Snack On The Crunchy Low-Carb 'Texas Toasters'

Each 6-piece serving of "Texas Toasters" has just 1g net carb

Traditional bread made with white flour is taboo when you are livin' la vida low-carb. But when you are eating a salad and want something crunchy to eat with it or if you get the inkling for some tuna salad or other hors d'voures on your low-carb lifestyle, it would be nice to have an all-natural and delicious low-carb alternative you can turn to.

Now you've got it!

It's called Carb Counters "Texas Toasters" Twice Ovenbaked Bread Crisps from our friends at the Houston, TX-based Dixie Diner. I couldn't believe these were low-carb the first time I ate them because they are really quite delicious and give you that need for a salty side item with a crispy crunch.

Here are the ingredients:

Soy concentrate, cheese, corn starch, wheat-free cereal fiber, egg whites, canola oil, baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), vegetable fiber, spices, dried onions, parsley, sea salt, low glycemic monosaccharide, low glycemic fruit concentrate.

My favorite part about these all-natural tasty bread crisps with absolutely ZERO artificial ingredients or preservatives in them is the fact that they only have 1g net carbs for about 6 of them. WOW! That's hardly anything on your carb counts (even during Induction!) and yet you'll get to enjoy the benefits of eating these with confidence knowing they won't throw your low-carb diet into a tizzy!

Plus, you get 7g protein and 3g carbs in each serving of these wheat-free Carb Counters "Texas Toasters" as well. For those of you looking for ways to boost your potassium intake, these also contain 165mg potassium to help with those painful leg cramps you may have on your low-carb plan.

You'll be amazed by how awesome these taste and they come in three scrumptuous flavor varieties: Good N Plain, Dill & Onion, and Pizza (my personal favorite)! You can top them with a little spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese for some mini-pizzas. Or scoop them in some French onion dip for a yummy snack. The possibilities for eating these are endless!

Go ahead and try them for yourself--the Carb Counters "Texas Toasters."

Bake Some Low-Carb Cheddar Walnut Crisps

This new recipe book features many low-carb recipes in it

One of the things that attracted me to start livin' la vida low-carb was the fact that you could eat full-fat versions of cheese as part of your weight loss program. When I heard about this for the first time, I thought, "Wow, I must have died and gone to dieting heaven!" Well, it's true, baby and I like to take full advantage of consuming my fair share of healthy and low-carb cheese.

But one of the unique things I have discovered about cheese is that it is so versatile and can be transformed into many different kinds of dishes than most people even think about. Just take a look at the low-carb recipe in this Toronto Star column. It's from a book entitled The 150 Best American Recipes: Indispensable Dishes From Legendary Chefs and Undiscovered Cooks which is edited in part by famous low-carb cookbook author Fran McCullough.

The recipe featured in the story is for cheese crisps. Using cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and walnuts, they are a great-tasting low-carb snack for just about any occasion. You'll probably be making a lot of this one, I can tell already!

LOW-CARB CHEDDAR WALNUT CRISPS

1 cup old cheddar cheese, shredded
1-1/4 cups parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Put cheeses in medium bowl. Mix lightly with fingers.

3. For first batch, drop cheese mixture by rounded teaspoonfuls on to baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between each mound. Flatten with back of spoon. Sprinkle top of each cheese circle with bit of nuts and thyme.

4. Bake in center of preheated 400F oven for 5 minutes or until crisps bubble and edges are golden brown. Let stand 2 minutes. Using spatula, slide off paper on to rack to cool completely.

5. You'll have to wait until your baking sheet cools down before you make the next batch, or alternate between two baking sheets. Repeat with next batches, using cool baking sheet each time, until ingredients are used up.

Makes 58 crisps.