Valentine's Day is coming on Thursday, so have I got a special idea for that low-carb man or woman in your life who deserves to enjoy the sweetness of life without the sugar. What better way to show them how much you love and adore their role in your life than to present some long-stemmed low-carb ChocoPerfection chocolate-covered strawberries as a perfect present? OOOO LA LA!!!
I have my friend and fellow low-carb author (CARB WARS: Sugar Is The New Fat) and blogger Judy Barnes Baker for planting this idea into my head after her recent appearance on Better TV. CLICK HERE to see Judy sharing her special recipe for making this delectably delicious sugar-free dessert with host Audra Lowe.
If you would like Judy's recipe as featured on Better TV, then she was kind enough to post it along with several variations here.
But I gotta tell you, if I'm gonna make chocolate-dipped strawberries, then it's gonna have to have ChocoPerfection in it! Even Judy wrote these glowing remarks about my blog sponsor ChocoPerfection because this chocolate is the real deal when it comes to sugar-free, low-carb goodness. That's why I had them make me my very own chocolate bar this year--the raspberry, dark chocolate "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar!" Life without chocolate is unimaginable! So DON'T DO IT! :D
With inspiration from Judy and a little homemade creativity in the kitchen today, I made my own recipe for chocolate-laden strawberries the livin' la vida low-carb way! ENJOY this recipe on Valentine's Day and any day you want to treat yourself to something that tastes divine and good for your waistline! Lemme know what you think!
CHOCOPERFECTION CHOCOLATE-COVERED STRAWBERRIES
2 dark chocolate ChocoPerfection bars 2 Tbs Nutiva Coconut Oil 1 Tbs Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder 5 packets of the sugar-free sweetener of your choice 12 plump long-stemmed strawberries
Break up the ChocoPerfection bars and place in a microwavable bowl. Add coconut oil on top and microwave for 60 seconds. Stir chocolate for 30 seconds breaking up the big chunks into smaller pieces and then microwave for another 30 seconds.
Stir chocolate for 30 seconds and add cocoa powder and sweetener (I used a new sweetener not yet available on the market yet, but you can use stevia, Splenda, or whatever you enjoy using as an alternative to sugar). Mix thoroughly until smooth (there may be some lingering chunks of chocolate that could require you to microwave a little longer, but be careful not to overcook it because the chocolate will burn).
Grab a larger bowl and fill it up with ice to serve as an ice bath for the bowl with your melted chocolate. Again, take your spoon and stir the soupy chocolate mixture as the ice cools it down until it begins to thicken up a bit. When it reaches a moderately thick consistency (usually after about two minutes), grab a strawberry and dip it in the chocolate and slowly twirl it around until it is completely covered except for the very top where the stem is. As Judy said in her recipe, turn it upside down right before placing it on your serving plate. Repeat with remaining strawberries.
I placed mine in the freezer for about five minutes to allow the chocolate to set and harden up. Then serve! Christine thought she had died and gone to heaven with this recipe and got a special early Valentine's present from her favorite bunny (that's me!). I KNOW you're gonna eat this up (LITERALLY!) too. ENJOY!!!
Everybody seems to love my new raspberry dark chocolate bars!
When I set out to create my own low-carb chocolate bar earlier this year, my purpose was to try to make a very high-quality product that people will love and enjoy as much as they would sugary chocolate except without all the blood sugar-spiking high fructose corn syrup and sugar that usually accompanies it. I'm very pleased with the final product that is now called "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" and available for purchase at the online low-carb retail store CarbSmart.com where they quickly vaulted to the top of the bestseller list!
You can also pick up decoratively-packaged 12-packs of my new raspberry dark chocolate bars at Amazon.com and even leave some feedback about what you think about them there. I'd be grateful for your reviews to share with others how fantastic you think my chocolate is. At least that seems to be the consensus among so many of you who have written to me so far. Check out these actual comments from people:
I got the candy bars - and hot damn, it is actually a low-carb product I'd actually eat now and then! It is way good Jimmy! I do hope it sells well! ********** I'm also a big fan of dark chocolate with raspberry. I think the coconut oil is a nice touch, too, and I'm sure it'll make the bar very creamy. I'd love to share some of these bars with my mom and 13-year-old sister too, as I just got them started on livin' la vida low-carb (woo hoo!)! ********** Congratulations on having your own low-carb candy bar! I think it's going to be a winner. Chocoperfection bars are great on their own, and even better when used as the base for other candies. ********** I really like ChocoPerfection dark chocolate bars and I LOVE chocolate and raspberries. YUMM! I order the dark chocolate bars, then hide them from my low carbing husband. Thanks again for informing the low-carb community of another good and good for you product. ********** Way to go on the new product. It is always nice to know that there are choices for people livin' la vida low-carb. ********** I am a chocolate lover and I have not had any chocolate since August. I have been on Atkins since July and I have not cheated at all. I have lost over 80 pounds so far and I will keep going thanks to your chocolate bars. ********** Wonderful! I love dark chocolate and raspberry--together they are heavenly. I appreciate all your information on your blog as well as the videos. ********** Raspberry and chocolate are one of my favorites, I even love coconut oil, but never thought of putting all three together. Sounds like a fabulously delicious idea, and I bet they must be for you to be putting the Livin' La Vida Low-Carb name on it. I wish you well, and hope you sell millions. ********** I'm really not missing much of anything on this way of eating but I do love some GOOD chocolate now and then. I have not tried any low carb chocolate bars because of the sugar alcohols in them. I'm happy to give yours a try! ********** I love chocolate and am thrilled with the idea that I won’t have to give it up. Good for you for getting your own favorite bar made to your specifications. I, too, have bad body reactions to some of the stuff using malitol, etc. so it will be a pleasure to give yours a try.
WOW, thanks for all the GREAT feedback everyone! I'm so glad you enjoy this new bar and it's a thrill to finally have it available for you to enjoy.
A few of my fellow bloggers have gotten into the act sharing their impressions of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" already:
"The Jimmy Moore Livin' La Vida Low-Carb bar is a chocoholic’s dream come true. The same wonderful, deep dark chocolate on the outside as the dark ChocoPerfection™ bars, but with a surprise on the inside—a soft, moist, raspberry-flavored, truffle center."
"I'm so happy to announce that Jimmy Moore's new Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bar, by ChocoPerfection, is an absolute hit! His idea, spurred on by his love for the combination of these two flavors, and his lack of love for sugar alcohols, turned out to be what I believe will most assuredly be one of ChocoPerfection's most popular items...One of the first things you notice when you open the wrapper is the smell of raspberry. When you take a bite you enjoy a delightfully rich and smooth dark chocolate with that touch of raspberry that makes this bar stand out from so many others."
"It smells super sweet and suffused with raspberry, not unlike Boehm's chocolate shop used to smell when I was little. Smells like chocolate candy...Oh my, this is really sweet, but with the inclusion of the raspberry it works so very well...As a raspberry chocolate candy-lovin' fiend's treat, this just rocks my happy world. Ohhh, I am having serious joy. There's enough chocolate power accompanying the berry flavor that I feel like doing a little dance. I've missed raspberry chocolate so! I actually think this is every bit as much fun as Godiva's dark raspberry--and this is healthy...for a low-carbing chocolate lover seeking a sweet treat? I give it an A!"
Golly ya'll, I'm blushing now! THANKS for those enthusiastic reviews and I welcome anyone else who wants to write one to send it to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" will soon be available from the ChocoPerfection web site and at the online health food retailer Netrition in early 2008.
