[Staceyy]

Shortly after attending culinary school to become a pastry chef, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I was devastated as I absolutely loved to bake and loved to eat sweets. I experimented with a lot of artificial sweeteners and was mainly disappointed with the results. I still continue to experiment and have had some successes also which I would like to share with you.

I make my own low carb flours which I use to prepare pancakes, waffles and muffins. I keep the following on hand at all times: white flour, wholewheat flour, soy flour, whole almonds and, old fashioned oats.

If I'm making muffins, I will follow a traditional recipe that we'll say calls for 3 cups flour. I will look at my flours and might decide to mix 1 cup white flour, 1 cup wholewheat flour, and
1 c soy flour together. Sometimes I will use all wholewheat flour or any mixture I decide on. I will sometimes grind almonds to make almond flour or oats to make oat flour. I caution you not to use soy flour in your waffle or pancake batters as it tends to stick too much to the griddles. I have not as yet tried my combination flours in cookies, cakes or piecrusts.

If a recipe calls for oil, I will use canola oil.

I am not a big fan of putting artificial sweeteners in most baked goods as it alters the texture and flavors too much and makes things stick to the pan. When baking cakes or muffins therefore, I prefer to cut down on the amount of sugar rather than add all artificial sweetener or even a combination of sweetener and sugar. Yesterday for instance, I baked a large batch of muffins Amish Raisin Bran Muffins that called for 3 cups of sugar. The recipe makes 6 dozen muffins. I reduced the sugar to 1 cup of sugar with very satisfactory results.

I've found a combination of half sugar and half Splenda does work well in Sweet Potato and Pumpkin pies. This also will work well in baked bread and rice puddings (I use brown rice) and in baked custards. I also use half sugar and half Splenda when I bake pies such as apple, pineapple, peach and berry. These pies taste pretty much the same as if I had used all sugar.

So I basically mix my flours, use canola oil, and reduce sugar or mix sugar and sweetener together (usually half and half) I do this with just about any standard recipe. And the results are pretty much the same and even sometimes better.

I'm still experimenting, and from time to time will post some of my other results but I hope these tips will help. I am committed to making superior low carb products for my husband (who has also just been diagnosed with diabetes) and my family.

[princesslinda]

Stacey, I'd love to see your recipes....i've baked with Splenda a few times, with great disappointment in both taste and texture. Also, have your figured carbs/serving on your recipes? That would be helpful. I've never tried the alternative flours...but would love to if I had the appropriate recipes.

[CaptainMike]

I have been cutting organic whole wheat flour recipes with flax meal, it has loads of fiber and is the best plant source of Omega 3's, and the taste is not bad, so far I've only used it in muffins, pancakes and bread. depending on the amount you use you can cut the carbs and increase the fiber by 20-30%. Worth trying anyway.
Cheers,
Mike

[rzrbks]

I gotta admit, I'm the lazy sort.

When I do any baking, I just make the recipe as described and just bolus to cover it.

[Staceyy]

No, I have not counted the carbs. I will start to post some of my recipes. You do not need appropriate recipes to do this, just use any standard recipe.

[Chris Graham]

Good stuff...thanks for the post. I am planning on making banana bread this week. Any suggestions?

[Staceyy]

It just so happens, I'm making banana bread tomorrow. I'll get back with you to let you know my results.

[Staceyy]

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 c soy flour
1 1/2 c white flour
6 tsp baking soda
1 c sugar
3 tsp salt
4 c buttermilk
4 eggs beaten
1 c canola oil
10 oz box raisin bran flakes

The original directions simply say mix all together. I mixed together all dry ingredients incluidng bran flakes. I then added all wet ingredients and mixed quickly. Do not overmix. Dough will keep in refrigerator for 6 weeks. I baked all at one time and put in the freezer. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 to 15 mins or until done.

The original recipe called for 5 c white flour, any type of oil and 3 c sugar. It also said you could add extra raisins which I did not. I was very pleased with the results. Please keep in mind that you can use your judgment as to what flours to use and in what proportion to mix them. I baked my muffins at 375 degrees.

