Need suggestions...

[wolffie]

Need some suggestions. What can I substitute in the place of flour when thickening a sauce?

Also, what is a good sugar substitute for coffee??:D

[r.mines]

Xanthan gum and Splenda, respectively.

Xanthan gum is a vegetable gum that you can buy in a health food store or specialty store. It is, I believe, 100% fibre, and even if you do absorb some of the carbs in it, you use such tiny amounts it doesn't matter. 1/4 tsp thickens about a cup of liquid. Mix it with a bit of oil first, then add it to the liquid (or it goes all clumpy). It won't thicken exactly like flour; your sauce will end up more like a cornstarch-thickened one. Xanthan gum has no flavour. Another vegetable gum is guar gum, which I believe works about the same as xanthan gum, though I've never used it.

The best sugar substitute, in my opinion, is Splenda. Or you can try cutting out sweeteners in coffee altogether. I used to use sugar, but when I started low-carb I just cut it out; now I drink coffee black or with cream only, and I don't miss the sweet taste.

Rachel

[Kay]

Here are a couple of threads that might help you.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16304&highlight=stevia
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15037&highlight=guar+gum

[wolffie]

Thanks for the suggestions - will put them into use immediately!:cool:

[Sharon]

Here's another link using ground flax seed that Doreen's had success using. I haven't tried it yet, but plan too.

http://www.lowcarber.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3664