If you'd like to carry this bar in your store, then please contact Mary Jo Kringas via e-mail at customerservice@lowcarbspecialties.com or by calling her toll-free at 1-800-332-1773. She'd be happy to stock you up with this delicious and nutritious new low-carb raspberry dark chocolate bar!
Look out world, the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" has arrived!
First there was the Babe Ruth-inspired "Baby Ruth" candy bar. Then there was Reggie Jackson's "Reggie" bar. Although I'm certainly no athlete with the amazing credentials of a Ruth or a Jackson, I now have my very own candy bar like they do--it's called "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar." This is a chocolate lover's delight!
Yes, this new raspberry dark chocolate bar is both sugar-free AND low-carb and is presented to you by the makers of the amazing ChocoPerfection chocolate bars. It's been over a year in the making, but "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" is hitting the low-carb/diabetes market with a big splash debuting this week at CarbSmart!
My wife Christine and I talk about why we decided to come up with this new low-carb chocolate bar in Episode 18 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube." With so many other low-carb chocolate choices out there, what's gonna make this one so different? You'll learn EXACTLY why when you tune into this video.
Hear the story behind why "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" was created:
Not to necessarily take anything away from those "other" sugar-free, low-carb chocolate companies, but quite frankly many of them just don't get it. They insist on using cheap, inferior ingredients in their products like the sugar alcohol maltitol which has a well-known disturbing side effect. Why can't we have the opportunity to have a high-quality low-carb chocolate experience without having to go through all that?
That is precisely what attracted me to the ChocoPerfection bars two years ago when I described them as the best-tasting low-carb chocolate bars on the planet. But, like all great things, there are ways to make them even better and that's exactly what we've done with "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar."
It is the same chocolate recipe that so many of you have grown to love so much from ChocoPerfection, but now there's an added twist. We've included real raspberry oil as well as coconut oil in it for a special truffle-like center that begins melting as soon as it hits your tongue. And the intense raspberry flavor is what I personally like best about this new chocolate bar. It's an entirely new experience for a low-carb chocolate bar!
We only used the highest quality of ingredients in this bar, including cocoa butter, coconut oil, raspberry oil, oligofructose (chickory root providing 12 g fiber per bar), and erythritol. These are expensive raw materials, but they combine to make one of the most decadent low-carb treats you'll ever sink your teeth into. I'm very proud of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" and gladly put my name and photo on it as my endorsement of such an excellent product for people who are diabetic or are on the low-carb lifestyle.
As I said, the grand release of my new chocolate bar is now here and exclusively at CarbSmart.com where you can purchase them individually or by the dozen. In a few weeks, they'll be available from the ChocoPerfection web site and other fine online retailers. But I'd like to give YOU an opportunity to win some too! Does that sound like a good deal? GREAT!
Here's what you need to do:
Go to Episode 18 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" and leave some kind of feedback for the video. It can be comments or even questions about the new candy bars if you'd like to share them there. Then send an e-mail to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net with the subject line "LLVLC Bar Giveaway." Include your YouTube username so I can verify you left a comment, your full name and mailing address, and a paragraph or two explaining why you'd like to be one of the first people to try "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar."
The first ten people to do that will receive a special package from me with a FREE SAMPLE of my new chocolate bars. I wish I had enough for EVERYONE to try it, but I only have enough for ten. Watch the video, leave a comment, and send me your address and you might just get a chance to taste these low-carb bars before everyone else. :D Even if you don't win, I hope you will at least order these remarkable new low-carb chocolate bars for yourself, friends, co-workers and family!
Don't forget to watch all of our previous YouTube videos and stay up-to-date with them by subscribing to them. As always, please feel free to share your comments with us about the show anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. We're still having a load of fun making these videos, so keep the ideas for future shows coming!
Thanks to the devoted readers of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb," this platform I have for talking about my positive experiences on the incredibly healthy low-carb lifestyle has risen to the top of health and weight loss category online. I am grateful for your faithfulness to my mission to educate, encourage, and inspire more than you will ever know.
One fun aspect about having a blog that a whole lotta people read is the exposure it receives from other people all around the Internet. Because I write lots of columns that appear in so many different places, it seems there's a link to something I've written or discussed everywhere. To me, it's a testimony to the quality of what we are attempting to do and I appreciate the vote of confidence that everyone has given me.
I'd like to share with you some of the various mentions and nods around the Internet about how me and my blog are penetrating the culture and reaching those who need to hear the uplifting message of livin' la vida low-carb. Check 'em out! :D
I recently shared with you about a new blog I found called The Migraineur. The blog's author--psipsina--is a low-carber and absolutely made my day when she railed against the American Diabetes Association recently. Now psipsina has begun a new series of posts designed to examine the "dumb things people say about the low-carb lifestyle." This oughta be REALLY good!
Her first post is about the myth that all you lose on a low-carb diet is "water weight" and she uses me as an example of how absurd that is. Here's what she wrote:
"Jimmy Moore, at Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb, has lost 180 pounds. I grant that it’s possible that someone who has only 5 or 10 pounds to lose could be shedding nothing but water, or mostly water. But losing 180 pounds of water? That’s 22.5 gallons of water! That’s equal to 4 and a half of those gigantic bottles of water they put in water coolers. If Jimmy Moore lost 22.5 gallons of water, all I can say is that he must be very glad to be rid of it."
Glrble, glrble...indeed I am happy to be done with all that water weighing me down! LOL! I've had some fun with this issue in previous posts here and here. This is the most redonkulous (or as psipsina calls "dumb") excuse people give for avoiding the low-carb life. Keep setting them straight with the truth, psipsina!
In January, I highlighted a news story that featured the two author of a book called The Serotonin Power Diet where they encourage eating carbohydrates so that serotonin levels remain high enough to control appetite. I basically blew that idea off as quackery and advised people against following such a dietary routine if they truly want to lose weight the healthy way.
Well, maybe the authors of that book--Dr. Judith Wurtman and Dr. Nina Marquis--have changed their minds about livin' la vida low-carb since that story about their book came out because they wrote a post called "Low-Carb? Seriously?" on their blog this week talking about yours truly and my success on this way of eating.
"There are indeed plenty of low carb success stories. Take Jimmy Moore author of Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Blog. In 2004, as his New Year's resolution, he went from 410 pounds down to 230 and has kept it off since. His blog is gently irreverent, full of low carb news, and very supportive of others on his path. Like any diet, his blog is not for everyone, and certainly not for someone like our forum writer above who emotionally knows lowcarbing is not for her."
I'm sure that forum writer probably just didn't give her body enough time to overcome her withdrawal symptoms to rid herself of the toxic buildup from all the sugar and carbohydrates still in her system. But I'm happy they at least acknowledged livin' la vida low-carb and shared my story. They also gave a link to my South Beach recipe blogging buddy Kalyn Denny's outstanding blog called "Kalyn's Kitchen."
One of the authors is one of my fellow writers at DietDetective.com and the other author e-mailed me about sending a copy of their book for review. I've got a big stack of books to catch up on first, but I'll be getting to it as soon as I can to let you know about it. I appreciate their mention of low-carb and wholeheartedly agree with their philosophy about which diet plan people should choose.
"I think the key here is a reminder that every body is different and it's important to make your diet work for you and not against you. For that you have to pay attention to how what you eat affects your body, your mind, and the scale. Find what works for you and follow it."
ABSOLUTELY! Find what works for you, follow that plan exactly and then keep doing it forever and ever. Works every time it's tried!
Ever since my wife Christine and I started our foray into the wonderful world of YouTube a couple of months ago, we have encountered lots of brand new fans of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." It's a different venue with a rather peculiar brand of humanity unlike anywhere else you go on the World Wide Web. But you gotta love 'em!
