Monthly Archives: November 2015

Delicious Low Carb Chocolates

Everybody loves chocolates but if you’re trying to lose weight or you have a medical condition that prevents you from eating sweets, there are low carb chocolates that you can settle for. Who said you can’t enjoy the little things in life, like chocolates when you’re on a diet or have a medical condition? Since there are already low carb chocolates available today, it’s always best to prepare your own. This way, you are in control of everything. Why don’t you add some peanut butter on that chocolate? That would be very delicious.

Now, how you make low carb chocolates? Or these delicious low carb peanut butter cups?

low carb peanut butter cups

What you will need:

  • mini-muffin pan (non-stick)
  • 5 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup powdered erythirol
  • Artificial sweetener equal to 1 cups of sugar
  • ¼ t salt
  • 1 t vanilla
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup almond meal/flour

Keep in mind not to overheat the chocolate as it melts at a little below body temperature so, you won’t be needing a lot of heat. There are many methods for melting chocolate:

  • pour boiling water over it and pour it off
  • heat the cream and turn off the heat
  • use your own method

Remember, in this recipe, the use of chocolate and artificial sweetener will make a difference. So, it’s very important that you settle for a brand that is really delicious. Also, use natural peanut butter as much as possible as this is the healthiest.

Now, let’s proceed on cooking your low carb chocolates (peanut butter cups):

  1. Heat the cream and all the ingredients. When you’re about to add the chocolate, turn off the heat. When everything is melted, it will thicken and you can adjust the sweetener to taste.
  2. While you are heating the chocolate melting, mix up the filling. If it’s too sticky, put more almond flour or erythritol into it. Adjust the sweetness and the salt level to taste.
  3. Put heaping tablespoons or glob of the chocolate the size of a walnut into your mini-muffin tin. Once it is thick enough, push it out of place in the center and make the chocolate even round the sides.
  4. Form the peanut butter into smaller balls and push them into the chocolate.
  5. Chill this in the refrigerator for half an hour.
  6. Remove from fridge and run hot water over the bottom of the pan for a couple of seconds.
  7. Get a thin knife and insert it at the edge of a cup. You should be able to turn the whole thing a bit so you can easily pop it out.

Simple steps to make low carb chocolates! You will definitely love this, the best thing is that it isn’t fattening at all.

Low Carb Protein Bars Here!

Are you looking for low carb protein bars? If you are, then stop looking because the answers are all here. In this article, you will find some of the best low carb protein bars that are available in the market today.

low carb protein bars

Supreme Bars

  • Protein: 15 grams
  • Sugar: 3 grams

They are considered to be one of the most delicious protein bars available. Its peanut butter crunch flavor is just enough to make people drool and crave for it. You will surely love the peanut butter and jelly flavor as it tastes like the real thing. The Supreme Protein Bar delivers higher quality protein with a more delicious flavor. It is packed with premium-grade protein blend powered by whey isolate that is higher in quality than any product of its kind. Pure and powerful, its formula consists of amino content, bioavailability and muscle-building benefits. In addition, it also contains healthy fats like flaxseed oil, vitamins and minerals as well as zero trans fat. Its wonderful taste makes it even better with rich chocolate, peanuts, protein crisps and caramel. This is a high-performance super-food that provides quality nutrition.

VPX Zero Impact Bars

  • Protein: 30 grams
  • Sugar: 7 Grams

These bars are easily a customer’s favorite. It’s a low carb protein bar with a yummy taste. One of its best flavors is the chocolate peanut butter and coconut. All efforts have been put into making this particular protein bar. It ensures that the sugars contained in the bar have a minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin. You don’t get that with some low carb protein bars. The majority of sugars in this particular protein bar are low DE (Dextrose Equivalent) hence, it has less impact on blood sugar and glycemic index that other whole grain carbohydrates have.

Universal CarbRite Diet Bars

  • Protein: 2 grams
  • Sugar: 0 grams

These bars are manufactured by Universal Nutrition. This brand is one of the cheapest carb protein bars in the market. However, it doesn’t taste as good as the other two. With only 2 grams of carbs, you won’t really be getting the best taste. Regardless, it is still one of the best selling bars, especially for women. In fact, this particular low carb protein bar has been been gaining popularity worldwide. A lot of dieters are seen switching to these bars. They’re sugar-free and lab certified gluten-free. They are all free of artificial sweeteners as well. They don’t come with hydrogenated oils or trans-fats, which make them a very healthy choice.

