hey everyone,
just wanted to share some info with anyone who is interested in getting atkins brand products in OZ. i have a friend who works at our local GNC health food store, so she keeps me posted on what Atkins stock is coming in. she said in the next few weeks that they will be getting atkins low-carb pastas and cereals. the atkins stock they currently have is quite pricey, but occasionally i find that it is nice to spoil yourself with low carb alternatives to foods you may be missing.

these are the products that my local GNC currently stocks, i'll give my opinion on the things i have tried along with the prices. if you would like any more info, feel free to ask!

Atkins Morning Start Breakfast Bars (2 net g carbs): 2 flavours currently (apple crisp and cinnamon bun). Box of 5 $21.95. Don't gasp at the price, expensive I know! but i have tried both flavours and for me they are worth it I have 1 bar a week as a treat so it's about $4 per serving. they haven't caused me any problems with stalling etc. so if you are needing a muesli-type bar to keep with you for emergencies give it a try. the apple crisp has a crunchy texture and is very filling and the cinnamon bun reminds me of cinnamon doughnuts. for a treat these are definitely a must!

Atkins Advantage bars (net carbs 2 to 3g depending on the flavour): Choc Decadence, Peanut Butter, Cookies and Cream, Choc Brownie and Pralines and Cream. $6.95 each. These are larger than the breakfast bars and also more filling but i don't think that the price can be justified. i have tried them all and the only one that i liked was the Peanut Butter, I cut it into 4 pieces and wrapped them in glad wrap and kept them for an occasional treat, but i don't think i'll be buying them again.

Atkins SF Syrups ( less than 1g carbs per 100g): $12.95 I can't remember how big the bottle was, check the atkins website for how many ml. Vanilla or Chocolate at the moment. I tried the vanilla it was very sweet and a little thin in its consistency. I'm getting the Da Vinci ones next time.

Atkins Sauces and Marinades(1 to 2g carbs per 100g): $12.95 bottle about the same size as a medium tomato sauce bottle. Teriyaki, Barbecue, Steak Sauce, Tomato Ketchup. I've tried all except the Teriyaki, I didn't like the Barbecue at all but the others were ok. i only use a tinny amount because they cost so much. overall i think i'd only buy the tomato again.

Peanut butter cups (2g carbs for 3 cups): $4.95 for I packet (3 cups-1 serving) These are very nice, but again very expensive!

Chocolate Wafers (4 grams carbs for 2 wafers): $4.95 for each pack, which is 2 wafers, a little bigger than a small kit kat. but boy are these yummy. I had 1 wafer as a treat (2 carbs and $2) very expensive but again worth it as a treat!

Well now I'm going to list the other atkins brand products they stock, i don’t have the prices but i can find out if anyone is interested.

Atkins Bake Mix (I prefer to make my own, ask me how if your interested)
Brownie Mix
Pancake Mix
Bread Mix
Ready to Drink Shakes
Shake Powder

overall most products are very pricey, but keep in mind all the shipping costs that you would have to pay if you ordered them yourself over the net. there is no way that i could afford to buy these products very often, but i'm glad that i can get them as an alternative on the odd occasion. has anyone else tried any of the atkins products?

well that’s my contribution
talk to you soon
susie

thanks for all that info. i am interested that they are brining in the pasta, but i have heard on US forums that it tastes awful so we'll have to see i guess. i wish it weren't so expensive though. most of these products are pricey more because of the tax they have to pay due to our quarantine laws.

Hey, I just finished off a $6.95 Cookies and Creme Advantage Bar that my fiancee bought me to try.

It was yumm, and only 2 gramms of carbs.

I sometimes feel that we need to get away from things like imiation candy, because thats not what this WOL is all about.

The price is disgusting! Maybe China will catch the low carb bug, and we can import the stuff from there!

Dave

Regarding your comments on the Atkins syrup being too sweet and a little thin on the consistency side....you'll find the DaVinci syrups are thin too. They have the consistency of water and are best mixed in with things. I couldn't imagine pouring them on pancakes or anything....they'd make them too soggy. The only time I use them 'neat' is on my porridge.
I'm sort of glad I don't have access to any of these Atkins products because then I wouldn't have had to make my own stuff. Once you eat homemade (protein bars, muffins, shakes, sauces etc.) any low carb product that you buy tastes like c**p! (exceptions to Empower products which I think are great).

hey zedgirl
i totally agree. the more homemade recipes i try, the more i realise what a waste of money a lot of the commercial low carb products are! still i'm glad i've tried some of them just to know i'm not missing out on much...

and dave like you said candy etc. isn't what this WOE is about, but it's still nice to know that you can have a little taste of something you miss without having to cheat even if it costs you and arm and a leg!!!

with the empower products, did you order them on the net?

thanks for your input guys
susie

You can buy Empower products from Health Food Stores. I've bought the FibreX porridge, Choc Rush Muffin mix, satay sauce, tomato sauce and almond cookie mix and liked them all. The trouble is they're too expensive for my liking so I've worked out my own recipes for FibreX, Choc Rush muffins and satay sauce. The only product I buy now is the tomato sauce and I don't bother with the cookie mix....nothing low carb comes close enough to real biscuits in my opinion.

I was living in Houston for a while earlier this year and have tried
a lot of the different atkins products. I have to say, the price is
a lot less then half the price we are charged for them here.

My husband works for a Houston company and is going over again
this week so he will stock up on bars, mixes etc and bring back
for me.

JoP

JoP

If I ever get the chance to buy any of these products, which ones do you recommend and which ones can you bring back through customs?

Zedgirl, I bought quite a few things back with me and declared
them all and showed them to customs and they said they were all
fine.

The ready made or powder shakes are great, but need to be very
cold. The bar taste good as do the breakfast bars. I find the
breakfast bars to be just the right size and break the bigger
bars in half.

The chocolates are great for a treat. Baking and bread mix is good
although I'd give a miss to the pancake and pizza mix...yuck!

the syrups and sauces are runny but not too bad.

You can also get wonderful tasting low carb bread and torteas (sp)

JoP

Hi Zedgirl
Could you share your receipe for the Satay Sauce Mix? I've just bought a bottle ($6.30) and can't see myself purchasing that too often.
Cheers
Pam

Hi Pamlyn

Actually my DH is the satay specialist and he doesn’t use a recipe….he just makes it up as he goes along. But as a rough guide he uses approx 1/3 cup peanut butter (no added sugar or salt), 2/3 cup water??, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 3 cloves garlic (minced) and chilli (minced) to taste. If you look on the Empower bottle you’ll see that the ingredients are just about the same but he doesn’t add the Splenda. I think it tastes better without sweetener. Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for about a minute then just add more water if necessary and cook further ‘til you get it to the required consistency. This makes enough for about 4-6 serves I think.
Now you’ll probably want to change the proportions to make it lower carb as ours is quite thick and rich whereas I know that the Empower sauce is very thin and runny. It’s very much a case of trial and error to get it how you like it. By my calculations it works out to about 20g carbs for the entire recipe as I've described it.

HTH

JoP

Thanks for that info. I can't wait to do some low carb shopping/browsing next time I go to the US. I'd love to see a low carb tortilla or pita bread come on the market here. I couldn't imagine trying to bring a packet of those back from the US.