After reading here about the low carb Cranberry drinks at Tesco and the soya protein isolate powder. I happily went shopping looking for these things. I bought the powder, but I didn't read the ingredients properly. It wasn't until after I got it home that I saw it contains a source of phenylalanine. I haven't heard good things about the side effect of this. I was hoping upon hope that the cranberry drinks at Tesco wouldn't contain aspartame, but they do and that's another chemical I try to avoid because of its side effects. I already suffer from heart palpitations and don't want to eat or drink anything that contains aspartame which would only make it worse.

What do others think about this?

I'm undecided about soya products (I still use them a lot in baking) but I'm definitely giving aspartame a wide berth after what I've now read about its potential for neuroendocrine effects. I do use Splenda, but really don't want the maltitol that comes with it. I'd really like to try Stevia, having heard many good things about it. It's not licensed for sale in the UK, unfortunately. Has anyone in the UK got any experience of obtaining it?

Jackie

With the weather getting colder I could do with an instant soup to keep at work.
Has any one found a low carb one that is tasty?
(If not I'll just take in some chicken stock paste.)

you should try this:

http://www.worldwideshoppingmall.co...ein-isolate.asp

They are quite fast with the delivery and it saves you driving 30 miles. I quite like it, just going through my second container ;-)

Gagalina

For some time ive been eating tescos chicken tikka masala 5.6g of carbs which is great for a quick hot meal not really filling but usually does the job for me and tastes lovely only takes 4 min to heat in the micowave or 40min in the oven.

Jaycee2411

Does the container actually say that it contains aspartame? I am asking because l-phenylalanine is one of the amino acids, so I would expect it to be present in a protein powder.

Who said that splenda comes with maltitol? Since when?

The one I use in pill (tablet) form has nothing of the sort. In fact, I am unaware of ANY version of splenda that comes with maltitol.

There are of course products that combine the two of them (like Atkins and other LC bars) but that is done when they make the LC product.

As for Stevia, it is not available in UK shelves for the reasons you cite (the UK government wants more studies... and it's not clear who will pay for them, since stevia is natural, and hence patent-free). I suppose one could try odering through the net from international suppliers, but in theory it could be intercepted and impounded by the government.

Being a gardener, I wonder if I could just buy the plant or get the seeds. I found a German website (I come from Germany originally that's why I looked there) that sells Stevia Rebaudiana as ornamental tender perennials. If I grew the plant in my own garden, it should be my business what I do with it, for my own use of course. I have another go searching UK web sites to see if I can get hold of the actual plant....

Stevia is originary from Paraguay, in South America. Thus, I am not sure how well it would do under the British climate.

In any case, you'd do nothing with the seeds. The sweetening agent is in the leaves. But the unprocessed leaves are unlikely to serve well as a general purpose sweetener.

They typically extract the sweetening agent, and either sell it pure as a highly concentrated powder, or combine it with some sort of natural bulking agent (like inulin, a fiber) and put it in small packets similar to Splenda's. In the latter case, you just see a white powder, and use it as you would Splenda or a similar product.

Oops, sorry SucraPhobe, slight slip of the fingers there, Splenda has indeed not got maltitol in it. I should have said maltodextrin (which is the filler in the granular form of Splenda.) I was planning to try using crushed Splenda tablets for baking to avoid the maltodextrin but didn't quite get around to it, as I read some information on stevia which made me think this would be a far better option (if like me you are trying to minimise chemicals/additives etc, that is). I have now got hold of some powdered high strength stevia - hope to get a chance to experiment with it very soon!

SlimJackie

I like stevia and wished it was widely available in the UK. You do have to keep in mind that if you add too much of it the food may actually TASTE BITTER.

As for maltodextrine, I hope you are not under the impression that it is some sort of dangerous artificial chemical. It is NOT artificial, NOT dangerous, and NOT a chemical. It is extracted from vegetable sources, and hence is as natural as stevia itself.

The only reason to avoid maltodextrine that I've ever heard of is that it does add carbs. That's why the little splenda envelopes in powder form count as almost 1 gr of carb. Other than that I am unaware of any reason to avoid maltodextrine...

Yet another way to avoid granular splenda is by utilizing a sucralose-based flavored syrup (for example, Atkins, DaVinci, etc). I don't know whether they are available in the UK.; thus, they may have to be ordered online.

I was doing Crimbo shopping in Sainsbury's and came across the following LC treats in the
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range:

Smoked Salmon Mousse Crescent 1.8g Carbs per 100g
6 Pork and Leek Sausages 0.8g Carbs per 100g
12 Ultimate pork cocktail sausage wrapped in bacon 0.8g Carbs per 100g

Hi all,

New to these forums, great to be here!

I popped out to Sainsbury's at lunchtime and picked up some 'Herta Red Jak' which I'd never seen before - these look very much like Pepperami but I can tell you, having just had a bite, they are much, much hotter than even the supposed 'hot' Pepperami! If you're into your jalapenos, I'm sure you'll find these very tasty.

A pack of 3 sticks cost £1.99 and they are 0.5 carbs per stick.

Went into my local Tesco last night and they have tons of new LC stuff in, some their own Brand, some Heinz stuff and JC's Kitchen as well as the Carb Options stuff.

They had biscuits, muffins, pizzas, Heinz LC ketchup, pasta, chocolates, breakfast cereals, breakfast bars.

According to their website they are also doing bread, sandwiches and wraps!

Hi,
Does anyone know if there are any Tescos in London selling the new low carb stuff yet? Would love a pizza... mmmmmm.