Low Carb Cereal

Cereal is a quick and easy breakfast but if you are trying to lose weight, you might want to stick to a low carb cereal. You might be wondering what cereal brands you have to go for since there are plenty of these in the market today. To help you, here are some of the low carb cereals available today:

low carb cereal

HI-LO

  • Manufactured by Nutritious Living
  • It comes in four varities: Original, with strawberries, vanilla-almond and maple-pecan

Half a cup of this low carb cereal with strawberries only has 14g carbohydrates, While the other three varieties of HI-LO contains 13 g carbohydrates per ½ cup serving. This particular cereal is high in fiber, with the original and strawberries varieties containing 6g fiber and the vanilla-almond and maple-pecan containing 7g fiber.

Special K Protein Plus

  • Manufactured by Kellogg’s
  • Contains 10 g protein, 5 g fiber, and only 14 g carbohydrates per ¾ cup serving.

One of the best low carb cereal to start your morning. You can add some extra flavor by putting on some berries like blueberries or strawberries which are both low in carbohydrates. Aside from this, to make it even more delicioys, you can drizzle some carbohydrate-free blueberry or strawberry syrup.

SMAPS

  • Manufactured by Dixie Diner’s Club
  • Low-carbohydrate
  • gluten-free
  • Vegan cereal

Each half cup serving of Smaps contains 15 g protein, 6 g fiber and only 8 g carbohydrates. In fact, this makes it that lowest carbohydrate breakfast cereal available today. Although it’s a cold cereal, its crunchy nuggets lend themselves well to be enjoyed as a hot cereal.

These are some of the best low carb cereals available today. So, if you are looking for something to add to your ketogenic diet menu, then this low carb cereal will be perfect for you. It’s time to live healthy and lose the unnecessary pounds you have. You will surely love the results.

The best thing about each of the low carb cereal listed above is that each of them is very delicious. You won’t even notice that you’re eating a low carb food. A lot of people mistake low carb foods to be tasteless but they are very wrong, just a taste of any of these cereals will prove them wrong! They might even eat this the whole day!

Low Carb Ice Cream

Everybody loves ice cream but if you are eager to lose weight or you are on a special diet or you have a medical condition such as diabetes, then you can’t definitely eat ice cream. Hold that thought right there! Who says you can’t have ice cream at all? There is still a low carb ice cream you can feast on.

Since we are talking about low carb ice cream, there are some low carb ice creams that can’t be technically called “low carb ice cream” because of its cream contents. However, they are still low carb ice cream alike. Luckily, ice cream companies are now doing everything they can just to provide their customers frozen desserts that have reduced sugar contents, which ultimately reduce the products’ calorie and carbohydrate contents.

low carb ice cream

One of the good news is that accompanied the production of the low carb ice cream is that most of the reduced sugar desserts really taste delicious. However, there are still some studies that have noted that reduced sugar does not necessarily mean it is low in fat. Despite that possibility, there are still some frozen desserts that are both low in fat and carbohydrates.

It is also very interesting to know that there are a lot of studies regarding the low carb ice cream have considered that only half a cup of this particular ice cream is a reasonable serving. However, it is still considerable that even if an ice cream carton has low sugar or calorie levels, or has not added sugar, or even has low carbohydrates, they might have fat contents that can deliver a bad effect. So, if you are one of the fans of this particular ice cream, then you must know about the best low carb ice creams in the market today:

  • Edy’s No Sugar Added Triple Chocolate low carb ice cream – a lot of people have tried this and most of them noted that it is low in fat, low in sugar without sacrificing the taste which is very delicious. You must also know that this ice cream has fudge sauce swirls.
  • Vanilla Ice Cream – this I sreally considered to be a low carb ice cream because it only contains low carbohydrates for two carbohydrates per serving. This is made by the use of 5 egg yolks, 1 cup of Splenda, 1 and ¼ cups of heavy whipped cream.