One such character (and he's a REAL character indeed!) is a man who goes by the username mrniceguy28431. This guy is a trip and is about as country as you could possibly get. People think I talk Southern, but this guy takes the cake.
He is a 32-year old movie theater manager named Shannon and he hails from just up the road from me in Whiteville, North Carolina. Learn more about him at his Stickam page and check out this video he posted to YouTube where he shows off his adorable little baby boy and talks about somebody you've probably heard of somewhere before.
You can't help but love a guy like Shannon because he's sincere and is making an effort to do something about his weight and health--the low-carb way! You can leave him some positive comments at YouTube (which he LOVES, by the way!) and even help him out financially by making a purchase at his eBay store (especially if you like South Park or The Simpsons).
The producer of my hit podcast "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" is now extending his services to others who would like to have a high-quality audio or video podcast. The amazing Kevin Kennedy-Spaien has been the secret agent behind making my podcast show pop for the past year. I have been very grateful for the outstanding job he has done to propel my podcast to the top of its genre and I certainly could not have done it without Kevin's remarkable talents.
He also produces the cooking show "Healthy Helpings TV" with Michelle Koen who creates some delicious low-carb dishes in a delightful video format as well as the cleverly-titled "Yoga: It's a Gas!" videos that will have you laughing as much as you will be informed. Kevin is the one who works his magic touch to make these shows the best they can possibly be!
If you own a small or large business and are not already taking advantage of the podcasting format, then let Kevin Kennedy-Spaien help you easily enter this advantageous new media format so you can expand the reach of your company's message to the consumer. It's something you've been meaning to do, but you keep putting it off. Now DO SOMETHING about it and give Kevin a call--(815) 642-8104.
When Brian saw me giving glowing comments about ChocoPerfection bars (read my review of these incredible sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bars!), he just had to get his hands on some to try for himself. I think he's pretty happy he did that!
"Whoa! I received them today and they are DELICIOUS. I tell ya, I can't tell the difference! And only two net carbs per bar! Amazing. These will definitely be a staple in my home for whenever I want a treat."
See, you CAN have your chocolate on a low-carb diet and eat it, too! :D By the way, for fans of ChocoPerfection bars, you'll be pleased to know they are in the process of creating a BRAND NEW BAR that will knock your socks off. I've been working with them to create this unbelievable bar and I know you're gonna love it as much as I do. More details will be coming soon, but I can tell you what it's called--"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar." Stay tuned! :D
In a rather interesting response to my ongoing request for an interview with Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of the anti-low-carb and low-fat, vegetarian loving Eat To Live diet book, the gatekeeper of his "Disease Proof" web site has resorted to sophomoric name calling rather than a civilized discussion.
Well, after seeing all these opinions that both he and Dr. Fuhrman have about the healthy low-carb lifestyle, I thought it would be beneficial to you my readers to host an interview with him as a truce of sorts so that I could question him about why Dr. Fuhrman believes what he does about nutrition. After all, the most famous low-fat diet supporter in the entire world--the highly-touted Dr. Dean Ornish--even agreed to an interview with me, so surely someone like Dr. Joel Furhman would too, right?
Nope!
After blogging about Dr. Fuhrman's reaction to the new Gary Taubes book Good Calories, Bad Calories earlier this week, I repeated my interview challenge to him.
"Will Dr. Fuhrman be a real leader by toning down the sensationalism so that people could actually be helped for a change? And why is Dr. Fuhrman still refusing my request for an interview? The invitation is still wide open and I don't have any idea why he wouldn't do it like Dr. Ornish did last year."
You'll never believe the explanation Pugliese gave for why it won't happen in an e-mail he sent to me entitled "Why there will be no interview." Brace yourself!
"I'm not sure why you keep wondering why Dr. Fuhrman doesn't want an interview with you. I personally advised him against it. After all, you're a nobody--just a lowly blogger like me. Stop fishing for conspiracy theory. Its beneath you."
Um, huh? What would be the harm in having someone like me, one of the most ardent supporters of low-carb, interviewing a second- or third-tier low-fat supporter like Dr. Joel Fuhrman for my blog, Gerald? You and I both know your description of me and my blog is inaccurate. This blog receives some of the highest traffic in the health and fitness category and has been recognized as one of the best of the best (read about these accolades here, here, and here, just to name a few). I have conducted over 40 interviews with some of the biggest names in diet and nutrition, including Dr. Ornish, Dr. Richard Bernstein, Dr. Brian Wansink, Dr. Eric Westman, Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades, Dana Carpender, Dr. Jonny Bowden, Charles Stuart Platkin, Dr. Mary C. Vernon, Bob Harper...the list goes on and on!
Nobody is looking for a "conspiracy theory," Gerald. We simply want the chance to ask Dr. Fuhrman questions about why he believes what he believes just as I have all these other fine leaders in the health discussion. What makes you and Dr. Fuhrman think he is better than all of these previous interview candidates, hmmm? That to me sounds like you've got something to hide, but it's your loss in the end because I gave you a golden opportunity to have a platform for sharing your message.
Contrary to what some people think, the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog is not about forcing people to follow a low-carb diet. GASP! Shocking to some, but true. I've always been about helping people find the plan that works for them, following that plan exactly as prescribed by the author, and then doing that plan for the rest of their life. If Eat To Live is the way someone chooses, then who am I to stop them? The point is I wouldn't and neither should anyone stop those who want to do the Atkins or any other low-carb diet to lose weight and get healthy.
All of us "nobody" bloggers and voices in the health debate should at least agree with this philosophy and tone down the rhetoric that comes from people like Gerald Pugliese and Dr. Joel Fuhrman. After all, there's a whole world full of people who are eager to find a way to shed the pounds and keep it off for the first time in their entire lives. If I can help make that happen, then I will.
Let me say THANK YOU to everyone who supports the work I am doing here to bring healthy living to a world that sometimes doesn't know what to think about their diet. Little by little, we can continue to help people better understand what is right for them so they can live the happy, healthy and fit life they've always dreamed about. Keep spreading the word and keep on livin' la vida low-carb!
Now here's something just too juicy to pass up if you are a fan of those outstanding and decadent sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bars I just happen to think are the best on the planet--CHOCOPERFECTION! Yes, they are one of my top sponsors, but I genuinely LOVE these bars (especially the dark chocolate!).
I heard from ChocoPerfection founder and president Mary Jo Kringas today about an upcoming documentary being shot about low-carb living called Today's Family. Mary Jo was recently contacted and interviewed THREE TIMES about the story behind her amazing chocolate bars and now they want to speak with REAL people who have implemented ChocoPerfection bars into their successful low-carb lifestyle.
Are you a fan of ChocoPerfection bars and have lost and/or maintained your weight while eating them? Then send your story to Mary Jo Kringas directly at mjkringas@lowcarbspecialties.com.
For those of you who know Mary Jo personally as I do, there's no doubting her passion and zeal for making livin' la vida low-carb as enjoyable and exciting as possible and that fact shines through brightly when you talk to her. Is that your experience using her ChocoPerfection bars as part of your healthy low-carb diet? If so, then make your voice heard and you might just be in a movie! COOL!
I hadn't heard about this film before now, but apparently the filmmaker wants to show how families can implement the principles of low-carb living to start eating more healthy than they ever have before. I don't know anything more about who is producing this documentary, but I'll be sure to share the full details with you if and when I come across them.
Today's Family is still in pre-production with filming to begin shortly.
