Reviews

Looking for the senators chili? Created by former Senator Barry Goldwater himself, this chili mix is easy to prepare by adding just beef, low carb black beans and tomatoes. Just the right spice to make your chili dishes superb!

The Metabolism Miracle helps you understand why and how you control your alternative metabolism through a low carbohydrate lifestyle.

The New Atkins for a New You revolutionized low-carb eating and introduced a whole new approach to the classic Atkins Diet, offering a more flexible and easier-to-maintain lifestyle. But there's one thing people keep asking for: more Atkins-friendly recipes.

In Everyday Paleo, Sarah Fragoso gives detailed instructions for acquiring a Paleo lifestyle and improving the health and longevity of your family. An active mother of three, Fragoso shows that eating Paleo is not only feasible for the busiest of families, but also easy, delicious and completely life-changing. She offers numerous recipes for all meals of the day, and provides tips for getting around common roadblocks, such as eating out.

When I think of tea, I think of iced tea on a hot summer day. To be honest, I've never been much of a hot tea person. Despite that, I decided to give Davidson's Dessert Teas a try. When I drink coffee, I like a little heavy cream and some sweetener, so I did the same with the Davidson's Vanilla Cream Spice flavor.

When thinking of low-carb, one doesn't often think of coconut. I'm not sure why, but it's just not one of those visions that pop in your head. Bacon, yes. Coconut, no. Coconut makes me think of sweet indulgent desserts and warm tropics. But coconut products can be a useful part of your low-carb plan.

I'm a Mexican food fanatic. This is a bit unfortunate considering all the rice, beans, corn and flour products used in most Mexican recipes. Learning to adjust, I've gladly dug the good stuff out of taco salads, fajitas and chimichangas when dining out. Of course I prefer cooking my favorite dishes at home, where I always know exactly what I'm getting and I can make suitable substitutions when needed. One item I've always thought made these recipes perfect was salsa. I love a good salsa and I've always felt you can't beat the home-made stuff. The fresh ingredients and spices bring out a taste that canned salsa's can't begin to compete with. At least that's the way I used to think. Now I'm a believer that you can acquire the home-made taste of healthy fresh ingredients from a jar.

Sweeteners are a matter of personal preference. The spectrum of opinions on this topic range from "anything is better than sugar" to "you should never eat anything sweet again". I fall more in the middle. I think a little sweet here and there can be beneficial if it keeps you on course. Keeping that in mind, I do have my favorites and not-so-favorites. Sugar alcohols tend to fall in the latter category, although I realize some are worse than others.

I'm a big tea lover, and fall and winter are the perfect times to warm up with a nice cup in the evening. I have also found having a tea in the evening is the perfect way to may me feel full and even satisfy my sweet tooth. In the past I have written about Chocolate Teas, which I absolutely love, but there aren't many decaf options for the evening. So this post is all about vanilla teas!

Review: AriZona Sugar Free Lemonade Mix by Amy Dungan. If you like lemonade, you'll love low carb Arizona Sugar Free Lemonade Stix. Lots of great lemon flavor without the all the self-destructive guilt you'll get from drinking regular lemonade. It's a simple as opening a package and dumping it into your favorite 16 or 20 ounce water bottle. Shake it well and you'll get a delicious drink, not to mention a little arm exercise. (Water bottles and drink mixes - the original shake-weight-thingy.) It mixes well with cold water, so you don't have to worry about gritty chunks, and in the 16 ounce bottles it's got just enough twang to make you pucker a bit.

Protein bars are one of those items that I've loved the convenience of, but I was never convinced they were really good for me. Many have an ingredient list that boggles the mind. I'm not crazy about getting my protein from hydrolyzed collagen and soy. The makers of Quest Nutrition Protein Bars weren't excited about that either, so they set out to make a better protein bar. I believe they have succeeded.

I've tried a few recipes that have worked reasonably well for a hot cereal substitute, but they were kind of bland. Recently I was able to try Sensato Foods Hot Cereal and I can say it's anything but tasteless. I enjoyed a bowl of the apple cinnamon flavor and for just a few moments I was transported back in time, having that hot cereal with my siblings and mother.