So, if you’re planning to get yourself a low carb ice cream, it is very important that you know these facts first and you know the best low carb ice creams in the market today. Why don’t you add this to your ketogenic diet menu? This would be great but first, consult your doctor or nutritionist first.

Baking Low Carb Cookies

Only a few people would say no to a cookie. A cookie is a comfort food or rather a sugar fix. It can uplift our bad moods and it can also satisfy our cravings for sweets which women often have. However, we all know that cookies are fattening and you surely don’t want your jeans to not fit you anymore, do you? On the bright side, there are low carb cookies that you can purchase and even bake in your own kitchen! This is not only good for you but also good for the whole family!

low carb cookies

Here is a step-by-step procedure to make low carb cookies. First, your ingredients!

  • 1 ¼ cup almond flour
  • 1 cup cooking-friendly sugar substitute
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla
  • cookie sheet
  • two spoons
  • spatula
  • mixer
  • nonstick baking spray
  • fork

To make low carb cookies, here’s what you need to do:

  1. Preheat your over to 350 degrees F.
  2. Get your almond flour and your sugar substiture and stir them together. Mix it well.
  3. Get in the butter, egg and vanilla. Blend all these until there are no lumps and the batter is very smooth and uniform in color.
  4. It’s time to use your nonstick cooking spray by spraying it on your cookie sheets. This will make the cookies easy to remover when you’re done baking.
  5. Since you have two spoons ready, use these to form 1-inch balls. Scoop a spoonful of cookie dough with one spoon and push it off the bow of the spoon with the other spoon. The result? Round cookie balls on your cookie sheets!
  6. Now, you have to place the balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. As they bake, the cookies will lightly spread and this can prevent them from turning into one big cookie.
  7. Flatten every ball with the use of your fork. Press down on the top of a cookie ball with the tines of the fork, then do the same thing in the other direction to make a pretty cross-hatch pattern on the top of the cookie.
  8. Bake your low carb cookies for 8 minutes and you’re all set.

Baking low carb cookies is very easy. You can simply do this at home. It’s very easy and it’ll be a great bonding time if you have kids. Eat healthy and you are bound to lose weight. If you are on a specific diet like the ketogenic diet, you can add this to your ketogenic diet menu.

Easy Diet Plans To Suit Your Lifestyle

Easy diet plans can be different for each type of person. For most people, they prefer having a step-by-step easy diet plan. In short, these people want a daily menu, lists of food that you can and cannot eat and a clear explanation of expected results. Luckily, there are some diet plans that fit this description.

Usually, the top 2-3 Internet based easy diet plans have step-by-step methods that you will find very helpful and useful. Just something that you need and want. Another one would be the commercial types of diet plans that nurse you through the process and will provide everything to include the food. There are a lot of diet plans out there that comes with its own menu, like, the ketogenic diet menu. However, this specific diet is mainly for people with epilepsy but it can still be used for those who want to lose weight. However, one must consult his or her doctor first before using this diet.

easy diet plans

One the other hand, if you want easy diet plans that comes with some physical activities, there are a lot that you can find online. Aside from this, an easy diet plan for this would be to go to the gym and eat a well-balanced diet. Now, that’s an easy one. However, some people take this for granted and they sometimes settle for more complicated diets because they believe that a more complex diet would guarantee that they will get the results they want. This is true. We are often blinded with all the diet plans being introduced to us nowadays and people took up the habit of trying new things but only end up going back to the easiest diet plan, ever which is exercise and a well-balanced diet. In fact, this is just what the doctor ordered. It is very rare that a doctor will recommend you do other diets instead on the most natural diet that all human beings should do.

Another thing, there are also people who are looking for easy diet plans but they want to stay healthy and lose the weight. Sometimes, these people have a medical condition. For this kind of case, there are special diet plans for these people. Just like the ketogenic diet as this particular diet is focused on epileptics.

To put everything in a nutshell, if you want some easy diet plans, you will be able to find a lot of ideas in books, television and online. However, if you think about it, sometimes you’re better off sticking to keeping a healthy body, having a well-balanced diet and keeping yourself hydrated all the time. You won’t just lose weight but you will also gain a healthy weight and a healthy body. Remember, health is wealth!