Again, send an e-mail to Mary Jo Kringas with your positive ChocoPerfection stories at mjkringas@lowcarbspecialties.com. I may just have to send my testimony about these bars because I'm a BIG FAN of ChocoPerfection.
Haven't tried these bars yet? Try some ChocoPerfection for yourself and you'll become a full-fledged believer, too! :D
Make your own premium and delicious low-carb ice cream at home
I recently blogged about how much I still love my low-carb ice cream. Of course, you never want to overindulge, but it's nice to have something like this from time to time when you are livin' la vida low-carb.
Last year I shared with you a recipe for homemade low-carb coconut vanilla ice cream. Now I have a simply sumptuous ice cream recipe that will have you dancing for joy--Homemade Double Chunky Chocolate Pecan Low-Carb Ice Cream! Oh my gosh, what a treat this one is!
Compliments of our friends at Low-Carb Connoisseur, the secret ingredient that makes this dessert so incredibly fabulous is my favorite low-carb chocolate bar of all-time--CHOCOPERFECTION! I use it in ANY recipe that calls for chocolate because it quite frankly is the very best you can find anywhere.
Once you bite into this heavenly homemade low-carb dessert, you'll never go back to sugary ice cream again! ENJOY!
1. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl whisk egg yolks and sugar substitute to combine.
2. In a medium pot, mix gelatin mixture and cream. Add cocoa powder. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cocoa is dissolved and mixture has begun to simmer.
3. Slowly pour one cup of gelatin mixture into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture back into pot of gelatin mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and chocolate extracts. Chill mixture 4 hours.
4. Pour ice cream mix into ice cream maker. Process according to manufacturer's directions. About 5 minutes before ice cream is finished, add pecans and ChocoPerfection bars (the easiest way to chop these up into bits is to refrigerate or freeze them and gently hammer the outer package all the way across and then flip the bar to repeat--works like a charm for little chunky pieces).
Total Carbs:10.5g Net Carbs: 6.5g Fiber: 4g Protein: 7g Fat: 46g Calories: 477
Look what I made experimenting with my fave low-carb foods
When I blogged on Sunday about the low-carb breads available from Francis Simun Bakery in Dallas, Texas, I knew there would be a lot of interest from people wanting to try this amazing new product. Quite literally hundreds of you have contacted them so far to place an order or to inquire more about the bread. Yep, it really is low-carb and tastes delicious!
As I promised, my wife Christine and I have each come up with an original recipe using these Francis Simun Bakery breads with low-carb friendly ingredients that will make you want to give it a try for yourself. First up is MY recipe which involves my favorite low-carb dark chocolate bar on the planet--CHOCOPERFECTION!!! I couldn't believe how good this was going to be until I took one bite for myself. WOW, this is incredible for less than 5g net carbs each. ENJOY!
Break up ChocoPerfection bar (I LOVE the dark chocolate best!) in a small microwavable bowl and cut butter on top. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir. Microwave on high for another 30 seconds and then stir again until smooth. If there are still chunks of chocolate that are unmelted, then microwave for an additional 15 seconds and stir until all the clumps are gone. Set aside to slightly cool.
Microwave frozen or refrigerated bagels for 30-45 seconds on high or until warm. Take one of the bagels and dip in right into the chocolate (leave it in there for a minute to let the chocolate stick to it better). Completely submerge it in the chocolate mixture and even use a spoon to completely cover the bagel with chocolate. Flip the bagel and do the same on the other side until well-covered.
Place on a plate and serve immediately. Repeat with the second bagel and spoon out any excess chocolate drizzling it on top of the bagels. Oh man, this is so incredibly good!
One of the most common questions I get is about a chocolate bar product called Z-Carb. When I was losing my weight in 2004, a co-worker of mine who was livin' la vida low-carb introduced me to these delicious sugar-free low-carb bars made with erythritol and Splenda. What a find this was and I was immediately hooked!
With only negligible carb counts (less than a half gram of carbohydrate per serving), these chocolate bars which came in flavors like peanut butter, crisps, and almonds were a lifesaver for my sweet tooth while losing weight. I sometimes ate as much as a POUND of this stuff a day! Yep, a POUND! Mmmmm.
Unfortunately, as has happened many times over the past few years, some of my favorite low-carb foods have been discontinued and gone out of business. That's economics for you, like it or not. But it really stinks when this happens because you get used to having certain products in your low-carb lifestyle to help you along.
Although I spent hundreds of dollars on Z-Carb bars which were readily available in Wal-Mart, the corner convenience store, the drug store chains...EVERYWHERE!...they couldn't make enough money to keep manufacturing them. They had to bring Z-Carb bars to an end in the Fall of 2005 right about the same time my book was being published. Bummer.
So what do you do?
Well, I could have thrown a hissy fit and gone around grumbling about how unfair life is now that Z-Carb bars are gone. Instead, I went out and found something to take its place because I had to have my dark chocolate. I wanted to find an alternative that tasted as good or better than the Z-Carb bars, made with erythritol and NO maltitol, and low enough in carbs to eat on a regular basis.
Thanks to low-carb retailers Michael and Marilyn Kirtley from Low-Carb Central in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (I was there for a book signing in January 2006), they introduced me to what would become my new favorite low-carb chocolate bar that quite literally blew me away by how incredible they were.
Fellow blogger "Melting Mama" Beth Badore agrees with me that ChocoPerfection low-carb chocolate bars are the bomb, baby! Plus, they're high in fiber and contain absolutely ZERO maltitol. Yeah! No nuclear bombs in my tummy!
That's so rare these days, so we need to support those companies who get it. Read my interview with company founder and president Mary Jo Kringas, a low-carb weight loss success story who lost lots of weight eating at least two ChocoPerfection bars a day (and still does!). Amazing!
Nowadays, I couldn't go very long at all without having my ChocoPerfection fix. Melted, broken and sprinkled, or straight out of the package, this chocolate will hit the spot. Although Z-Carb bars are no longer available and completely gone from store shelves now, ChocoPerfection stepped in to fill the void.
Now, ChocoPerfection better not go anywhere! :D
If you'd like to see products like ChocoPerfection bars in stores like Wal-Mart, grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores, then recommend it to your local store and write their corporate office an e-mail. If they hear enough people requesting a product, then they may bring it in.
THANKS to everyone who e-mailed me about Z-Carb bars. Hopefully this answers your questions about why you can't find them anymore despite my glowing comments about them in my book. Welcome to one of the challenges of livin' la vida low-carb.
I don't know about you, but there's no way in the world I could ever go completely without chocolate in this world. Say what you want about this food, it is one of God's greatest gifts to the human race. And there are even studies showing chocolate has health benefits. So, to all you anti-chocolate antagonists out there, go stick it where the sun don't shine!
Of course, one of the problems with most chocolate bars has to do with one of the primary ingredients in it--SUGAR! UGH! Some people justify eating chocolate for health benefits but neglect the gobs of unhealthy carbohydrate-infested sugar they put in it. That's why I'm very critical of the well-meaning but not-so-good-for-you CocoaVia chocolate bars.
In fact, I recently learned that according to the government standards in Europe, you can't call something chocolate if it DOESN'T have sugar in it! WHAT?! How ridiculous is it to think you MUST have sugar in chocolate for it to be chocolate.
Well, it seems I'm not the only one raving on the ChocoPerfection bars. Fellow blogger and HUGE weight loss champion Beth Badore--aka Melting Mama--has been doing a series of video reviews lately of various health food products and now she's positively reviewed ChocoPerfection.
