My first Netrition order

If you haven't heard of netrition.com yet, you aren't alone.
When I first declared I was going low carb, my mom's friend called me up, super excited to share her tips and tricks.
One of the things she told me about was netrition.com.  She told me about all the wonderful low carb items I could find.
Really, go check it out, who knew there were so many low carb foods out there?  Ccertainly not my local grocery store!

So, I tucked the info away, but it's taken roughly 5 months for me to finally place an order.

Today that first order arrived, and I am super excited to try this stuff, and share what I think.

Here is a run down of what my order contained.

Carbquick is one of the things Sheila told me about. Carbquick is supposed to be similar to Bisquick.

Swerve- If you have been looking for treats on the net, you have likely come across swerve as a common ingredient.  The grocery stores in my area do not carry it, but it seems quite popular.  However, I picked this particular one because it is of the confectioners sugar variety.  If Splenda does that, I've never seen it.  I am really tempted to try it in my very favorite cream cheese frosting recipe first though.  :)
Today at least, Swerve also appears to be $2 off the price I paid, go figure.

Pizza Crust by Great Low Carb Company- This is the one I am most disappointed with right off the bat.  No ones fault but my own.  I misread the description and didn't realize it only came with ONE crust.  At $7.99 each this better be damn good.
The good news is each 9" crust only has 2 net carbs.

Low Carb Bread Mix- Okay, this is brought to you by Bob's Red Mill.  Apparently, I can toss it into my bread maker.  Which means that super fancy bread maker I talked my husband into getting me, no longer has to stay hidden in the pantry.
I myself have moved beyond bread, amazingly.  It and popcorn have been the two things I've missed most since going LC. (I do totally steal popcorn from my kids at the movies still.)
My kids however would go through a loaf a day.  They are kids, and I want them to be kids, but I also feel strongly that they are better off with out a high carb diet as well.  Sugar kills, there is no age limit.
So, I really hope they dig this for their cinnamon toast and PB&J.

Carb Counters Angel Food Puffs- I picked these on a whim, they had great reviews, and I love angel food cake, they were a price that wouldn't break the bank. (*ahem* Unlike some pizza crust mentioned above.)  I think I might whip them up for Mother's Day.  My kids typically are the berry eaters, but every once in a while I have a few too.  These will be perfect, I do believe!

Guy's Award Winning Sugar Free BBQ Sauce- Highly probable bbq chicken is on the menu tomorrow! Hopefully their will also be leftovers to go atop that single pizza crust.  :)  I got both hot and original.  I am really looking forward to trying these.  One of our favorite splurges on a weekend is to order just pulled pork from Good Wood BBQ, now we have a better option than the sugary BBQ sauce they offer.

Low Carb Marshmallows- That's right MARSHMALLOWS!  My kids think marshmallows are a must in their Diet Swiss Miss.  Now we can skip the sugar there too!  Don't tell them, but I also got the Belgium Chocolate ones for me.  Mama needs a treat too!

And last, but not least, Sugar-Free Chocolate chips- I have been dying to try Against All Grain's Paleo Chocolate chip cookies, I have gathered all the indigence except that I wanted these for them.  Now that they are here, I plan to try them out tomorrow.  D can help, he is working on measurements for math tomorrow anyway, so expect a report back on that very soon!

Low Carb High Fat Key Lime Cheesecake

I borrowed this picture from the web because I couldn't find one of my own.  Take a picture of this treat the next time I make it, is now on my to do list!

Lets get started with one of my very favorite recipes.  This one comes from Genaw.com. (you can find the nutrition facts there.)

LOWCARBREDHEAD'S REAL KEY LIME CHEESECAKE
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (you'll need 2 large limes)
1 packet unflavored gelatin
2 cups granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
2 eggs, beaten
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla, optional
1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest (from about 1/2 lime)
1 cup heavy cream

Cookie Crust (optional):
1 batch Butter Cookies, crushed to make crumbs *
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Topping (optional and not included in the counts):
1/2 cup heavy cream
Sweetener to taste

Prepare the crust first, if using. Mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter; pat firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Put in the freezer until the filling is ready to put into the crust.

Put the lime juice in a 1-quart saucepan; sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the surface of the juice. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Whisk in the sweetener and eggs. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thickened or just until it starts to bubble. It won't get thick like pudding and you shouldn't boil the gelatin.

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Pour in the hot juice mixture and beat until well blended and smooth. Beat in the lime zest. Chill 45 minutes or until cool and thick.

In a medium bowl, beat 1 cup heavy cream until stiff. Fold into the cooled lime mixture. Spread in the prepared crust or in a greased 9-inch pie plate. Chill at least 2 hours. Garnish the top with the sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 8 servings

* One batch of Butter Cookies equals about 1 cup of crumbs.


This is a winner in my house, with the kids and with the husband.
When I don't have limes I use Key Lime Juice, I really don't notice enough difference to buy, zest, and squeeze limes, unless I am feeling fancy.  However, if that works for you, go for it.  :)

As for the crust.

BUTTER COOKIES 
3 ounces almond flour (3/4 cup )
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg white

Mix all of the ingredients well in a small bowl. Everything should be moist and the dough should hold together. Freeze about 15-20 minutes to firm up the dough. Drop the dough by teaspoons onto a parchment or silicone lined 12x17" baking sheet. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. I used a 1 teaspoon cookie scoop and skipped the rolling into a ball step. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and take a baking powder can, that has about an 1/8" rim around the bottom, and press down firmly over each ball of dough. Be sure to press all the way down to the baking sheet. Peel off the plastic wrap and discard. Prick the cookies with a fork.

Bake at 325º for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes about 20 cookies
Can be frozen

* These aren't as sweet as sugar cookies and remind me of the butter cookies my Grandma used to make. You may want to add the 3rd tablespoon of Splenda if you prefer a sweeter cookie. The carb counts were so close whether I used 2 or 3 tablespoons of granular Splenda or liquid Splenda that I decided to go ahead and use the counts for the sweeter, granular Splenda version. Unless you eat the whole batch, you'll only be saving about half a carb or so if you use liquid Splenda.

Personally, I have never made these before hand.  For my crust I mix up a batch and then press it into a pie pan and bake.  It's helpful when you do remember to do this early enough in advance it can cool before you add the cheese cake portion in.
I also am sure it would be helpful to butter the dish before, but I always forget this step and have it stick some.  Maybe next time...