Knowing About Ketogenic Diet

What is a ketogenic diet? This is a diet that is high in fat and protein but with no carbohydrates. With this diet, it can force the body into a state of ketosis whereby ketones are used as a fuel source instead of glucose.

 ketogenic diet

A ketogenic diet is used for the treatment of epilepsy and for weight loss. In fact, if you have heard of this diet before, you might have heard about it because of body builders who use this as their diet during their “cutting” phase wherein they attempt to burn as much fat as possible while retaining their muscle mass. This diet has gained popularity because of the extensive media coverage of low/no carb diets like Atkins.

It is normal for people to ask if this ketogenic diet is healthy or safe. You must know that this will suit some people but not everyone. Depriving the body of carbohydrates can place an essential strain on the body specifically liver and kidney function. There are a lot of people who will feel fatigued during the first few weeks of ketosis as this is the time when the body is adapting to the use of ketones as a fuel source. Ketones are a byproduct of fat metabolism.

There are a lot of opposite schools of thought when it comes to the safety of a ketegonic diet. However, because of the fact that a lot of epilepsy sufferers have successfully been using ketosis for years, it certainly gives the diet some credit.

It is important to keep in mind before you have that ketogenic diet menu is this diet must be done carefully. A lot of people who start the diet stop it within a few days because of fatigue and other difficulties. It is very important that you consult your doctor first before you start a ketogenic diet. Have your health assessed first so there won’t be any problems in the near future.

One must always remember that a ketogenic diet is mainly for people with epilepsy. Yes, it can be used for weight loss but as said above, you have to have your health assessed first by professionals before you go on with this diet. The good news is that there are a lot of people who are trying to lose weight proved that this diet worked for them and they have managed to lose a significant amount of weight.

A Primer On Ketogenic Diet

If you are on a ketogenic diet, you will need to have a ketogenic diet menu to serve as your guide. You will also be happy to know that this particular diet is not complex and the kinds of food involved are not as varied as you might expect with a less restrictive diet. However, the menu isn’t something that you have to be thrilled about. It’s a type of restricted diet.

A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate -protein, low-carbohydrate diet that is primarily used to treat difficult-to-control epilepsy in children. This resembles some aspects of starvation by forcing the body to burn fat rather than the carbohydrates. If you follow the menu, you will need to cut out most sources of carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, soda, sugar, ice cream, milk, pizza and even some types of fruits. The only carbs that you are allowed to eat are vegetables and some berries because they have lower carb content than the other fruits.

If you are suffering from obesity, type II diabetes or epilepsy, then a ketogenic diet menu should be very important to you. This type of diet is so effective that you may never have to take medication again. Even those who have serious metabolic disorder would rather eat a restricted menu than suffer an excruciating pain. Following this diet will take a lot of willpower, more so if you are suffering from junk food addition. It will also take time to be able to successfully follow through with this diet.

A ketogenic diet menu consists of high-fat foods like:

  • meats
  • fatty fish
  • nuts
  • cream
  • cheese
  • butter
  • coconut oil
  • coconut milk

Vegetables are recommended as well. They include all varieties that are low in carbs. On the other hand, you might want to cut down on the potatoes.

Here’s an example of a simple ketogenic diet menu:

  • For breakfast: 15g coconut oil, frozen vegetables. Scrambled altogether on a pan
  • For lunch: Coconut milk smoothie with half a scoop protein powder, almonds and blueberries
  • For snack: A handful of two almonds
  • For dinner: Ground beef with 15% fat; fried in butter, vegetables on the side

An example of a ketogenic diet menuA ketogenic diet should have a calorie ratio of 4:1 meaning, fat should equal 80% and carbs plus protein should equal 20%. It should raise ketone body levels to the point of testing positive with urine test strips. However, it is not really recommended that you count the calories or try so hard to reach a urinary ketone level. Rather, you should aim for a carbohydrate level under 50-80 grams a day. If you are really sick and on medication, then the menu should be made with the advice of your doctor. It is also important that you consult a qualified nutritionist.
 


 
Taking multivitamins while you’re following this ketogenic diet menu is a-must. It will keep your body stronger and healthier, which is very important.

Want more info? Click here to download the great ebook “30-Day Low Carb Diet – Ketosis Plan”