Showing posts with label SugarFree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SugarFree. Show all posts

Monday, January 9, 2012

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O'Brien Review

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O'Brien Review

When you want to lose weight it can be very hard to find recipes that are as nice as your mother used to make, but not quite so fattening. With 200 recipes, this book holds out a lot of promise for diabetics or people like me who want to lose weight. Now, by sugar-free it doesn't mean that the food produced will be entirely sugar-free, merely that you don't add unnatural sugars.

My first impressions of this book are great. It looks good, and is certainly easy to read. The instructions are, I think, also very easy to follow. As cookbooks go it is also reasonably entertaining.

The recipes cover all the main meals, and even some snacks to keep you going through the long day.

If you have to avoid certain foods because of medical conditions it is ideal. In fact, recipes are generally free of gluten, sugar and usually dairy.

I haven't found another recipe book that is both gluten and sugar free, so it is an ideal choice of book for most dieters.

But the real question is: are the recipes easy to eat, delicious, and easy to make?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not a great cook. Most of the food I made was not presented with the same flair as the pictures. But while I am not a great cook I found it easy to make most of these recipes. Although they were easy to make since I live in the countryside, sometimes some of the more unusual ingredients are hard to find (they wouldn't be if you lived in a reasonable sized town with a health store nearby). But I was still able to make a good selection of meals.

It's fair to say, this book contains enough variety to be able to have regular sugar-free meals without too much pain, and with a lot of gain.

It is an ideal book for a nutritionists, a dieter, or someone with medical conditions that require them to avoid certain foods.

The best thing about this book is it isn't a weird book that you need to be worried about your health, if you use the recipes contained in this book sensibly it is obvious that you would be eating a healthy diet.

A lot of books offer healthy but boring food.

This book offers healthy and delicious meals, which are not too hard to make.

One particular section that I liked was the recipes on breads, cakes and muffins. Being able to make them healthily is a real bonus. I think you could easily live on the food in this book, which is more than the case with a lot of new age diets.

So I guess my basic review is... this is a great book.

OK, you will still have to exercise discipline and do those horrible exercises to lose weight, but at least you won't have to eat horrible food to do it.

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Cooking by Susan O'Brien Review Related articles: Spring Valley Vitamins , ทำseo

Friday, December 9, 2011

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pancakes - A Halloween Treat

Are you forever struggling to lose that last 20 pounds? You aren't alone, there are millions of us out there working on that same goal. You want to be healthy and fit because it would do wonders for your confidence and self-image.

Dedicated exercise programs are a huge help with weight loss - not only will you see weight loss, you'll see muscles coming along - you'll begin feelin' good and havin' more fun.

Sugar Free

Problem weight loss stories are in almost every magazine you pick-up and how often do you pull up your home page on the computer and one or several actresses are looking emaciated - what the heck is wrong with their self-image? They have money, fans, great looks, almost everything money can buy.

Obviously though, thinner bodies aren't making for happier people. In America our female population obsess with weight and how they look. How depressing is that? There are also men out there who obsess about their weight, but studies show men lose weight much faster than women if they put their mind to it and make some positive food adjustments. Besides men are looking for ways to build their bodies up, they want muscles.

When asked, women don't care about muscles, they want to lose weight and men, when asked, want to be more muscular and feel they could weigh more. Women look in the mirror and their inner voice tells them "you're fat, what's with the 10 pounds?" Men on the other hand feel they only have to lose about five pounds. If you're struggling, you're probably five steps away from the latest fad diet. It'll only hurt you more than help and they don't work.

Once you have conquered your own weight loss, share your blooming self-esteem, it's a valued gift you can give to everyone - you can inspire and influence others and you can be supportive as they work off that last 20 pounds. Following is a great recipe for pancakes you might want to share with your kids since breakfast is the most important meal of the day, perfect for Halloween and sugar-free.

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pancakes

These are flavored with spices of autumn, topped with tangy sour cream, and toasted pecans making your taste buds dance with delight.

1/4 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 cup Lite pancake mix, 1 T. Stevia, 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 3/4 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 stick unsalted melted butter, 1/4 cup sour cream, and sugar-free pancake syrup.

