Review: Healthwise Zero Net Carb Breads

Gerri…I just went to the site and there is a discount on healthwise items. Bonus! While I am shopping, are there any other items you like? They have a lot of low carb offerings.

Hi Elaine,

The only other product I’ve tried is Miracle Noodles. They’re zero carb, zero calories–all fiber. Miracle Noodles are like Asian cellophane noodles, not Italian pasta.

I found out more about the pizza crust from Andrew at www.lindasdietdelites.com.

“I think one reason the pizza crust came out how you described is that you got the “High Yeast Batch” discounted version. Everything that was high yeast batch sort of was more rubbery than usual. That is why it
is discounted as mentioned on the product page. But, the pizza crust they make is definitely always sort of extra thick and bready since it is really all from the same mix.”

Thanks…maybe I’ll try that too. Right now I have in the oven a zuchinni pizza crust…the recipe was on another site a while back. Has anyone tried the recipe? I’ll let you know how it is. I have to say it is smelling good.

I have a zuchinni crust recipe found on lowcarbfriends.com, but haven’t tried it. Let me know how yours comes out. Hope it’s great!

I think it could have been cooked a bit longer to make a crispier crust, but it was pretty good…veggies, cheese and Italian flavors…how bad could it be. The recipe came from The Moosewood Cookbook via Diabetes Daily.

Hi Reed,

Messages in a different place? What different place? Will send a friend request.

I’d rather make my own ice cream using a small ice cream maker:) Or, add real fruit (berries are low carb) to heavy cream & freeze it. You could eat more than 3 TBS of that. As long as you can figure how many carbs are in 3 TBS of canned fruit (some have no syrup & no sugar added) & like it, enjoy!

Okay, now I want homemade ice cream!

Sounds delicious! Moosewood has great recipes. I have an avocado soup recipe (chilled) from Moosewood from ages ago that’s fantastic.

I made a pizza with a cauliflower crust (grated fine, mixed with cheese, eggs & spices) that was really good. Bet substituting zukes would be better.

That’s the easiest thing ever to make. Go for it!

Robyn,

Ever had semifreddo? You don’t need an ice cream maker. It’s just mixing eggs, cream & flavoring together, pouring into a loaf pan & freezing it. Once it’s hard, just slice. Delish, rich & fast!

Oh, no! How horrible! Had no idea spoiled eggs could cause brain damage.

I have been making pizza with Flatout Flatbread, Light Original. They are superthin, 90 cals, no sat or trans fat, 9 g fiber and 6 net carbs (that is for the whole larger one, about the size of a tortilla, but there is a smaller size too). Seems to work pretty well for me, although I do take a small amount of insulin to cover. They sell them in the deli area of my local grocery store (which is not that great, so I assume they are pretty readily available).
I definitely plan on trying Healthwise bread. I found one I like which was natural ovens low carb bread, but it has been hard to find (and isn’t 0 net carbs, but I did pretty well with it.)

Hi Gerri
Could you be more precise in terms of quantities and example of type of flavoring for the semifreddo? It sounds dilicious!!!

Hi Sylvie,

So yummy! It’s like a cross between ice cream & frozen custard. Not low cal, but low carb. There are ton of on-line recipes for every flavor imaginable & you can add most anything your heart desires. I’ve added sliced strawberries, nuts & chocolate chunks. Natural extracts work well too, but you have to be careful not to use too much because of the alcohol taste doesn’t cook out since it’s not cooked:) Artificial extracts don’t taste as good to me. I’ve made maple walnut semifreddo with maple extract.

You can also add unsweetened cocoa powder & a little more sweetener for chocolate flavor.

I make my own chocolate chunks because it’s near impossible to find semi-sweet sugar free chocolate that doesn’t contain sugar alcohols. Very easy to make your own for a fraction of the cost. Melt unsweetened baker’s chocolate with butter, add a little cream & no carb stevia. Spread on a plate with waxed paper & freeze solid. Break into pieces. I can send you the exact measurements, if you want.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, but it doesn’t have the gastric problems of other sugar alcohols. Unless you get it powdered, you have to put it in a blender to powder it before using it for baking.