Check out Beth's fantastic video review of ChocoPerfection for yourself:
Ya know, I think she actually likes them! Hee hee! Yeah, me too, Beth. That's why I'm glad to be giving away some in my blogiversary contest this month. I wouldn't go a month without having my ChocoPerfection fix. :D THANKS for the fantastic review! They really are ALL THAT, aren't they?
We all owe ChocoPerfection founder Mary Jo Kringas a BIG THANK YOU!
Find out more about ChocoPerfection sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bars that are out of this world by visiting ChocoPerfection.com.
There have been a few people who have struggled with the right answers, especially to that "must-have" low-carb book (hint: although I LOVE Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, it's not the right answer). Look around my profile page as well as the right-hand side of the blog for most of the answers. I tried to make the scavenger hunt pretty easy, but not TOO easy since the prizes aren't chintzy! What other blog gives you a chance to win a deluxe grill and thousands of dollars worth of other prizes, hmm? :)
Like I promised, I will be sharing more of the prizes you can win in a series of blog posts. This is the first Blogiversary Contest Prize Bundle package that I'll share with you with many more to come (so keep checking back!). See if you'd like to win any of THESE wonderful prizes from the super sponsors who donated them for my anniversary giveaway, you have to enter to win. ENJOY!
Here are the prizes (if listed multiple times, that means multiple winners!):
ONE DOZEN DARK AND MILK CHOCOLATE CHOCOPERFECTION ONE DOZEN DARK AND MILK CHOCOLATE CHOCOPERFECTION ONE DOZEN DARK AND MILK CHOCOLATE CHOCOPERFECTION
Can I please win some sugar-free/low-carb ChocoPerfection bars?
Yep, three lucky readers will win an entire dozen of both the dark chocolate and milk chocolate flavors of what I describe as the best-tasting low-carb chocolate bars ever--CHOCOPERFECTION BARS!!! What more can I say about these completely sugar-free, but oh so delicious morsels of chocolatey goodness than to simply highly encourage you to never live without chocolate again even when you are livin' la vida low-carb. Loaded with healthy fiber, you'll be hooked just like I am! Go to ChocoPerfection.com.
EGGLAND'S BEST GOODIE GIFT BASKET EGGLAND'S BEST GOODIE GIFT BASKET EGGLAND'S BEST GOODIE GIFT BASKET EGGLAND'S BEST GOODIE GIFT BASKET EGGLAND'S BEST GOODIE GIFT BASKET
Every low-carber has got to love Eggland's Best eggs
We know from studies that eating eggs fills you up, so what better prize than a FREE egg basket?! America's favorite egg manufacturer Eggland's Best has donated not one, not two, but FIVE of these cute little baskets with all kinda stuff for you to enjoy. Each goodie gift basket contains: 1 "Complete Party Planner" cookbook by Annabel Karmel, 1 Plush Egg, 1 Apron, 1 Spatula, 1 Egg timer, and 4 Coupons for a Dozen Eggland's Best Eggs! WOW! What a great prize for someone who is livin' la vida low-carb! Please visit their new and improved web site at EgglandsBest.com.
ALSOSALT VARIETY PACK
Potassium-based seasoning for people who are salt-sensitive
Remember when I blogged about getting adequate potassium recently? Well, there's a wonderful product I reviewed last year called AlsoSalt that is completely salt-free and made with potassium. But unlike those "other" salt substitutes, this one tastes incredibly good. This prize package gives you 2 bottles of AlsoSalt original, 1 bottle of AlsoSalt butter, and 1 bottle of AlsoSalt garlic. Go to AlsoSalt.com to learn more about this unique product.
AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF CARB WARS: Sugar Is The New Fat
New low-carb cookbook from Judy Barnes Baker released April 1
How'd you like to win an autographed copy of Judy Barnes Baker's enticing new low-carb cookbook entitled CARB WARS: Sugar Is The New Fat? Judy was gracious enough to donate her brand new debut book release available RIGHT NOW at Amazon.com to one lucky reader! Find out more about the book by visiting the CARB WARS companion web site.
We have only just begun to scratch the surface on all the GREAT prizes I have to offer you in my 2nd Annual Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. But you gotta enter if you want to win a prize, so CLICK HERE to find out how! I'll have more prizes to share with you soon! :)
Chocolate-covered strawberries made with ChocoPerfection bars
You don't need me to tell you how amazingly delicious the fiber-rich, sugar-free, low-carb ChocoPerfection bars are. I've been a big fan of them for over a year now and will use them in all kinds of unique recipes (like my Stuffed Low-Carb Chocolate French Toast recipe) that call for chocolate (shouldn't that be like EVERY recipe?! HA!).
After telling you about how great ChocoPerfection bars are poured over blueberries a few months back for some homemade low-carb Raisinets, did you also know that ChocoPerfection bars can also perfectly complement another low-carb fruit--STRAWBERRIES! Yep, you can enjoy the decadence of rich, mouth-watering chocolate as you dip this juicy and plump natural dessert into a pool of hot melted ChocoPerfection bars. Ooooo, mmmmm, holy cow! Oh my goodness, your mouth won't know what hit it!
Special THANKS to our friends at Low-Carb Connoisseur for providing this outstanding healthy and nutritious recipe to make for your significant other after a romantic dinner, for your co-workers to show them how much you appreciate them, or at your next party. This versatile recipe will hit their sweet spot and they'll never know they aren't eating sugar! Shhhh, it'll be our little secret! :D ENJOY!
1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or waxed paper. Break ChocoPerfection bars into pieces; place in the top part of a double boiler or a metal bowl over (but not touching) a pot of simmering water. Stir one to two minutes, until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
OPTIONAL WAY TO MELT CHOCOLATE: ChocoPerfection bars may also be melted in the microwave. Place in a bowl; microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds, making sure chocolate does not bubble at all.
2. Holding each strawberry by the stem, dip in chocolate, leaving a 1/4 inch border at the top. Gently shake off excess chocolate; place berry on foil. Repeat with remaining berries. Reheat chocolate if necessary.
3. Chill berries 40 minutes, until chocolate is set. May be prepared up to a day ahead.
ChocoPerfection makes the perfect gift for low-carbers and diabetics
It's been almost a year since I first experienced what REAL sugar-free, low-carb chocolate is supposed to taste like when I took my first bite of these incredibly amazing ChocoPerfection bars. Oh my goodness, from the very moment that creamy dark chocolate began to melt inside of my mouth the instant it touched my tongue, that's all it took for me to be hooked for life!
My subsequent glowing review of ChocoPerfection bars then helped spread the word to other low-carbers who also fell in love with them. That's exactly what ChocoPerfection founder Mary Jo Kringas evisioned when she started selling sugar-free chocolate bars for a living that people on low-carb diets and with diabetes could finally have their chocolate and eat it too!
Christmas is now a little less than three weeks away and what better way to honor that person who is livin' la vida low-carb or limiting their sugar intake because of their diabetes than with a thoughtful gift of a box of ChocoPerfection bars. In fact, Mary Jo has wisely created a special "Send A Gift" page on her web site to make gift-giving during the holidays that much simpler for you to send ChocoPerfection to loved ones.
Place an order for a dozen bars in either Milk or Dark Chocolate or you can get a special two-dozen Best of ChocoPerfection gift package featuring 12 Milk and 12 Dark Chocolate. The choice is yours and they come already wrapped in a beautiful red Christmas gift box ready to be placed underneath the tree upon delivery. You even have the opportunity to write a special personalized greeting to the recipient of your gift! They really did think of EVERYTHING!
