The CarbSmart Buyers Guide to a Low-Carb Holiday Meal

Cooking for your family during the holidays can be a daunting enough task, without the added hassle of trying to keep those special meals healthy as well. Here we will help you find the perfect items here at CarbSmart.com to help make your celebration table tasty and healthy.

Low Carb Baking Mixes

CarbQuik Low Carb Baking Mix is a great low carb alternative to the traditional floury ingredients. Just about anything that requires flour can be substituted with CarbQuik.

If you’re looking for dedicated baking mixes for specific baked items, we suggest the variety of options from Dixie Diner like Dixie Carb Counters Country Biscuit Mix, Dixie Carb Counters Bun & Roll Mix, and pie mixes: Dixie Carb Counters Boston Cream Pie Mix, Dixie Carb Counters Graham Cracker-Style Pie Crust Mix, Dixie Carb Counters 1 Net Carb Home Made Press n’ Bake Pie Crust Mix, and Dixie Carb Counters Lemon Meringue Pie Kit.

You can also utilize products such as Now Foods Almond Flour, and Organic Coconut Flour by Let’s Do Organic. It really just depends on what kind of flavors and textures you are going for.

Low Carb Gravy and Thickeners

For thickening sauces and gravy, items like:

• Now Foods Guar Gum
• Xanthan Powder work very well and help you keep the carb counts low.

You can also turn to products such as Road’s End Organics Low Carb & Gluten Free Gravy Mixes, Konjac Glucomannan Powder or Dixie Carb Counters Thick It Up Low Carb Thickener.

Low Carb Side Dishes

Items like Road’s End Organics Low Carb & Gluten Free Gravy Mixes, Dixie Carb Counters Instant Mashers (Potato Substitute), Dixie Carb Counters Low Carb Muffin Mixes, Dixie Carb Counters Oven Stuffin’ Mix, and more.

Desserts, Treats & Sweeteners

Desserts tend to be a sore spot for many dieters during the holidays. Low Carb Sugar Substitutes and Sweeteners makes this part of the meal much easier to deal with, but also tend to be controversial. Thankfully there are many on the market to choose from, essentially making something for almost everyone. Sucralose (Splenda) is a very popular choice among low-carbers. It works well in pretty much in everything except hard candy or anything you would want to caramelize. Stevia (PureVia, TruVia, Now Foods Stevia Liquid Extract, & NuNaturals NuStevia) comes from the stevia plant and is thought of as more of a natural sweetener.

Sugar alcohols like maltitol tend to work well in items where many other sweeteners fail (like hard candy) but have their drawbacks as well. Too much can cause embarrassing and uncomfortable gastric issues. It’s also unclear if the carbohydrates in sugar alcohols should be counted or not. Some claim it raises blood glucose levels just like regular sugar. The least offensive in the sugar alcohol family are xylitol (XyloSweet, Now Foods Xylitol) and erythritol (Now Foods Erythritol Natural Sweetener), but keep in mind that xylitol can be lethal to pets and must be kept out of their reach.

Over 100 Low Carb Items From Dixie Diner

If cooking from scratch isn’t your thing, consider packaged, easy to prepare low carb products from Dixie Diner’s Dixie Carb Counters line as an option. Using these items for the occasional holiday celebration is certainly acceptable and easily fits within most low-carb plans.

Low Carb Cookbooks

Low Carb Cookbooks are not only a great help with holiday meals, they also make great gifts. Consider titles from some of the top names in low-carb cooking, such as Dana Carpender, George Stella, Dr. Atkins, Robb Wolf and Mark Sisson. Diet plan books also make excellent gifts. Many will be planning those New Year’s resolutions and could get a healthy start with any of the low-carb/paleo/primal plan books available.

Low Carb Gift Baskets

Low Carb Gift Baskets are another great gift idea for the low-carber in your life. There are a variety of sizes to fit all budgets and tastes. You can choose from Low Carb Christmas baskets, Kosher Low Carb baskets, Low Carb Snack Packs, Low-Carb Chocolate and Candy baskets or even an Induction Basket for that special person who may be in the beginning stages of their low-carb journey.

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