Low Carb Ingredients
Where to find a few less-common ones...
Sugar-Free Imitation Honey
HoneyTree brand imitation honey is available from the HoneyTree Company:
HoneyTree, Inc.
8570 Monroe Rd.
Onsted, MI
49265
Phone: (517) 467-2482
At this writing, the minimum order is 12 bottles, but that will set you back only $22, not too bad, and it'll keep. Consider getting a group of low-carbing friends together to share an order!
At this writing, Carb Smart is also planning to carry HoneyTree Sugar Free Imitation Honey:
Steel's brand of imitation honey is available from
I've had readers report that they've found sugar-free imitation honey at Wal-Mart!
Polyols
DiabetiSweet (isomalt blended with the artificial sweetener acesulfame-K) is available through:
Puritans Pride (This is also where I buy most of my vitamins.)
Health Care Products
Focus Pharmacy
Diabetes Store
And, according to some of my contacts, DiabetiSweet also available at some Wal-Mart stores! It’s generally worth looking at any pharmacy in the diabetic-supplies section for this and many low carb ingredients. This makes DiabetiSweet the easiest polyol sweetener to obtain.
Erythritol is available through:
CarbSmart
Low Carb Grocery
Low Carb Nexus
Low Carb Outfitters
(Note: Erythritol didn’t work out for the chocolate sauce recipe in this book, so if that’s what you want to make, go for maltitol or DiabetiSweet instead.)
Maltitol is available through
Xylitol is available through
(Note: I have no personal experience cooking with xylitol.)
Wheat Protein Isolate
I know of two sources of wheat protein isolate:
I have often purchased low carb ingredients from both, and had no trouble.
Liquid Splenda
As long-time low carbers are aware, the big drawback of granular Splenda is the maltodextrin used to bulk it to the same sweetness-per-cup as sugar. This makes granular Splenda very easy to use, but it also gives it 24 grams of carbohydrate per cup -- far, far less than sugar, but enough to give one pause. Liquid Splenda, being "bulked" with water, doesn't have this problem. However, McNeil, the company that makes Splenda, has steadfastly refused to make liquid Splenda available to the American public.
At this writing (Low-Carb Barbecue Book), I know of two sources of what amounts to liquid Splenda, being sold as "syrup base." Here they are:
Zero Carb Syrup Base Concentrate is sold by Locarber.Com. An 8-ounce bottle will run you $17.99 plus shipping. That sounds steep, but since it's very concentrated -- 4 drops replace 1 teaspoon of granular Splenda -- it's actually cheaper to use.
I actually obtained some of the Zero Carb Syrup Base Concentrate after I had finished developing recipes for this book. It strikes me as a very useful product, and I will be developing recipes with it in the future. If you'd like to substitute it for the granular Splenda in these recipes, there is a conversion chart on the back of the bottle. It gives the equivalent quantities of Syrup Base to sugar -- figure it's the same for Syrup Base to granular Splenda, since granular Splenda measures one-for-one with sugar.
Nature's Flavors carries a "low carb sweet base" and a "low carb acidic base," which are basically liquid Splenda with a little flavor added. These run $8.49 a quart; however, these are much more dilute than the Zero Carb Syrup Base Concentrate, which makes them more expensive to use. Also, they add liquid to your recipe, which you'll need to compensate for.
"Fiber is an essential part of our diets. It helps keep our digestive systems healthy and regular. When following a low carb diet, fiber is often lost along with the carbohydrate sources. Nutragenics Fiberfit Concentrated Soluble Fiber is an extremely low-carb liquid dietary supplement that adds back some of that missing fiber. It can easily be used in any cooking or baking recipes."
