Sugarfree recipes?

Etain

I've just recently learned that I'm a diabetic. I am desperate for GOOD recipes for foods that are sugarfree. Anyone have any recipes to share ?

Blisterman

Can't you just use sweetner instead of sugar in recipes?

tovalee

Blisterman wrote:

Can't you just use sweetner instead of sugar in recipes?

not really as the sweetner doesnt have the same bulk as the sugar. Aspartame loses all its sweetness when cooked and sachrine used in large amounts has a really bitter chemical taste. the best ive found is splenda.

There are more and more good products coming out all the time. The low carb diet craze has been a Godsend for diabetics! try the low carb breads and pastas. they wont raise your blood sugar nearly as much as regular stuff. for somethng sweet, the sugar free gelatins are great. or make your own hot chocolate with unsweetend cocoa powder and artificial sweetner. . depends on what type of meal you're looking for really. I've been living with (and cooking for ) a type1 diabetic for 8 years. if you have a recipie you like, let me know and i probably have a low or no sugar version for you .

Etain

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been surviving on the sugarfree gelatin. I'm already tired of whole wheat pita bread. I haven't found the low- carb pastas, I'll have to look for them. I had holiday goodies in mind- I'll look though some recipes. For hot chocolate, which do you use liquid or powdered sweetner?

tovalee

i use the liquid stuff,just because it easier than ripping all those little packets, but im sure you can use either. the aspartame is ok if your just going to put it in a hot drink or something right before you eat it. Its the high heat and extended heat of cooking it that takes all the sweetness out of it.

but any specific holiday goodie you had in mind?

Stark

I haven't found the low- carb pastas, I'll have to look for them.

You can get wholewheat pasta in most health shops, the nicest is the stuff in the yellow bags I find.

Try cutting up a few potatoes, leaving the skin on, and making them into chips as well (the skin adds fibre, and the oil further reduces the G.I. of the potato, plus polyunsaturated fats are meant to be very good for diabetics).

tovalee

just be careful with the potatoes, they seem to raise blood sugar very quickly, like refined sugar ...gotta watch those spikes. :cool:

can i ask if your insulin dependent?

Etain

Thanks for all the advice.
I'm curently taking a twice a day pill "advandamet" to help my body absorb the insulin. I go back in 3 months for follow-up bloodwork-- I want to avoid injections, so I intend to stick with the strict diet. I have Christmas foods in mind, a berry pie/ cobbler? Cranberry sauce? (that's almost entirely sugar isn't it?) Family members are already expressing guilt about cooking and eating the usual Christmas foods-- I don't want the table to be bare because of me. (I actually haven't been a baby about the news, they are trying to be supportive.) It would help if I had some sugarfree dishes to be prepared, then everyone else could just relax and eat without guilt.

dudara

try Low carb shopping for products. I find them expensive though.

Splenda is the sweetener recommended by the Atkins diet, and it apparently works well in cooking.

tk123

Hey I saw ads for Splenda on TVIcan't remember the channel) - are they selling it here now??

JohnK

I got some Splenda in Tescos (Douglas, Cork) last week so its probably in all of them.

Stark

Yeah you can pretty much get it everywhere. Best places are supermarkets and Boots. I don't think the bulk stuff used for baking is totally calorie free though so you may want to still watch your blood spikes.

tk123

thanks guys!

commuterised

I find splenda awful for cooking, it has a foul aftertaste. I use a sweetner called Sionon. I buy it online but it's great for a sugar substitute.

I usually get it here:
http://www.carblife.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=7&P_ID=148&strPageHistory=cat&strKeywords=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=87

It's got sorbitol in it.

I have recipes for chocolate mousse and macaroons (both sugarfree) if anyone wants I can post them.

Etain

Please post both recipes, they sound wonderful.