These gift boxes are so adorable that you'll want to get several of them as gifts for anyone who could benefit from eating a little less sugar while still being able to endulge in decadent chocolate--that's what ChocoPerfection offers! I for one would be THRILLED if I got a gift box of ChocoPerfection bars at Christmas or for my birthday on the 27th. :)
As always, you get FREE SHIPPING on every ChocoPerfection order shipped in the United States and ChocoPerfection now has what I believe is the strongest guarantee in the industry (even Hershey's and Russell Stover won't promise you this!):
You must be completely satisfied with the taste, smoothness and packaging of ChocoPerfection. Anything less than absolute love for ChocoPerfection will result in an immediate refund if you are unsatisfied for any reason at all.
With a guarantee like that, what do you have to lose with getting ChocoPerfection bars, hmmm? If you or your loved one tastes them and think they're awful, then simply contact Mary Jo and tell her you want a full refund and it's done. But don't be surprised to find that you enjoy the entire box (not all at once please!) and then decide to order again. The ever-growing base of ChocoPerfection fans all agree these low-carb chocolate bars totally ROCK!
So, go ahead and "Send A Gift" TODAY! But when you place an order, make sure they send the bars to J-I-M-M-Y...LOL!
Sugar-free ChocoPerfection bars make this recipe magnificent!
My wife Christine loves spending Saturday afternoons watching PBS and the endless of array of cooking shows back to back to back. Some of them are quite entertaining, yet there's not a single "low-carb" cooking show among them. Too bad they can't run Low-Carb Cookworx cooking show with Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades at that time because they're like the only one left nowadays. I wonder if they'd consider a "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Cooking Show"--IN MY DREAMS!
Hey, I do like to cook, so when I see a "regular" recipe I can adapt, then I give it a whirl. When I was watching one of the cooking shows with Christine, there was a simple recipe for making chocolate "Monte Cristo"-like sandwiches in the skillet using bread and chocolate. Hmm, I've got low-carb versions of both of those foods, so why couldn't I make it myself? And so I did.
Christine was so impressed these turned out so well that she couldn't even finish one of them. They are quite rich and will satisfy your sweet tooth quite well. They look beautiful and taste out of this world. Thanks to the Irene's Low-Carb White Bread and the ChocoPerfection chocolate bars, this recipe is a low-carb chocolate lover's delight! ENJOY!
1. Place a large nonstick skillet on medium heat and allow the butter to melt.
2. In a medium bowl, scramble the eggs with the heavy cream and DaVinci syrup until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
3. Put two slices of bread on a plate, break off 3-4 ChocoPerfection bar squares that have been refrigerated, and arrange them in the center of one of the slices of bread. Repeat for the second slice of bread.
4. Take the other two slices of bread and put them on top of the chocolate to make a sandwich. Carefully grab one of the chocolate sandwiches being very careful to not let the chocolate drop out and dip it in the egg mixture on one side. Then gingerly flip it over and submerge the chocolate sandwich in the egg mixture on the other side until well coated. Place in the skillet with the melted butter and repeat with the second sandwich.
5. Cook for about 2 minutes watching to make sure the chocolate is not seeping out. Don't allow the chocolate to burn or it won't taste very good.
6. When the bread becomes a beautiful golden brown, use a large spatula to delicately turn it over to cook on the other side for an additional 1-2 minutes.
7. Remove from the skillet and place on a paper towel to cool for about 1-2 minutes. Cut the sandwiches in half down the middle and place on a serving plate. Dust with SweetPerfection and serve hot! They'll be begging for more! :)
Episode 3 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" is ready for your listening pleasure right now. Go give it a listen because I think you'll be pleased with the special message I have for you today. It's gonna make the media and those so-called health "experts" scream! :D YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!
The podcast continues to attract positive attention and once again did well at iTunes for Episode 2 last week hitting the Top 20 Self-Help Health podcast shows for the second week in a row. Can we make into the Top 10? With your help, it's not out of the question!
Episode 2 also set a milestone for listeners surpassing the 500 mark in just the second week! I'd love to see the weekly number of listeners continue to climb and be well over 1,000 per episode by the end of the year. It could happen as long as the words keeps spreading about this new show. If you haven't shared with others about "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" podcast yet, then could you do that this week? Also, if you have a blog or web site, then a link to the show would be FANTASTIC! The URL is TheLivinLowCarbShow.com.
And check it out! We've even got a MySpace page for the show. Go add it to your list of friends and let's keep the momentum building for the show. This podcast can and will change people's hearts and minds about the low-carb lifestyle and I appreciate your support during these early days. The brightest days are yet to come.
This week's show includes the introduction of the podcast show's very first sponsor--CHOCOPERFECTION BARS! The show begins with a challenge to overweight and obese people to get started on their weight loss, a survey about the low-carb consumer dictating to restaurants how to cater to their needs, and another survey showing livin' la vida low-carb is a bit more mainstream in our society than the media would have you believe.
This week's podcast listening contest is something that EVERYONE will want to get their hands on: A $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO VIVA LOW-CARB SUPERSTORE! This online low-carb retailer has a full selection of low-carb products to fit your dietary needs. Viva Low-Carb wants to give one lucky podcast listener this incredible prize, so pay careful attention about how you can win. It's gonna be a little harder this week than in the previous two weeks so you will want to have your ears tuned in closely.
In order to qualify for the prize, you must do the following:
1. LISTEN to Episode 3 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show." 2. Carefully identify how many times I say the word "survey." 3. Send me an e-mail with your answer. 4. Include your name and mailing address (no P.O. Boxes please). 5. Tell us your favorite and least favorite parts of the podcast.
As always, the deadline for getting your entry to me is Friday, November 10, 2006 at 12:00pm ET if you want to win that $50 gift certificate from Viva Low-Carb.
Get going now so you can listen to Episode 3 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show". Share a comment there about the show or use the MobaTalk system for feedback on the right side of the page for possible inclusion on a future episode of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show." Questions, comments and general feedback are ALL welcomed and encouraged.
THANKS again for listening and keep on livin' la vida low-carb!
Confirmation of the undeniable fact that the ADA is still inescapably fixated on saturated fat happened just last week when our friends who make those ever-so-yummy ChocoPerfection bars, a well-made sugar-free/low-carb chocolate bar made with erythritol and oligofructose (see my interview with company founder Mary Jo Kringas from earlier this week), were not allowed to have a booth at the upcoming ADA trade show coming to Denver, Colorado in April 2007 because they contained too much saturated fat.
This event is very prestigious within diabetic circles and it attracts so many people interested in the subject of diabetes all in one place which makes the ChocoPerfection company a perfect fit. ChocoPerfection chocolate bars are very safe for diabetics without even an inkling of sugar in them whatsoever. Nobody is going to argue that point.
Unfortunately for ChocoPerfection, though, the saturated fat content in the bars (12g/bar) was much too high for the ADA's standards. They requested Kringas reduce the saturated fat content to LESS THAN 2g and she could talk to them again about having a booth. Incidentally, Kringas informed me that not one single chocolate bar sugar-free or othewise has ever been made with less than 2g saturated fat, so the request by the ADA was both unreasonable and arrogant at best.
Not one to take no for an answer, Kringas then started doing some research on her own and came across this article published by the ADA's very own Colorado State University in January 2004 which answers the specific question about the saturated fat in chocolate and how it comes from stearic acid which does not play a role in the risks for high cholesterol and heart disease like other types of saturated fat purport to do.
