Happy National Iced Tea Month!

If you go anywhere in the South, the one thing you'll see more of than Baptist churches is sweet tea. Sweet tea is one of the most important traditions in the South and is consumed daily during almost every meal. Until now, living a low carb lifestyle and craving sweet tea did not coexist but now Southerners can rejoice! The invention of Splenda and other alternative sweeteners have saved the day once again! And since it's National "Iced" Tea Month, I'm going to share with you some great low carb sweet tea secrets and the products that I love to drink!
Tips on Making Sweet Tea:
-Don't put the tea straight in the refrigerator after you make it. Let it cool to room temperature and then put it in the fridge. Trust me. It tastes WAY better and it's not as cloudy looking.
-Don't add ice to your tea while it's hot. Put ice in your cup and then pour the tea over it when you're ready to drink it .
-A little lemon never hurt anyone.

My Favorite Low-Carb Tea Products:
-Have you ever been to the Beacon? If you haven't, the first thing to know is that they have amazing food, but their sweet tea is heavenly. Here's that wonderful tea but w/ Splenda!
-Sugar Free Luzianne Ready To Drink Southern Sweet Tea
-Luzianne Tea Bags so you can sweeten it however you choose!

Best Sweeteners for Tea:
-Stevia
-Splenda
-Ideal

Enjoy!

Sugar Free Mexican Hot Chocolate

It's February and it's freezing outside, so why not warm up with a cup of yummy sugar free hot chocolate?

Chocolate and cinnamon mixed with warmed milk then frothed with a molinillo. A Mexican Molinillo is the Mexican chocolate "whisk" or "stirrer". It is made of "turned" wood and it is used to froth warm drinks such as hot chocolate, Atole, and Champurrado. A normal wire whisk works too. It's great for people who are enjoying a low carb lifestyle!

Ingredients

2 cups Blue Diamond Almond milk or WestSoy Soy Milk

3 Tablespoons Ghiradelli Unsweetened cocoa

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons low calorie sweetener

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Instructions

Warm the milk, cocoa, cinnamon and sweetener in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the seeds and bean to the milk. Stir with a molinillo or whisk until the cocoa is disolved and the mixture begins to boil. Remove from the heat and froth the chocolate with the molinillo or the whisk. Serve immediately in ample sized mugs and ENJOY!

New Erythritol Sweetened Dark Baking Chips!

New Low Carb Specialties ChocoPerfection Dark Baking Chips are finally in stock!! These low carb chocolate chips are made with Erythritol and perfect for snacking or any low carb baking needs. They're all natural and completely sugar free. Here's a great low carb recipe that incorporates these delicious baking chips! Even though you're low carbing, you can show your family how much you love them when you pull a pan of warm, melt in your mouth chocolate chip cookies out of the oven.

Ingredients:
-2 1/4 cups Carbquik (note, start with 2 cups and add additional as needed to form a nice cookie dough)
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-2 cups (12-ounce package) Low Carb Specialties ChocoPerfection Dark Baking Chips
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
-3/4 Splenda 3/4 cup packed brown sugar twin
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 eggs
-1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
-Combine Carbquik, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, Splenda, brown sugar twin and vanilla in large mixer bowl till butter is well creamed.
-Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in Carbquik mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.
-Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
-Bake in preheated 375ºF oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Sugar Free Chocolate Drizzled Caramel Popcorn

Did somebody say sweet and salty? There's something here for everybody to love. This recipe brings together the salty, crunch of popcorn with the savory kick of caramel and the sweet drizzle of chocolate!

All you need is:

2 bags microwave popcorn

1 cup Steel's Powdered Maltitol

1/2 cup Steel's Vanilla Syrup

1 teaspoon vinegar
3 ChocoPerfection Bars

1 tablespoon butter

Makes 10 Servings

Pop the corn and remove the unpopped kernels. Place into a large mixing bowl. Mix the Maltitol, syrup and vinegar together in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly to a temperature of 240°(soft ball). Immediately turn off heat and add the butter. Stir until blended and then pour over the popcorn. Using a long handled wooden spoon, quickly toss the popcorn with the hot mixture. You have to work fast before the candy sets up and be careful not to touch the hot mixture.

After the corn is well coated, spread the popcorn on a buttered baking pan and allow to completely cool.Separate the popcorn into pieces or clumps using your hands coated in a little butter.

Take the ChocoPerfection bars and break into several pieces. Place in a microwave safe glass dish and microwave until melted, heating for 30 second increments at a time and stirring when necessary. When chocolate is completely melted, using a spoon, drizzle chocolate over the popcorn and allow to cool.

Effective carb count per serving: 8.8

See other sugar free Fall Recipes!

Sugar Free Caramel Apples

Halloween is that special time of year when we think of trick-or-treating, bonfires, haunted houses, Jack-o'-lanterns, costume parties, and of course lots of sweets and sugary treats! This is the first in a series of recipes to help satisfy your sweet tooth, while keeping your carb count low!

Sticky, sweet caramel apples are a must have treat this time of year! Enjoy this recipe that calls for brown maltitol instead of brown sugar. Make them extra special by rolling in sugar free chocolate chips, chopped toasted pecans or toasted, shredded coconut!
See the rest of the recipe!

The Connoisseur Recommends Carb Krunchers Bagels!

I'm excited to announce the addition of a new line of low carb bakery products to our product line-up - Carb Krunchers New York Style Bagels! These bagels are huge - a full 5 inches across and there are 6 bagels per package.

The taste and texture is truly amazing and the net carb count is an incredible 5.7 carbs per bagel. This week we have in stock: Rye, Plain, Sesame and Everything.

Check them out here!