Heat oven to 350 F. Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet, bake until slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Cool.

Mix pancake mix, Stevia, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk cream, eggs, pumpkin, and butter in another bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry until just combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat griddle or electric skillet to medium. Grease lightly with butter, drop batter onto cooking surface in generous tablespoons. Cook until edges look dry, 3 or 4 minutes, flip and cook another 2 or 3 minutes.

Serve at once with sour cream, chopped pecans, and syrup. Very yummy...

Serves 4; About 350 calories.

Happy Halloween!

Sugar-Free Pumpkin Pancakes - A Halloween Treat

Friday, November 18, 2011

Going Sugar-Free Made Easy

Who doesn't relish a cup of ice cream or a piece of creamy pastry? At work, at school, at colleges or at home, we crave for these sugary foods whenever we feel hungry. Yes, we do remember the wise words of our fitness expert who keeps reminding us of abstaining from sweets. In turn, he recommends a list of tasteless low calorie food that we hate to have. After all, food is not meant to just fill the stomach; it should also taste good.

The good news is there are sugar-free snacks available that taste great. So if you are looking forward to reducing your weight and cutting down on calories, sugar free snacks are just the perfect product to have. Following is a list of some snacks that are low in calorie and helps you to maintain the right weight.

Sugar Free

A brown bread sandwich with fresh salad tastes marvelous and is good for health too. You might consider applying some peanut butter to make it taste even better. It takes very little time to prepare a good sandwich and is perfect for people on the move.

If you are looking for something non veg, try eggs. Buy a dozen eggs and boil them at the beginning of the week. Whenever you feel hungry, cut the egg into two, sprinkle some salt and relish it. You can also mix some unsweetened mayonnaise with it. Eggs taste good and are also good for health. However, it will be better if you only consume the egg white and do away with the yolk.

Have pasta. If you are too keen on losing weight then opt for pasta packs that specify low calories. Another great option is muesli which combines oats, honey and dried fruits in it. Add some milk or cold curd to it and enjoy.

If you really want something sweet and sugar free, then there is no better alternative than fruits. A banana, an apple, peaches or a fruit salad is a much better option than ice creams, cakes and pastries. Instead of ice cream cups, try out cut fruit cups. After all, fruits are naturally sweet, tasty and healthy.

Going Sugar-Free Made Easy

Alfred Anderson has rich experience in the field of online brand marketing. His interests includes Internet marketing and research on emerging online business trends. True Fruit

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dessert For Diabetics - Orange Glazed Pumpkin Bundt Cake and How to Make Sugar-Free Powdered Sugar

Pumpkin is always a favorite fall and holiday item. All our images of fall seem to have a pumpkin in them somewhere. But not only are pumpkins a part of our fall decor, they are also a big part of our diet. And pumpkin is a healthy food we should all enjoy. Help the diabetic in your life to enjoy pumpkin treats, too. Orange-glazed pumpkin bundt cake is a diabetic friendly recipe.

ORANGE-GLAZED PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE

Sugar Free

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Smart Balance Butter-Flavored Spread
1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 6-cup bundt pan with non-stick cooking oil spray and set aside.

Combine flours, spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to mix well. Set aside.

Combine butter-flavored spread, Splenda and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Beat in egg and pumpkin. Reduce mixer speed to low, beat flour mixture into pumpkin mixture. Beat in buttermilk and vanilla just until moistened. Spoon the batter into pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

If you wish to use the glaze, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Stir until well mixed; add water a drop at a time if needed to reach drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

NOTE: This recipe was adapted from "The Big Book of Diabetic Desserts" by Jackie Mills.

*To make sugar-free powdered sugar:

Put 3/4 cup of Splenda Granular and 2 tablespoons cornstarch in a blender and blend until it is a very fine powder. 0 grams of sugar and only 4 carbs per tablespoon.
Now don't tell. Most people won't know the difference.

Enjoy!

Dessert For Diabetics - Orange Glazed Pumpkin Bundt Cake and How to Make Sugar-Free Powdered Sugar

For more of Linda's recipes and diabetic information go to http://diabeticenjoyingfood.blogspot.com
She also shares her vintage recipe collection at http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com