Quoting from the column, Kringas found evidence to present her case to the ADA:
"Consumers are warned mostly about saturated fat intake. This is primarily due to evidence showing that saturated fat increases cholesterol levels in your blood. Researchers are now stating within the saturated fat category are several types of saturated fatty acids, including lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. Although these are all saturated fatty acids, they do not all raise blood cholesterol. Stearic acid, which is found in chocolate, is one type of saturated fat that has been shown NOT to raise cholesterol levels. Possible explanations for this include its carbon chain length, inefficient absorption, or conversion to oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fatty acid."
Armed with this information regarding the saturated fat content of her ChocoPerfection bars, Kringas went back to the ADA again to see if the ADA had modified their guidelines based on this research. Sadly, they weren't buying into it.
"No, the saturated fat guidelines are not going to be modified for chocolate because of its stearic acid content," retorted ADA spokeswoman Stephanie Dunbar to Kringas' inquiry. "There is not enough research, nor clear labeling on products, to distinguish between the different types of fatty acids. Also, the second guideline is reduced in calories and chocolate doesn't meet that one either."
So even if Kringas had reduced the saturated fat in her ChocoPerfection bars to the ridiculously low 2g, then she still would have had a problem with the calories. What is the ADA so afraid of? Don't diabetics have a right to eat chocolate like all of us non-diabetics do? Hmmmm? The great thing about ChocoPerfection is that they are made from natural, high-quality ingredients instead of the cheapo sugar alcohols like maltitol and other ingredients.
Kringas wisely retorted the ADA rejection rhetorically with this question.
"Where's the research that shows chocolate causes diabetes?"
VERY GOOD QUESTION! All the latest studies confirm that chocolate is GOOD FOR YOU and so any chocolate that is devoid of sugar and made from all-natural ingredients like ChocoPerfection should be heralded by an organization like the ADA. When are they going to get their head out of their tail and start applying the most recent science to their recommendations for diabetics. They really are doing people with diabetes a grave disservice using archaic, outdated research.
Like I said in Episode 2 of my podcast show this week, you can read THE WHOLE TRUTH about the role of saturated fat in your diet and how it isn't the great evil it has been made out to be by groups like the ADA in Chapter 8 of this book. It's just too bad that we've got a bunch of close-minded people in leadership positions at the ADA.
You can let the ADA's Stephanie Dunbar know just how disappointed you are in her shortsightedness about the saturated fat issue by e-mailing her at sdunbar@diabetes.org.
This recipe is SUPER simple to make but may be just the cure you need when you are in the mood for chocolate and crunch at the same time! I truly hope you appreciate this almond bark recipe from Mary Jo and make up a big batch for your upcoming holiday parties. These are GUARANTEED to be a hit! But you'll want to try them for yourself first. ENJOY!
CHOCOPERFECTION ALMOND BARK
12 bars dark ChocoPerfection bars 2 cups raw almonds (or more if you REALLY love almonds) 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2) Cover a cookie sheet with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil.
3) Place the almonds on the cookie sheet and mix them around by hand in the olive oil. Spread them out to one layer and put in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.
4) Remove the almonds from the oven.
5) Unwrap the ChocoPerfection bars and lay them on a large (non-coated) skillet. Put the skillet on an oven burner on very low heat. Using a heat-proof spatula, melt the bars as you continue to mix and scrape the skillet, creating melted ChocoPerfection (it is very tempting to eat big spoonfuls at this point, but resist the urge!).
6) When the ChocoPerfection is melted, remove the skillet from the heat, and mix in the roasted almonds.
7) Spread the mixture back on the cookie sheet that is covered with the foil and any remnants of the roasted almonds and oil.
8) Cool at room temperature for 1 hour and then put in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
9) When it has hardened, break the ChocoPerfection Almond Bark into pieces and serve to your hungry guests (and yourself!).
You can order ChocoPerfection bars from Low-Carb Specialities by visiting ChocoPerfection.com.
I'd like to introduce you to someone who I have grown to love and respect for the products she is offering people who are diabetic and/or on the low-carb lifestyle. Her name is Mary Jo Kringas and she is the owner of Low-Carb Specialties, makers of the most amazing sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bars you'll ever taste--CHOCOPERFECTION!
As a big fan of her chocolates, I asked Mary Jo if I could invite her here for an interview and she remarked that she never does any interviews with anyone--but she'd be HAPPY to do one for me! Awww, that was soooo sweet! THANKS so much, Mary Jo! Check out what makes this woman so happy to wake up in the morning and how she eats 2-3 chocolate bars DAILY to help her keep her weight under control and her body healthy.
1. Joining me today at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog is a woman who many would say has one of the best jobs in the entire world--SELLING CHOCOLATE! Mmmm! It's Mary Jo Kringas from LowCarbSpecialties.com, makers of those yummy ChocoPerfection bars you hear me raving about so much at my blog. Welcome, Mary Jo! Tell us a little bit about how you got into the sugar-free chocolate-making business.
Hi Jimmy and thank you for inviting me to be part of your low-carb blog. I truly respect you for telling others what is real about low-carb and sharing your story about losing weight the low-carb way.
I got into the sugar-free chocolate business because I felt I had no other choice. I LOVE CHOCOLATE, but my body did not like sugar or artificial sweeteners. I grew up working behind the counter of my grandfather’s candy store, starting at age five. By the time I was 16, I weighed 475 pounds. I lost weight by implementing more balanced eating and I tried about 20 different “diets” over the years. But even after all that and two stomach stapling surgeries, my weight still hovered around 275 pounds.
I continued to rely on chocolate as the only food in life that I cannot live without. The problem being that there was no “healthy chocolate” available anywhere. All the ones I saw were either made with sugar or with artificial sweeteners, both of which caused insulin surges and kept me from losing weight.
I eventually went total low-carb and discovered “oligofructose” (a very scary sounding word that describes a sweetener made from ground up chickory root), which many food scientists are now discovering is one of the healthiest foods on the planet (see Men’s Health, May/06, Weight Loss Research Update) and I started to develop a chocolate bar around this sweetener. I experimented with my chocolate for about 1 1/2 years, and I lost 75 pounds during this time. I have been in the ChocoPerfection business for 2 ½ years now and my weight is down a total of 100 pounds.
2. WOW, congratulations, Mary Jo! Your amazing weight loss success story can be attributed to your regular consumption of ChocoPerfection bars both during your weight loss and now well into maintenance. That's what I call "suffering" on your diet! LOL! Why is eating chocolate so important for people following a sugar-free, low-carb diet?
I don’t know about others, but I find that if I am suffering, I will not continue. I truly believe that there are three critical stages to going low-carb.
Stage 1: Admitting that this is what needs to be done and making a full commitment to avoiding sugar, pasta, breads, cake, and most fruit.
Stage 2: Actually doing the low-carb lifestyle and implementing low-carb eating in your life. The first 4 weeks are usually the hardest because I also believe the carb-craving is intensified by yeast infections and/or parasites in the colon. These yeasts and parasites thrive on carbs, and when one cancels the “carb program” the yeasts and parasites fight back with headaches, bad breath and depression.
This 2nd stage is not for light-weights--it took everything I had within me to persist. Weight loss is assured in this stage if one is truly low-carbing and avoiding all refined sugars and artificial sweeteners and dairy.
Stage 3: Weight loss has been achieved and/or is consistent. One starts to feel good about their appearance, and their weight loss success. They have forgotten the pain of Stage 2, and they have adapted the low-carb lifestyle as a workable solution for the foreseeable future.
ChocoPerfection is useful in Stage 2, but, in my opinion, it is critical in Stage 3 when one is maintaining their low-carb lifestyle as well. Many people ask me how I lost my weight. I tell them I went low-carb and they tell me “Oh, I tried that, but when I stopped, I gained all the weight back and then some.” I want to cry when I hear this.
