Vancouver Province - Guilt Free Holiday Treats
 

Guilt-free holiday treats
Renee Blackstone, The Province

Article here

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Karen Barnaby offers delicious low-carb holiday treats that are easy on the waistline.

Fish House Executive Chef Karen Barnaby can look a sugar-laden truffle straight in the eye without blinking -- or biting. She can heft a loaf of fresh gourmet bread without wanting to tear off a hunk. And she can spend all day around pasta, potatoes and other high-carb foods without craving a single morsel.

Barnaby has been a low-carb eater for four years now, losing 70 pounds in the process. She says she "feels better than I did in my 30s!"

The veteran low-carber has this advice for those who find themselves losing resistance to a sugary holiday treat: "Play the tape all the way through . . . It won't be just one. You'll feel awful. You'll beat yourself up about it. You'll wake up in January and wonder, how did this happen?"

Another way to get over the holiday hurdle is to indulge in a few low-carb sweets. Barnaby uses plain whey protein isolate (found at health-food and sport-nutrition stores), ground almonds (most bulk-food sections carry them), oat flour (grind rolled oats -- not instant -- in a processor or coffee grinder) and the sugar substitutes Splenda (sucralose) and Sugar Twin (cyclamates) to replace high-carb flour and sugar in the following recipes. Use both types of sweeteners, she says, because they work "synergistically" to require less total sweetener than if just one of them is used. Use the "measures like sugar" kinds.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PECAN BARS

Crust:

11/2 cups ground almonds
2 tbsps. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsps. Splenda
2 tsps. white Canadian Sugar Twin
2 tbsps. unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg white

Filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plain whey protein isolate
1 tbsp. Splenda
1 tbsp. white Canadian Sugar Twin
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2/3 cup whipping cream, warmed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure caramel extract
1/4 cup roasted almond butter
1 cup pecan pieces
Topping:

1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tbsps. Splenda
2 tbsps. white Canadian Sugar Twin
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbsps. unsalted butter
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

To make the crust, combine the almond meal, cocoa, sweeteners and salt. Add the melted butter and work it in with your fingertips. Whisk egg white until foamy (about one minute) and mix it into the almond mixture. Press into a 9 x 9-inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool completely.

To make filling, in a small frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat until it starts to turn a rich, golden brown. Remove from the heat.

Combine the whey protein, sweetener and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the whipping cream to the whey protein mixture. Blend until smooth. Add the almond butter and blend again until smooth. Add the butter and blend until smooth once more. Add the pecans and pulse once or twice, only to combine. Pour over the top of the crust and spread out smoothly.

For the topping, bring the whipping cream and sweeteners to a boil. Add the chocolate and remove from the heat. Stir until smooth. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Spread evenly over the caramel topping and refrigerate until firm. Cut into 32 squares and keep refrigerated.

Makes 32 pieces; 1.8g carbohydrate each.

MAPLE WALNUT SANDIES

Leave out the walnuts and maple extract for a plain almond shortbread-type cookie with 2g carbohydrates each.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsps. Splenda
2 tbsps. white Canadian Sugar Twin
1 tsp. pure maple extract
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
2 tbsps. oat flour
2 tbsps. plain whey protein isolate
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 300° F. Cream butter until smooth. Beat in sweeteners and extracts. Whisk ground almonds, oat flour, whey protein, baking powder, salt and walnuts together until evenly combined. Stir into the butter mixture until blended. Drop by level tablespoons on a parchment lined cookie sheet, two inches apart. With oiled finger tips, flatten the cookies out to 1/4-inch thickness. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store refrigerated and tightly covered between layers of waxed paper. Makes 16 cookies; 2.25g carbohydrate each.

Hey, I recognize you!
 

Karen,

Thank you for the heads up re the article in today's Province.

GREAT pic of you. Seeing it in the paper looks much better than the dinky little pic at the online link. I'm going to be doing some baking this weekend, once I get some plain whey protein powder.

Thanks for the recipes!

Thanks for posting these, Karen!

I definitely plan to make the sandies--they were soooo good at the get-together! I'm going to leave out the maple, tho. Instead of the plain isolate, is it okay to use vanilla? I don't want to have to buy it special.

Thanks,

Nicole

To tell you the truth, I don't know! I only use the plain but I don't see why it wouldn't. Try it and report back.

Karen

Karen: I know you said there's a difference between Whey Protein Isolate and Whey Protein Powder but I forgot the difference. Will it make a difference with the baking? Also if I have the Atkins Bake Mix, can I use it instead of Whey Protein Isolate or was it the Soy Protein Isolate.

I was sooo out of it after all the dessert indulgence on Monday's LC Dessert class, everything just went out of my brain. Of course, I did make up a batch of the LC Bailey's :p as soon as I got in the door. YUM

Thanks Karen, I just whipped up a batch of the sandies, using soy protein isolate-didn't have any whey, and they turned out beautifully. Have to get more almond flour and then make a double batch for Christmas. Would you mind if I played with the flavoring a bit - maybe some orange extract and rind.
The sandies remind me of my Gramma's shortbread.

Yum Yum
Colleen

I was wondering if whey protein isolate was the same as whey protein powder, myself... I do have some plain Designer Whey here, hence the question.

THere shouldn't be any difference between the two. But there is a difference between whey powder and whey protein powder.

Colleen said she used soy instead of whey in her post and it worked, so there you go!

Colleen, feel free to do all the variations you want. They also make a good thumprint cookie filled with SF jam.

I noticed there were typos in the article but I have corrected tham in the post above.

Sarah, it was probably that big glug of Bailey's! :lol:

Karen

I have to say that is a wonderful photo of you, too. And it looks WAY more like the real you than the bad one in the get together thread!

Karen Thank you! I forgot to get the Province yesterday and this morning I went to 2 gas stations and they did not have any.

hugs and I will put the Whey Protein Isolate on my list today

I love that picture of you!

I'll have to try making those pecan bars... they sound like a good "turtles" replacement. :yum:

So do I! The photographer used a very flattering angle, and my hair looked OK for a change. :lol:

Karen

The discussion of sweeteners has been moved to here

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=153788

so more people will be able to benefit from it.

Karen

Karen,

thanks I can't wait to make these. One quick question though what is roasted almond butter...Is it the same as almond paste? do you make your own or where can you get it??? thanks again

It's roasted almonds ground to a paste, just like peanut butter.You should be able to find it in a natural foods store with the jarred peanut butter. Check for other nut butters like macadamia and hazelnut too. :yum:

Karen