You're welcome, Lori. Glad it was useful.

I like to use stevia because it is a natural, not artificial, sweetener. It has no carbs. 1/4 teaspoon is said to approximately equal the sweetening power of 1 cup sugar but I've found it varies depending on what you are using it in. The sweetness is not always as intense as a recipe seems to need (especially chocolate) so that's why I use the Spenda as well. Use whatever you have on hand and adjust the amount to taste. Just remember to count the carbs in the Splenda - in quantity they add up. By the way, do dissolve it in the cream before you add it to the chocolate, and if you warm the cream, the chocolate mixture will stay workable a little longer. Another trick is to make this just after you have roasted your almonds and they are still warm.

Because I started low-carbing using the Protein Power Plan, all my recipes show the Effective Carbohydrate Count which is the total carbs minus the indigestible fibre. It's a highly discussed concept - people who start with Atkins do not generally do this, although you will find that you can get a lot more vegetables in if you do. Fibre is important and we should try to get 20 grams a day - a tall order if you are trying to only eat 20 g. carbs.

Well, I made some almond clusters and you are so right, they are delicious and no "after effects" like the Ross chocolate bars and definitely cheaper (although Stevia is quite pricey - tk goodness you only use a little). I'm going to try slivered almonds next time I think, as I find the whole almonds a bit large to crunch through.

I also tried a banana bread recipe I found in one of the threads somewhere and it's pretty good, although doesn't even come close to the chocolate almond clusters.

While I'm talking about baking here, can anyone tell me if you can subsitute soya flour, powder and isolate for one another? I saw in one thread somwhere that the flour is less concentrated in terms of soy. Also, is there a difference in the carb count does anyone know?

TIA

Lori

I'm glad they turned out for you, Lori.

Stevia has been coming down in price since I started buying it. The first 20 g. jar I bought was priced at 17.13 and I could only get it at the specialty health food store. Now I can find it lots of places, and this time 28 g. cost me 12.99 less 20% =10.39. Let's hope the trend continues. It's really nice to be able to get something that has been used for decades without harm.
And yes, it will last for a long, long time!

A company in Toronto called Sweets Galore is the distributor for Ross's bars. He told me that the General Store in Barrie will be carrying them ... I'm waiting. Check in your phone book to see if you have The General Store and call them to inquire if they have any.

I'm going to call Sweets Galore to find out just when they will be in my area. They ARE good, I tried a free sample, you can too ... from www.torontodirect.com

Kay - I was laughing to myself when I was reading your post because it occured to me I NEVER complained about the cost of the carb junk food I ate before turning to this WOE. Puts it in perspective.

Norma - there's another online site to buy Ross chocolates at http://www.lowcarbdelights.com/ and they have a really good selection. There's shipping to pay of course, but I still found the total cost quite easy to live with (and it is chocolate afterall). I'm fortunate in that I can buy them at two stores here (in little ole Brandon, MB yet). Did you have any problems with the side effects of the Maltitol when you had the sample by the way? (Discussion about this earlier on in the thread)

Cheers,

Lori

Thank you for posting this info,

I got my order from Canada today (to southern California).

I tried the sampler pack, one each of 10 flavors for about $15.

They are really great Belgian flavored chocolates. I tried the raspberry and loved it. I can't wait to try the rest of them.

We're going on vacation next month to northern Montana and I told my hubby we have to go into Canada and ship some of these home.

Thanks again,
Carmen

Herodl, no I haven't had any of the unpleasant effects from the sample.

Normally I make my own chocolate treats using cream cheese, unsweetened chocolate, Splenda, pecan pieces and unsweetened coconut (some other ingredients too I think, perhaps vanilla ...). They're great! I put them in those little tinfoil cups and refrigerate. Yummy!

I don't want to order online ... what I want is to be able to go into a store and buy ONE chocolate bar. I don't like to have to buy more than I want at that particular moment and of course I refuse to pay shipping charges. I'm a weird consumer I know.

Hi Lori,

I got so ill last night. I tried several new items in my diet yesterday and am not sure what caused this. Can you refer me to the post you were speaking about re: Maltitol?

Thanks,
Carmen

Hi Carmen:

Doreen has a really good article on sugar alcohols here: http://www.lowcarb.ca/tips/tips010.html. Some people just get gas and bloating if they eat too much Maltitol (me), while others report having dizziness, extreme fatigue and/or a sense of euphoria, diarrhea, etc. It depends on your own physiology and on how much you eat. The discussion about side effects is earlier in this thread so if you just scroll back to around Aug 9th, it starts with a post by Kay.

Sorry to hear you weren't well yesterday and hope you're back on track healthwise today.

Cheers,

Lori

Hi Norma June:

I understand completely your wanting to go into a store and buy one chocolate bar. Although it's getting better, good tasting LC convenience products are few and far between, and those there are can tend to be hard on the wallet. I still can't believe my luck that there are two stores here in my little city of 40,000 that sell Ross chocolates.

I'm a reluctant cook at best, but it's the only way you can manage to stave off boredom with LC eating I'm finding. I'm starting to try a few recipes and am not too unhappy about being in the kitchen so far. I have to say that I do daydream though about a restaurant that serves high quality, inexpensive, great tasting LC food LOL.

Regards,

Lori

Ross Chocolates are the absolute best!!! Only a few carbs per bar. The mint ones are my favourite. I don't like dark chocolate, but if you do you're in luck because the dark chocolate bar has only 1 carb!

Canadian $$ site: http://www.lowcarbdelights.com
US $$ site: http://www.lowcarbchocolates.com

As a new member with only 7 postings... you might not have taken the time to look around in this Products forum yet. Welcome!

Yep, the Ross chocolate bars are a favourite for taste and texture, but the carb counts are NOT accurate. The same goes for all the chocolate made with sugar alcohols. Use the Hidden Carb Inspector (see the Menu Bar above, click on Tools) and enjoy with knowledge and caution...

yours... Products Forum Moderator

I had the Hard Candies they put out, ate 2 of them, and had horrible GI effects. I also broke out in a itchy rash. I threw everything out

Does anyone know what the website, phone number, e-mail address of Ross Chocolates is? I've looked everywhere on the web. I read in one post they are in Kamloops BC but I couldn't find them. Help!

Please email mwmurphyx~yahoo.com

For some reason the '~' symbol is showing up in my e-mail address, so when you e-mail me please make sure to put the 'at' symbol, same as any other e-mail address. Thanks!

Don't worry about the at-sign being replaced by a 'tilde' (that's what the ~ is called); it's a security measure on this website to prevent your email address and everybody else's too from being being scooped up by spammers. They actually use software that 'spiders' all over the internet scooping up email address to send those dizguzting Meet Singles Now In Your Area!! type emails too... so it's a good thing, the little tilde.

Nobody really needs to email you directly, you should be automatically getting a notification that someone has responded to this post about the bars, then you get to come back here and read all about it!

Also, I'm guessing you're new here. I can tell you a bit more about the Ross Chocolate Bars.

Firstly, the maker/manufacturer doesn't publish to a website, doesn't have email or an 800 number because he doesn't retail. He can barely keep up with the wholesale, from the looks of things. Some of the bars have an address on them, it's basically a postal box, out of CHASE, BC (not that far from Kamloops, actually).

Maybe I can help you? What did you want to know?

sig: LowCarb Products Forum Moderator