I know, I know, Atkins emphasizes fresh ingredients, and I will continue to do that, but once in a while, I was hoping there was a place for using some of the products on the market. For instance, Brownies - has anyone tried the Dixie Carb Counters one carb brownie mix, or the Doctor's Carbrite diet chocolate chip brownie mix?

I know the Atkins chocolate chip breakfast bars are delicious from personal experience, but are they really okay to have?

Or, that Carbquick (supposed to be like Bisquick) mix?

Just looking for some good info - TIA to anyone who can help me out on this

Dixie Diner products are FULL of soy, so they can be a little, um...EWWW! But if you want an amazing brownie mix, my favorite one is the Flax-Z-Snax Elite Brownie Mix. I haven't tasted anything better than this for a low-carb brownie!

Atkins bars are okay, although the carb counts can be a little suspect. Just keep an eye on how your weight reacts to them if you do decide to use them.

CarbQuik is really an amazing product. I LOVE to use it in all kinds of recipes, which my recipe moderator LindaSue would be happy to talk to you about in that thread. Check out this Crumb Cake recipe made with CarbQuik! WOO HOO!

Does that answer your questions, Kelly? LOVE THAT AVATAR, BTW!!!

I used carbquik when I lost weight before. I loved it, the biscuits I made with it were out of this world and so were the cinnamon rolls. In fact, I just bought a huge stash for my pantry.

Thanks Jimmy and fatlongenough - I'll try the Carbquick (I love crumcake - can't wait to try it!!!!) and I'll find that
Flax-Z-Snax Elite Brownie Mix too - my DH LOVES brownies, and he drifts off lo-carb eating if I don't provide him with enough sweets to keep him satisfied.

and also - in case anyone else hasn't seen it yet - Jimmy's new youtube installment #4 discusses sweetners and has some product recommendations - somehow I missed it! - here's a link if anyone else needs it:

llvlc youtube episode #4

I've got a boatload of Carbquik in my cupboard but I've sort of lost interest in it lately. Not so much the Carbquik itself but low carb breads in general. I just don't miss real bread enough to bother. However, I do have a lot of yummy recipes using Carbquik on my site and I do like to make Carolyn's pancakes now and then.

As far as low carb products go, I tend to avoid them. I prefer to use whole foods in my recipes for the most part. The main focus of my site is to show that anyone can cook low carb dishes that the whole family will love without having to buy ingredients that aren't readily available in any grocery store. Having said that, I do like to experiment in the kitchen so I have and do use some low carb specialty products now and then.

Sure, I'll just have to dig through my cookbook pile.

As long as you're talking low-carb products, what does everyone use to replace the one-carb ketchup that no longer seems to be available in stores? Just curious - do you make your own or use another brand (don't say Walden Farms - bleh).

Thanks!
Patty

The new Heinz label looks something like this but it's still the same ketchup even though it no longer says "Low Carb". They're now calling it "Reduced Sugar".

Yeah, don't look for ANYTHING hardly to say "low-carb" anymore. You MUST read your labels and determine if something is low-carb on your own (which you should do with ANYTHING whether it says "low-carb" or not).

ewww Walden Farms. Now there's one that's no good. Half their stuff tastes so bland that by the time you're done doctoring it you could have made your own, and the other half tastes so artifical, you wonder if you should be putting on a salad or using it to strip paint!

Luckily the yummy ketchup has been no problem to find here. I didn't care for the Walden Farms ketchup, but today I saw that people liked their marshmellow cream and the caramel, so maybe it's hit or miss with their stuff.

Dreamfield's pasta is available at my local store. My DH eats it, so I make it, but I don't eat more than a couple of bites, because it just seems too good to be true. Does anyone have any experience with it? Can the carb count be trusted?

I'll have to try my luck with the recipe, because my store manager kind of chuckled when I asked about it. All they carry is "regular" or "organic" both with plenty of sugar.

QbnPatty - you can order the Heinz ketchup online. I know Netrition carries it and there are probably other places as well. Just another option.

I hated the marshmallow cream, real cream chese whipped with torani/davinci/artisan syrup taste better than that any day , and it's less expensive. (especially if it's the white chocolate syrup, with a spoonful of smuckers sugar free strawberry topping...yum )

Here's what other walden farns stuff I've tried
Their ranch bacon was okay for bieng a fat free dressing but, since I don't have to watch fat, I'd rather find a good low carb ranch.

Their honey mustard dressing: ewwwwww

Thousand Isaland dressing, and Asian ...so bland.Once again, why bother since I can put together a nice dressing myself

I've been checking out some of the low-carb products available on-line. The dixie diner mashed potatoes "classic" style were pretty good. I especially liked them when I mixed them with my mashed cauliflower faux-tatoes the next day. The flax-z-snax brownies are excellent. If your local store refuses to stock the low-carb ketchup, you can order it online. That's where I first located it, before I realized it was just down the street in my local store . I also tried the dixie diner cinnamon swirl roll mix. It was alright, but had some strange taste to it.
I've been looking for a decent protein bar, but they all seem to be sweetened with maltitol. Anyone out there find a good one?