carb Control. This has been around a long time.

You can also buy Stonyfield Farms Moove Over Sugar, which is organic. The Moove Over Sugar has more carbs than the Dannon Carb Control, but it also has erythritol and inulin. (Good stuff!)

Moove Over Sugar is mostly available in health food stores, but it is also available in Stop & Shop.

If you want access to Moove Over Sugar,

1. print out this form,
2. check off Moove Over Sugar,
3. and give it to the dairy manager at your local store so he or she can order it.
4. Plus, click here for ecoupons

Make your own decision on taste and how well your body responds.

	Moove Over Sugar - Wild Berry
Serving Size	4 oz.
Calories	70
Total Fat	2g
Saturated Fat	1.5g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	10mg
Sodium	35mg
Postassium	110mg
Total Carbohydrates	17g (minus the fiber and erythritol to get net carbs)
Dietary Fiber	1g
Sugar	8g
Erythritol	7g
Protein	4g
Ingredients	Cultured pasteurized organic low fat milk, water, erythritol (natural sweetener), naturally milled organic sugar, organic cream, milk protein concentrate, inulin (natural dietary fiber), milk mineral concentrate, organic strawberry juice (from concentrate), natural flavor, carrot and organic beet juice concentrate (for color), pectin, guar gum. Contains six live active cultures including l. acidophilus, bifidus, l casei, and l. reuteri.

And here is the second ingredient list!

	Dannon Light'n Fit Carb Control Blueberries 'n Cream
Serving Size	4 oz.
Calories	60
Total Fat	3g
Saturated Fat	2g
Cholesterol	10mg
Sodium	25mg
Postassium	80mg
Total Carbohydrates	3g
Dietary Fiber	0g
Sugar	3g
Protein	5g
Ingredients	Water, ultra-filtered skim milk, cream, blueberry puree, contains less than 1% of whey protein concentrate, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, Kosher gelatin, sucralose, potassium sorbate (to maintain freshness), malid acid, Red 40, Blue1, sodium citrate. Contains Active Yogurt Cultures.

Let me know which one you like the best!

Low Carb Ice Cream (with no cream) that is Good for You: Alpine Ice from Mountain Herbal Foods

While I have been disappointed by many low carb foods in the past, new "good for you" foods that taste great are coming down the pipeline, and Alpine Ice certainly fits the bill. Not only does it have lower carbs, but it also has no dairy, no soy, no gluten or eggs. It is also certified Vegan and low fat. (Not that I care about these last facts.) You can give this to just about anyone on any type of diet. I bet this ice cream (with no cream) would be great for people who have had gastric bypass or lap band surgery too.

It wasn't developed for low carbers; we just happen to be a lucky ancillary market. It was developed for cancer patients and is suitable for diabetics.

The Zone doctor, Dr. Barry Sears, was an advisor, and even has a great quote on their website:

I feel that Mountain Herbal Foods ushers in a new era of "guiltless pleasures."

These are foods that you believe you should feel guilty about eating because they have such great taste, yet they are manufactured to deliver incredibly high level of nutrients known to improve health and wellness. 

Life can't get much better than that.

I tried this at a local ice cream store in Marblehead, MA -- Terry's Ice Cream Shop on School Street. Terry's has two flavors: Lavender Sunrise and Green Tee Herbena. I tried both of them with a mini teaspoon and decided to get a bowl of the Lavender Sunrise. For some reason, this dessert seemed like it should come from the Orient and not "handmade in small batches in the Berkshires of New England." The taste was light and refreshing, and it was further enhanced by the knowledge that this stuff truly was good for you AND ONLY 45 calories! About half an apple! (Read here why calories do count.)

Besides lots of herbs, teas, etc., Alpine ice contains inulin and erythritol instead of maltitol, and long-time readers of this site know that these ingredients are the best ingredients to have in a product.

Distribution is limited at this moment, but I'm sure if there is demand, something can be done. I suggest printing out this page and bringing it to your local health food/low carb market. Many low carb stores also cater to the gluten-free and dairy-free customers, and this certainly fits the bill.

If you look at the label, the fact that this is low carb doesn't jump out at you because they haven't broken out the sugar alcohols. (I think they should, of course.) Mountain Herbal clarified the sugar alcohol content and trans fat in an email, so the complete nutritional label should be as follows:

	Alpine Ice Lavender Sunrise
Serving Size	1/2 cup (about 80 grams)
Calories	45
Total Fat	0g
Saturated Fat	0g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	10mg
Total Carbohydrates	20g
Dietary Fiber	8g
Sugar	3g
Sugar Alcohol	6.6g
Protein	0g
Ingredients	Ingredients: Tea (Water, Lavender*, Green Tea*, Blue Malva*, Chamomile*, Lemon Balm*, Peppermint Leaves*), Harmony Infusion (Water, Elderflower*, Raspberry Leaf*, Green Tea*, Peppermint*, Nettle Leaf*, Dandelion*, Lemon Balm*, Orange Peel*), Inulin, Erythritol, Lemon Juice, Fructose, Maltodextrin*, Gum Acacia, Glycerine, Tara Gum, Guar Gum

Now, according to the folks at Mountain Herbal, I really should try the Bolder Berry, which is available now, and with the ingredient list filled with berries, I can't wait to try it.

Mountain Herbal Foods LLC
217 humphrey street
marblehead, ma 01945
t: 781.639.1192    f: 781.639.4356
info@mtnherbal.com

Walden Farms No Carbs Grape Fruit Spread

It is with a heavy heart that I write this review. I purchased this fruit spread at my local Stop & Shop for $2.99 a jar a few months back. (I don't think they have it now.)

I was excited.

No carbs, sugar free, calorie free.

Verdict? It was inedible in my opinion. And I wasn't alone. My son refused to eat his peanut butter and jelly when I made it with this product. The consistency was.... not like jelly and not like vaseline, more like fat globules that roll around.

Both of us love the Keto jelly, but Keto has gone out of business, although the Keto jelly is still available at netrition for who knows how long.

One version of Pollaner All Fruit is sweetened with Splenda, and it is on my Everyday Low Carb Shopping List. It is available at some grocery chains like Stop & Shop. I don't eat the Smucker's because it is sweetened with aspartame.

Interesting ingredient list below....

	Walden Farms No Carbs Grape Fruit Spread
Serving Size	1 Tbsp (15g)
Calories	0
Total Fat	0g
Saturated Fat	0g
Cholesterol	0mg
Sodium	0mg
Total Carbohydrates	0g
Dietary Fiber	0g
Sugar	0g
Protein	0g
Ingredients*	Triple Filtered Purified Water Grape Flavor, Natural Flavor, Sucralose (Splenda brand), Citric Acid, Cellulose Gel, Xantham Gum, and Sodium Benzoate * Contains trace calories (ed: means that the calories are less than what has to be displayed on the label for the serving size.)