My LC wish list is getting large:

erythritol
maltitol
brown sugar maltitol
Twist Chocolate hazelnut spread
hazelnut butter
gelatin sheets
LC honey
sf tonic water (no aspartame/saccharin)
corn bran
Dried cream powder
diabetisweet (isomalt)
heinz 1 carb ketchup
Carageenan

Although there are online sources for these products, I can't get them all in once place, so multiple shipping charges can add up. Does anyone in my area (Northern NJ) buy this stuff and if so, where.

Also, I have a few sources for both guar and xanthan gum but am not impressed by the prices. Does anyone have an inexpensive source for these that's local?

Scott,

I don't live you, so unfortunately, I can't answer your question directly.

But I am curious - are you a chef?

What LC recipes would you use with the corn bran?

Thanks, Barefoot

The only one I can really help you with Scott is the Heinz 1 Carb Ketchup, I live near the Meadowlands in Jersey and found mine at a local Stop & Shop...if you have one of those near you, try them. Also, I found that some of my local stores will order new low carb products if you put in a request. Sometimes they don't last long in the store, but I guess that has to do with whether they are being bought often enough or not. I also saw a new addition to the LC ice cream by Breyers (I think it's called CarbSmart), it's mint chocolate chip and boy do I look forward to trying that out! Good luck in your search.

sorry - I meant ** live ** near you


barefoot!

Divvy23, thanks, that's a very big help. I've got a stop and shop near me - I'll take a look there.

Barefoot, yes, I am a chef, among other things

I'm hoping to use corn bran in some sort of tortilla, chip or possibly corn bread. The carb content of corn bran is currently up in the air, so I'm not sure how much of it I'll be using. There's a possibility it will be as much as 32g per 75g cup. If it is 32g, then I won't be using much of it, if any. I am corresponding with one of the corn bran distributors as we speak. We shall see.

I get the ketchup at Path Mark. My Shop Rite doesnt carry it.

The sugar alcohols you can get at a health food store.

The Twist Hazelnut Spread I found at a store in Westchester NY called sugar free express, but my neighbor told me she was able to get some locally. That suffed knocked me out of ketosis almost instantly. I still have a container of the stuff here. I refuse to touch it.

The hazelnut butter you can make yourself with a food processor, or try whole foods. They usually have all kinds of nut butters.

Wal Mart supposedly carries SF honey, but its loaded with SAs (which dont seem to bother you based on your list)

I dont know the brand name, but in the locations area of this board in the US section there is a post from someone in NJ who wants to split the cost of a case of SF honey. That might be of some interest to you.

I dont remember the post, but it had something with Jersey on the subject line.

Westchester is a bit of trip for me. If you get a chance could you ask your neighbor where she bought hers? I adore Nutella/Godiva open oysters/Belgian sea shells/Anything with hazelnuts and chocolate, so finding this would be quite a coup. I'm curious, are you going to finish your container?



I seem to do okay with SAs. As long as I don't overdo it or eat them on an empty stomach, I'm okay. I do count them as carbs, though. The one thing I've noticed about SAs is that if I eat tiny amounts of them regularly, I can build up a tolerance and they cause me no digestive upset.




That was me

Scott,

I saw brief mention in a health magazine of a product called Z Trim which is apparently a fat and/or flour replacer in certain recipes. It is apparently made from corn bran or corn fiber, I think.

Thought you might be interested in it.

Your list is intriguing. Do you plan on making some kind of dessert with the gelatin sheets?

Barefoot

Z trim might be something similar to thicken/thin. I'll keep my eye out for that.

My primary purpose for obtaining gelatin sheets is to extend the quantity of my stocks a bit. My stocks usually have an abundance of flavor but are lacking in body. By the time I reduce them to the desired consistency, there's very little volume left. Gelatin should stretch them a bit. Chef friends have told me that the flavor of sheet gelatin is superior to powdered, so I'm giving it a shot. Besides using gelatin in stock, I'm not absolute sure what I'll be doing with it but I'm sure it will come in handy for other things. Sauces perhaps.

Scott,

Would adding body to the reduced stock, using the gelatin, allow you to use it as a sauce - say over the meat and side vegetables?

You can probably tell I am a novice cook here!

Barefoot

Barefoot,

The body providing constituent of stock is naturally occuring gelatin, so you don't have to add any gelatin to make a sauce. Just reduce your stock until it thickens. This is called a demi-glace.

A good stock/demi-glace hinges on the proportions of texture providing naturally occuring gelatin verses the flavor providing maillard reaction compounds. Texture vs. flavor. If I have a stock with too much flavor, and I add water, I will lose the silky texture/mouthfeel. To compensate, I can add gelatin.

You bring up an interesting point, though. Can an unreduced stock be combined with powdered or sheet gelatin to make a sauce? If your stock has enough flavor in it, perhaps. I plan on doing some experimenting with it. Perhaps gelatin can be used as a thickener in addition to the more expensive xantham and guar gums.

I dunno if you've checked out Sugar-Free Sensations in Montclair... it's got a pretty great variety of LC products!

Thanks filmlass!

I don't recognize any of the products you mentioned, but I live in your area so thought I should mention a couple of places you might check out (if you don't know about them already):

"California Health Foods" (or something like that) on Route 10 East in Whippany or East Hanover. It's a small store in a shopping center that has a Mailboxes Etc. and used to have a Foodtown, I think. I only went there once, but they had a good selection of LC products. The owner was knowledgeable and friendly.

"The Health Shoppe" in Morristown, near the train station. A "healthy/organic" supermarket with a small selection of LC products.

Hi Scott,

It's a little bit of a drive, but you can find a lot of that stuff at Trader Joe's (I think there's one in Westfield but I'm not sure if there's a closer one -- they have directions and locations on their website). And may I add that the prices there are MUCH more reasonable than a lot of specialty shops.

Jeannie