Keepin’ it Low Carb

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A couple of low carb (or what we thought were low carb) products.

Wow, where has the week gone? I had meant to post this earlier in the week but it seems my head was elsewhere. Anyways, I have a couple of low carb/keto products, one good one not so good, that I’d like to share my thoughts on. Let’s take a look:

Let’s get the bad out of the way first. My wife and I are pretty familiar with the Smart Sweets line of low carb candies. They’re generally safe for our low carb lifestyle and we’ve tried their fish, gummy bears, and peach rings. All of them were pretty good and when eaten in moderation caused us little or no reaction. Knowing the brand as being compatible with our lifestyle my wife picked up some of their red twist candies. Unfortunately, we kind of ignored the nutrition facts and only after we had eaten some and noticed that we felt bloated and gassy the next day we took a look at the facts. It had 28 grams of net carbs per serving, way too high to be considered compatible with our lifestyle. It was a little sad since we trusted the brand as being generally keto friendly in the past. The candies themselves were decent in flavor and texture but unfortunately the net carbs were way too high for us. We usually try to shoot for under 10 grams net per serving and this product was over double that. Sadly, that means a thumbs down for the Smart Sweets Red Twists. 

Now for the good: My wife and I were shopping one day in search of some low-carb tortillas. I think we were specifically looking for something like the Mission brand since they carry a low carb tortilla that would work with our lifestyle. We didn’t find the Mission brand, but we did find something better: EggLife egg white wraps. They definitely were a game changer. The taste and texture was strikingly close to a real flour tortilla and they would be perfect for anything from wraps to tacos. They come in a few different flavors and to top it off, they’re only around 1 gram net carbs per serving. A definite low carb winner for the week.

That’s all I’ve got to highlight for this week, next week I’ll highlight a couple more keto/low carb products that we’ve tried. Heck, maybe I’ll even get another Low Carb Happy Hour put together, who knows! I’ll be back next week with something new so stay tuned!

LCHH- Brandy Manhattan

The Brandy Manhattan is popular in Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to this website.

The Manhattan is another classic cocktail favorite of mine that many will recognize from the AMC series Mad Men. It is a rather boozy drink made with Whisky (preferably rye whisky), sweet vermouth, bitters, and garnished with a maraschino cherry. As you know, I like to keep it low-carb so I drop the garnish and substitute dry vermouth, which in turn makes it a Dry Manhattan. I also don’t have whisky available, but I do have brandy, so for this Low Carb Happy Hour I’ll be making a Minnesota/Wisconsin favorite, the Brandy Manhattan. 

2 oz. Brandy

1 oz. Dry vermouth

2-3 Ice cubes

Dash or two of Angostura bitters

Put the ice into a cocktail shaker and add a dash or two of bitters, depending on how you like your Manhattan. Add the brandy and vermouth and shake until extra chilled. Let rest to let the bubbles dissipate. Strain into a cocktail glass, preferably chilled. Enjoy!

LCHH –Tommy’s Margarita

It’s Friday again, and that means the end of another week. This week I’m feeling like unwinding with another summery drink. Margaritas are always a summer favorite and the Tommy’s Margarita is another twist on the classic recipe.

The Tommy’s Margarita is nearly the same as the classic recipe with the exception of the Triple Sec. Agave nectar replaces it in this recipe, but we’re doing a low-carb version so I substituted sucralose and a little bit of water to replace the agave syrup. 

The Agave in the recipe is meant to highlight the flavors of the tequila rather than the citrus flavors of the lime and Triple Sec. The sucralose should add the same sweetness as the agave without detracting from the flavor of the tequila. Let’s get to mixing!

My twist on a Tommy’s Margarita

• Juice of one small lime (about 1-1 ½ ounces)
• 2 oz Tequila (I used Teremana)
• 1-2 teaspoon sweetener to taste
• ½ oz water (to make up for lost volume of agave nectar)
• 2-3 ice cubes

Put the juice, tequila, sweetener and ice in a shaker and shake well for about 10 seconds. Let rest then pour or strain into your drinking vessel of choice. Enjoy!

Low Carb Happy Hour

A Low-carb Sidecar cocktail

It’s summer and after a long week of work (or work from home) it’s nice to sit down and relax with a seasonal cocktail. I practice a Low Carb/Keto lifestyle and while most hard liquor is low or zero carb, a lot of liqueurs and mixers such as Triple Sec or sour mixer are a little on the carby side. Luckily, I had a copy of The Low Carb Bartender, so I had a little bit of knowledge on how to make my own low-carb mixers and liqueurs. But, the book was published a while ago, and I wondered if the Liquor Quik flavor essences were even still available. Lo and behold, they are still available from Amazon. I was pretty excited to finally be able to make a low-carb version of my favorite summer cocktail, the Sidecar. 

The sidecar has unclear origins, but it is commonly thought to have been invented at the end of WWI in either London or Paris, with the popular Ritz Hotel of Paris claiming the origin of the drink. The drink’s name, quite obviously, is derived from the motorcycle attachment, which was commonly used during that era. 

There are a few ways to make the Sidecar, but I opt for what is known as the “English School,” which is 2 parts Cognac or brandy, 1 part Triple Sec, and 1 part lemon juice. 

Now, “How do I make low-carb Triple Sec?” you may ask. Fortunately, it’s pretty simple to do. I grabbed a ½ gallon Mason jar to mix everything up in, a 750mL bottle of vodka (I used Tito’s), some sucralose, and a bottle of Liquor Quik triple sec flavor essence. I followed the instructions on the bottle and used ⅞ cup of sucralose.  I combined the ingredients in the jar and gave it a good shake. After everything was well mixed, I returned the finished product into the original bottle — there was about an ounce left over, so I decided to make myself a sidecar!

Here’s how to make a Sidecar:

2-3 ice cubes

2 oz Cognac or Brandy

1 oz low-carb Triple Sec

1 oz lemon juice (about ½ large lemon)

Add the ice, brandy, triple sec, and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker and shake well for about ten seconds. Let it rest briefly before straining into a cocktail glass or your drinking vessel of choice. Sit back and enjoy!