Like you, I know the pain of being fat. To actually be free of the weight and then have it all come back is a complete nightmare. The diligence involved in maintenance is critical, and it requires a different kind of thinking. Maintenance requires a commitment to long-term low-carbing that, as a priority, needs to be enjoyable. A critical aspect of this strategy allows one to avoid Little Debbies and Ding Dongs because they have found alternatives that turn them on just as much, and are healthy.
3. I have been criticized by many low-carb purists for my preference to eat what they consider low-carb "junk" foods such as nut-based bars and even your ChocoPerfection bars. I don't personally care what other people think of my diet as long as I'm losing weight because I'm eating healthier than I have ever eaten in my entire life. How do you respond to those who label products like ChocoPerfection bars as "junk" food?
Like you, I am healthier than I have ever been in my entire life. I eat 2-3 ChocoPerfection bars a day and I have never felt or looked better than I do right now. I firmly believe that without ChocoPerfection bars I would weigh much more and that is why I started the ChocoPerfection business.
I would not agree with the description of ChocoPerfection as a “junk food” which is a term I reserve for stuff like diet sodas and other things that are utterly senseless to consume. ChocoPerfection has 14g of fiber in every bar, is packed with all the antioxidants and mood enhancement of chocolate, is highly satiating, and due to the oligofructose, actually helps clear the body of parasites and yeasts.
4. One of the reasons I consider ChocoPerfection bars to be the best chocolate bar for diabetics and low-carbers is the phenomenal European chocolate taste they have without all the cheap artificial sweeteners that are packed into so many of the so-called sugar-free, low-carb products these days. What makes ChocoPerfection sweeteners different and are there any health benefits to choosing them over the more inferior sweeteners?
The sweeteners in ChocoPerfection are oligofructose, which is made from ground-up chickory root, and erythritol, which comes from fermented natural foods such as grapes, melon, and mushrooms. Almost all other sugar-free products are made from maltitol, sucralose (Splenda), or aspartame (Nutrasweet). As you have blogged about many times, most people experience diarrhea and/or other laxative effects from maltitol.
Nutrasweet breaks down into formaldehyde in the body, which is toxic, and has been linked to brain tumors and retinal damage. Despite all this, the biggest problem for me, with all of the artificial sweeteners, is that they completely stopped my weight loss and, in my opinion, they really don’t taste that good.
It was not until I started using the sweeteners in ChocoPerfection that I was able to feel like I was really eating something that tasted like real chocolate and still lose weight. There are big health benefits to oligofructose, which was named as one of the healthiest foods on the planet due to its prebiotic properties to clean the colon and strengthen the immune system. Also, erythritol supports the minerals in the bones and teeth, stops sugar cravings, and converts to glutathione in the body which helps clean the liver.
Aside from these great benefits, oligofructose and erythritol are the only known sweeteners approved by the USDA that rank zero on the glycemic index. This is a very big deal to me. All the artificial sweeteners use the label “sugar-free” but fail to disclose that laboratory tests show the glycemic index of many of these "healthy" products to be 51 to 59, which is more than the glycemic index of macaroni.
Most low-carbers know that the key reason to avoid the carbs is their effect on insulin levels. The glycemic index of artificial sweeteners shows that they surge insulin levels, so even if they were not toxic, which they are, they would still keep you fat.
5. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol just as the stomach-exploding maltitol is. Why is it a better sweetener for people who are livin' la vida low-carb and does it have any known side effects that you are aware of as well?
The thing that baffles me everyday is how erythritol ever got its name. I mean, it is named like a sugar alcohol (which is a class of sweeteners that is almost uniformly artificial and uniformly toxic), yet erythritol is completely natural and shares more in common with the production methods of sugar than that of stuff in a test tube which is where nearly all the other sugar alcohols come from.
To the best of my knowledge, erythritol has no known side effects and is completely healthy. If I knew otherwise, I would not eat 2-3 of these ChocoPerfection bars a day.
6. You also use oligofructose in your ChocoPerfection bars, which is another up-and-coming sweetener among quality sugar-free, low-carb products. In fact, a recent study confirms that eating oligofructose can improve intestinal health and cut down on infections. Tell us a little more about this sweetener and why you decided to use it in your chocolate bars.
For me, the way to evaluate a sweetener is to find out how it tastes compared to sugar. Erythritol is a great sweetener and is completely healthy, but it has a sweetness intensity of only about 80% of sugar and it has a “coolness” to its taste on the tongue. I found that oligofructose balances the loss of sweetness from erythritol and also balances the coolness. Oligofructose is also the most intense source of dietary and healthy fiber in the ChocoPerfection bars.
7. There is a ton of fiber packed in every single ChocoPerfection bar--14 grams to be exact! How important is fiber in a healthy diet? Does the fiber impact the taste or texture of the chocolate?
As you know, it is pretty difficult to get the recommended amount of fiber in your diet. The USDA recommends about 22g daily and even most fruits and vegetables only have 2-3 g each of fiber at most. The source of fiber in ChocoPerfection is oligofructose, which is very fine and not gritty. So, even though the ChocoPerfection bars have a huge concentration of fiber, you'd never know it by the taste and texture of the bar which is just like fine European chocolate.
8. In addition to your fantastic ChocoPerfection bars, you also have a sweetener product you call SweetPerfection which is made from finely ground chicory root. When I tasted this for the first time, it reminded me of eating cotton candy. Where did you discover this sweet, low-glycemic sugar substitute and why should people begin using this product instead of any of the other artificial sweeteners on the market today?
I love oligofructose which we also sell in equivalent conversion to sugar as SweetPerfection. I bake with SweetPerfection, I use it in ice cream, as a sweetener in tea and coffee and in all my recipes that call for sugar. SweetPerfection tastes like sugar, measures like sugar, and performs in recipes like sugar, except it has a zero glycemic index, is high in healthy fiber, and has properties to support the immune system.
9. Whenever I try to tell people about sugar-free products these days, they turn their nose up at me as if the products cannot possibly taste good without the sugar. I'm sure you run into this often with many of your prospective customers. What do you do to assure people that eating a ChocoPerfection bar will be as delightful an experience as they will ever taste out of a "diet" food?
Jimmy, I feel there is no way to convince people of anything other than to let them see for themselves. What I do is offer a “100% Satisfaction/No Questions Asked Guarantee.” This means that if anyone ever buys any of our products and is not completely happy with it for any reason at all, they get a full refund. It is my hope that low-carbing, chocolate lovers will give themselves a chance to taste ChocoPerfection, and to support their healthy lifestyle with no risk for their purchase.
10. THANKS for sharing a little bit of time with me and my readers today at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, Mary Jo! I sincerely hope that people take advantage of the fantastic products you have to offer them as they seek a healthier lifestyle for themselves. Do you have any parting words of encouragement or advice you would like to share?
Thanks Jimmy, my chance to share with you about my life has been great. As you know, I promised you my only interview and this has been it. I have lived most of my life as a fat person. The emotional pain was tremendous. The persistent hope that I could eat foods I loved, be satisfied, and yet somehow be thin was a dream I never thought I would get. Now, I live my dream. I eat at least 3 desserts a day in addition to meals, without mood swings, sugar cravings or weight gain. Is this heaven or what?
Heaven indeed, Mary Jo! THANKS so much for sharing with my readers about the outstanding products you have available at Low-Carb Specialties. Now, pardon me for a moment, I think I need to go order me some more ChocoPerfection bars! CLICK HERE to order some for yourself! :D Mary Jo GUARANTEES you'll LOVE 'em or your money back. What do you have to lose...besides weight?!
