Guilt-free holiday treats
Renee Blackstone, The Province

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Wednesday, December 10, 2003

Karen Barnaby offers delicious low-carb holiday treats that are easy on the waistline.

Fish House Executive Chef Karen Barnaby can look a sugar-laden truffle straight in the eye without blinking -- or biting. She can heft a loaf of fresh gourmet bread without wanting to tear off a hunk. And she can spend all day around pasta, potatoes and other high-carb foods without craving a single morsel.

Barnaby has been a low-carb eater for four years now, losing 70 pounds in the process. She says she "feels better than I did in my 30s!"

The veteran low-carber has this advice for those who find themselves losing resistance to a sugary holiday treat: "Play the tape all the way through . . . It won't be just one. You'll feel awful. You'll beat yourself up about it. You'll wake up in January and wonder, how did this happen?"

Another way to get over the holiday hurdle is to indulge in a few low-carb sweets. Barnaby uses plain whey protein isolate (found at health-food and sport-nutrition stores), ground almonds (most bulk-food sections carry them), oat flour (grind rolled oats -- not instant -- in a processor or coffee grinder) and the sugar substitutes Splenda (sucralose) and Sugar Twin (cyclamates) to replace high-carb flour and sugar in the following recipes. Use both types of sweeteners, she says, because they work "synergistically" to require less total sweetener than if just one of them is used. Use the "measures like sugar" kinds.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PECAN BARS

Crust:

11/2 cups ground almonds
2 tbsps. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsps. Splenda
2 tsps. white Canadian Sugar Twin
2 tbsps. unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg white

Filling:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup plain whey protein isolate
1 tbsp. Splenda
1 tbsp. white Canadian Sugar Twin
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2/3 cup whipping cream, warmed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure caramel extract
1/4 cup roasted almond butter
1 cup pecan pieces
Topping:

1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tbsps. Splenda
2 tbsps. white Canadian Sugar Twin
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbsps. unsalted butter
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

To make the crust, combine the almond meal, cocoa, sweeteners and salt. Add the melted butter and work it in with your fingertips. Whisk egg white until foamy (about one minute) and mix it into the almond mixture. Press into a 9 x 9-inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack and let cool completely.

To make filling, in a small frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat until it starts to turn a rich, golden brown. Remove from the heat.

Combine the whey protein, sweetener and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the whipping cream to the whey protein mixture. Blend until smooth. Add the almond butter and blend again until smooth. Add the butter and blend until smooth once more. Add the pecans and pulse once or twice, only to combine. Pour over the top of the crust and spread out smoothly.

For the topping, bring the whipping cream and sweeteners to a boil. Add the chocolate and remove from the heat. Stir until smooth. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Spread evenly over the caramel topping and refrigerate until firm. Cut into 32 squares and keep refrigerated.

Makes 32 pieces; 1.8g carbohydrate each.

MAPLE WALNUT SANDIES

Leave out the walnuts and maple extract for a plain almond shortbread-type cookie with 2g carbohydrates each.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tbsps. Splenda
2 tbsps. white Canadian Sugar Twin
1 tsp. pure maple extract
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
2 tbsps. oat flour
2 tbsps. plain whey protein isolate
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 300° F. Cream butter until smooth. Beat in sweeteners and extracts. Whisk ground almonds, oat flour, whey protein, baking powder, salt and walnuts together until evenly combined. Stir into the butter mixture until blended. Drop by level tablespoons on a parchment lined cookie sheet, two inches apart. With oiled finger tips, flatten the cookies out to 1/4-inch thickness. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool. Store refrigerated and tightly covered between layers of waxed paper. Makes 16 cookies; 2.25g carbohydrate each.