I’ve been finding amazing-looking recipes on YouTube for things like mug cakes and pizza crust, substituting almond flour for regular, and even a cream cheese icing for the mug cakes, using confectioner’s sweetener. It’s all the rage in Keto-land, albeit rather expensive - if I can have cake once in a while (I ADORE cake, any kind!), I’m all about that - and I’ve read that it’s good for pancakes as well...LAWD, I miss pancakes!!
What can I say, I love my sweets - and a cake in a mug beats no… read more
I use almond flour and coconut flour (because I like coconut) in "pastry" recipes. So to make a crust for cheese cake or butter tarts (made with Swerve brown sugar of course).
But for anything that you typically want the (product) to rise or at least rise a little - biscuits, rolls, pancakes/waffles I now only use Carb-Quik. It's made with something called carbalose (spelling?) flour. It is the the mega-high-fiber version of Bisquick (despite being in almost exactly the same box they do not seem to be associated).
The gross carbs in a cup of the stuff is just on 48 carbs, just like real flour, but the excellent part is that 42 of those carbs are fiber so you only net 6 carbs per "cup" of flour that tastes like real flour.
Oh and I buy my Erythritol sweeteners online via amazon for me it does not raise my sugar much. I also make my breads and banana (it is banana extract not real ones) breads with almond flour from another cookbook I bought for breads. mug cakes I have done the carrot one from my breakfast book and there is a hot cereal recipe with chia and hulled hemp.
I bake a lot with almond flour. I make pancakes, muffins, donuts, scones. I bought a breakfast Keto cookbook and chose the recipes which you can freeze, so when I do cook I make a few batches and freeze them, just thaw in microwave. Almond flour needs to be in fridge once opened, so i put in a Ziplock bag. I buy my almond flour from Costco as they sell a 2 pack for almost same price as 1 from other stores. I order online and they deliver, but I have seen it in their warehouse, but not the 2 pack, that is only online.
Yes some recipes like the scones call for maple extract, others vanilla or banana extract, it really is amazing. Any food you eat will cause sugar levels to go up in the first 2 hrs, then go back down, but it does not spike mine more then in the 7's, depending what my pre eating was, been a while since I baked though, but Arm loves the scones with maple extract, and he loves the egg free chocolate muffins made with sour cream instead. You would have to test your sugar levels before and after and try a few recipes, because it does not spike me, does not mean it will not spike someone else. I also use almond milk as most recipes call for this also. I use lactose free margarine but I tried the scones with butter and not much difference in the taste. Not used to buying butter here lol. Swerve makes a good brown sugar which we use in the hot cereal, even Arm loves it and he is a fussy eater when it comes to artificial sweetener. Erythritol he likes though. The chocolate donut were a favorite also. Man I so need to start baking again.
Yeah the true Keto diet of only 20 Carbs did not go well with me either, I eat close to 100 Net Carbs, modified it to what I tolerate, just those foods cause less issues for me GI wise with the Gastroparesis, which the diet differs a lot from Diabetes diet, I use the recipes that are Keto also for my RA as they reduces inflammation as for the 1st time in 40 yrs my inflammatory markers are normal, so for me Keto foods (not diet) is what controls those 3 conditions, it is not because it works for me that it will for everyone.
Also Keto is short for Ketosis and not Ketoacidosis or DKA. Ketosis your sugar levels go down, Ketoacidosis is when your sugar levels go extremely high which in turn you have to go to ER to treat the high numbers, DKA can cause diabetic coma if left untreated. People with type 1 diabetes are more prone to DKA and Keto diet is not good for them, but it is suppose to be safe for Type 2 diabetes as long as your sugar levels are well managed.
Because of my Gastroparesis the diet is different from Diabetes diet (same goes for people with renal failure the diet is different from diabetes diet). Diabetes you are recommended to not eat white breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, as for Gastroparesis you cannot eat high fiber such as brown rice, brown bread, non white pasta, so it gets hard to manage both conditions. Which is probably why Keto diet works good for me as it is low fiber, low carbs and I bake with almond flour and almond milk to compensate for the 2 diets clashing.
So Keto is not for everyone, but for someone like me with 2 conditions which the diets are different it helps us. As I stated the true Keto diet is 20 Carbs per day, as per Endo at first he was worried, but when I stated I modified it to 75 to 100 Carbs he agreed, it is the 20 Carbs he was worried about as yes this can be dangerous for diabetics, he does not yet know I have been diagnosed with Gastroparesis as I got diagnosed after he had called me, but he OK'd the 75 to 100 Carbs and he is the one who told me to eat lower Carbs in the morning and keep higher Carbs supper and late evening snack 2 hrs before bedtime to prevent hypos overnight and to help reduce morning sugars with lower Carbs in the morning. I am not on Keto to lose wt but to regulate my sugar levels.