Here’s one from Healthy Indulgences blog. This woman has the most decadent, low carb desserts. She’s a dessert genuis. Italics are mine.

Vanilla Ice Cream (Semifreddo style)

Makes 6 servings

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split (optional) better using vanilla bean

Sweetening options:
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered erythritol& powdered plus 1/8 teaspoon NuNaturals pure stevia extract
OR
3/4 cup Splenda (lot more carbs using granular Splenda)

4 fresh organic eggs (whites and yolks separated) you don’t have to use organic eggs, but they taste richer & better than commercial eggs
2 cups organic heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

In first bowl, beat sugar and egg yolks until mixture is a light creamy yellow, then beat in vanilla extract and bean scrapings. In second bowl, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. In third bowl, beat egg whites, add a pinch of salt, and then keep beating until you have stiff peaks. Fold together cream and egg yolk mixture gently. Then fold in egg whites thoroughly, but with as few strokes as possible to keep the airiness. Spread into loaf pan lined with plastic wrap, or a metal mold. Freeze, covered loosely in plastic wrap, for at least 4 hours. Scoop out with an ice cream scoop. Alternatively, run water over the bottom of the pan for a few seconds, unmold, and slice.

~15.5g net carbs for the whole recipe using erythritol and stevia
~31.5g net carbs for the whole recipe using Splenda

Enjoy!

WOW!!! Thanks for all of this Gerri.

Sure thing. Let me know if you like it.

Oh yeah…when you have a minute, could you also post your measurements for the homemade chocolate recipe. All of this kind of cooking/eating is new to me, so I will have to investigate ingredients and recipes and all that. I do have heart disease happening, so I probably will not indulge in the really high saturated stuff too often, but when I do want a dessert, this will be a good option. Thaks again

Tweak the portions to your taste. I like chocolate dark & not too sweet, esp if it’s being added to something. Works as a chocolate snack, too. You can add chopped nuts or unsweetened shredded coconut. This stuff melts fast unrefigerated. Recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc.

2 oz (2 squares) unsweetened baking chocolate (8 carbs)
2-3 TBSP Heavy Cream (1 carb)
2-3 TBS softened butter (0 carb)
Sweetener (I use zero carb stevia powder. A little goes a long way.)

Melt chocolate in microwave, double boiler, or in a heat proof bowl over a pot of boiling water. Add butter & whisk. Add cream & sweetener & mix until smooth. Pour onto tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze.

Lots of research showing that it’s not saturated fats that contribute to heart disease. Yep, the opposite of what we’ve been told for decades. It’s high carbohydrate diets that lead to unhealthy blood lipids, heart disease & weight gain.

Check out Good Fats, Bad Fats. by Gary Taubes.

Gerri…I JUST read this afternoon about a meta-analysis conducted at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute which showed that there is insufficient eveidence to conclude that dietary sat fat is associated with an increased risk of CVD, stroke or CVD. I promptly splurged on 4 Dove squares (@4 grms ea.) Thanks for the recipes.

Ooo, Dove bar squares. Heaven.

We’ve had low fat pushed down our throats, literarily, for too long. Look at the mega industry it is. Almost all processed food products are marketed as low fat. Fat phobia. Eat more grains, eat less fat, follow the food pyramid. It’s going to a long time until this news becomes maintstream because there’s too much money at stake between agribusiness grain interests, food manufacturers & the pharm industry. Progressive researchers have been saying this for years. They’ve also been saying hydrogenated fats (now called trans fats) are bad for decades, but no one listened.

Saturated fats are the only safe fats to heat at high temperatures for cooking. This isn’t obscure knowledge, but vegetable oils have taken the forefront with Canola oil being one of the worst. It’s marketing, sadly.