Question for Karen re; substitute for almonds
 

Karen, on another recipe site that I belong to somebody posted a recipe that was supposed to be low carb. However, it contained a whole cup of ground almonds which removed it from the realm of the truly low carb goody! The recipie was delicious and we would like to alter it to make it lower carb. What is the lowest filler type of ingredient that would work in the following recipe?

TIM'S PUDDING TOAST
from Tim Buck
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup of ground almonds
1/3 cup Splenda
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a Pyrex bowl, melt butter, whisk in the egg, vanilla and then beat in the cream until well mixed. mix in the ground almonds, Splenda, soad, cinnamon and salt. Scrape the sides of the bowl down and microwave for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Remove pudding from microwave, turn onto a plate and return to the microwave for an additional 30 seconds.
This can be toasted just like bread. Makes 2 servings.

This is absolutely delicious! I doubled the eggs to 2 and separated them and substituted 4 Tablespoons of flaxseed meal for the almonds. Beat the egg whites firm (added 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar) and then folded the white into the remainder of the ingredients. It has a comparable texture and flavor, but is too time consuming to make. Is there a better substitution you can recommend?

It sounds like a good recipe. I may be tempted to try it myself! :)


Now, ground almonds are a very fine low-carb baking ingredient, weighing in at only 9.54 grams ECC per cup. I like to look at the whole picture...carbs vs. nourishment so your better off axing the Splenda - 8 grams carbohydrate, almost the same as the almonds - and use liquid stevia instead for a 0 carb count. I would also sub in plain soy milk for the cream which will save a few grams depending on the brand. Soy milk also makes baked goods lighter. Lastly, if you want to go lower, I would use half almonds and half flax meal.

Karen

Oops! Sorry about hitting the post button before I wrote my message! Newbie, dewbie dope! LOL!

Thank you so much Karen for the suggestions. We had some trouble deciding what the ECC count for the almonds would be. Your figure is much lower than we came up with. I am sure I can find stevia around here some place so I can try your suggestions.

I knew a good chef could figure something out!

I'm a big fan of weighing ingredients and a cup of ground almonds weighs 100 grams or roughly 3 1/2 oz. The carb count is from the USDA Database under Low Carb Tools at the top of the page.

I mean what does a cup of chopped onion look like? The bigger it's chopped, the more space it takes up. You would be surprised and pleased at the larger amount of vegetables you can have if you weighed them. Especially lettuce! :)

Karen

Thanks for the great tip on weighing my salad! I will start doing that. I will eventually find all of the helpful goodies you've built into this site. I'm in awe!!

I made the Pudding Toast recipe with the substitutions you recommended and it...is...GREAT! I used soy milk at 2 carbs, half almond meal and half flax seed and only 6 drops of Stevia. It raised about an inch higher and is more like bread than it was before. Before it reminded me of gingerbread in every way but the taste.

Thanks you so much for the help!

Hmm...you could make it taste like gingerbread now by addng ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. :cool:
Weigh your vegetables too!

Karen

Karen, you so incredibly kind! Thank you so very much for the helpful suggestions! Means the world to me.

How about adding orange or lemon zest to this recipe? What spices or other seasonings would you suggest for that option? Or omit the cinnamon and go for a savory version? I would really love some more suggestions...saves on ingredients donchaknow?!! LOL! My birds are so fat now from my eating my failed experiments they can hardly fly!!

Peace and joy,
Nance

Orange and cranberry - cut them in quarters to go further - blueberry and lemon; try some cocoa powder for part of the almonds with banana extract; walnuts and maple extract.

For savory, how 'bout Parmesan and pesto; cheddar and ham or cooked, crumbled bacon; sundried tomato and asiago cheese; olive, feta and oregano?

Get a dog! :lol: I'm grateful to have two pooches to eat all my disasters!

Karen

LOL Karen! I think that might be why my poor puppy DIED last year! LOL! Your dogs are gorgeous by the way. I am almost ready to replace my poor Misha (Maltipoo) and hubby wants a BIG dog again.

Okay..back to this recipe. Is there any substitution for molasses that is low carb? I made this again this morning and used half maple flavoring and half vanilla, half cinnamon and half cloves, added a tsp of orange zest and 2 tsp of orange zest. Oh...also cut the flaxseed meal back to 4 Tblsp. I ate half of it for a snack hot with butter and sf maple syrup....mmmmmmmmm!

Thank you again for all of your generous help. You and Roz and Wa'il have made me feel so 'at home' here, I don't think I'll EVER leave! LOL!

No there's not, but you'll sometimes see LC recipes that use a small amount for colour and flavouring. In Canada, we can get brown Sugar Twin made with cyclamate that can withstand heating. If you use too much though, it tends to be bitter.

Karen