I'd like to add that King Arthur Flour now has a white whole wheat flour that has all the fiber and nutrition as traditional whole wheat flour. If you prefer not to mix your own flours, this is a good alternative.

[Staceyy]

Best Banana Bread

1 c oat flour (rolled oats powdered in food processor or blender)
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c toasted pecans or walnuts chopped
3 very ripe bananas mashed (about 1 1/2 c)
1/4 c plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 T canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Grease bottom only of loaf pan. Combine dry ingredients. In separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Lightly fold wet ingredients into dry with spatula just until combined. Bake about 55 mins. Cool 5 minutes and invert. Store in refrigerator 4 days or counter 2 days.

The original recipe for this banana bread was found on RecipeZaar.com. It called for 2 c all purpose white flour, 3/4 c sugar, and 6 T melted butter. I'm posting the recipe here as I was pleased with the results of my conversion.

[sixuntilme]

EXCELLENT thread here. My being a type 1 diabetic and my fiance being a complete fitness freak, anything that's sweet to eat but easy(ish) to navigate sounds good to me. Keep those recipes coming!

[Imperatrix]

Stacey, this is an incredible thread. I was a sous-chef for years, but I'm a really terrible baker...and for me to attempt diabetic-friendly baking recipes was even more intimidating to me than regular baking.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for these recipes! I was craving muffins earlier today, I swear. Please post more!

[Staceyy]

Thank you, I'm pleased you are enjoying this thread. The few people I shared my style of baking with felt it was less intimidating and produced a much better product. I'm going to share with you a few more breakfast recipes in my next post. Before I became ill, I had developed my own line of what I felt to be superior bakery products. I was devastated when I was diagnosed with diabetes and felt I had to scrap my plans of ever opening a bakery. I had been collecting recipes and devising my own line of products for years. My mother died of complications from diabetes several years before my diagnosis, as had several members of my extended family. I felt it was best for me to bow out of the race (bakery) at this point. So I dropped out of culinary school and went through a period of depression. Then I started developing a line of lower carb products for my own use. Last week my dh was diagnosed with diabetes and he loves sweets also. So now I'm even more determined to convert more and more recipes.

The line of products I originally devised are not low carb so I will have to now take the time to convert them. These recipes consist of high end gourmet pies, cakes, and cookies. I've put this on the back shelf for now as presently, most of my time is being devoted to learning to vegetable garden so I can produce my own organic low carb vegetables. But I am happy to be able to share my style of baking and these recipes with you.

My hopes are that some of you will also start to convert your recipes and we can all share in the results. To get started I would suggest you begin with converting your family favorites or go to All recipes – complete resource for recipes and cooking tips or Welcome to Diana's Desserts | DianasDesserts.com and look around. In the search box type in what you are looking for such as "peanut butter cookies" or" pound cake". I recommend these sites as they have great recipes and many of them are rated. When you are learning to convert you'll only want to select recipes that are the highest rated. This will give you the best chance at good results. Please convert and share your results with us. It is very easy to do. Once you start working with the different flours you'll develope a sense of what flours would be best for your products and taste buds. For instance, soy flour has what I consider to be a little " oniony" smell and taste so you would not want to use it in a delicate tasting recipe. Some flours are more "grainy" then others so if you don't like the grainier taste you will avoid these or dilute the grain by mixing with another type of flour.

Later I will share additional tips such as how to convert eggs to incorporate less yolks and more egg whites, how to convert milk and dairy products etc.

I'm really glad I can be of service and that my education thus far has not been totally wasted.

[Staceyy]

Oatmeal Muffins

1 c buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 c canola oil
1 c rolled oats
1/2 c soy flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c raisins (optional)

In small bow, combine buttermilk, egg and oil. In separate larger bowl combine rest of ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add to this the wet ingredients. Stir or whisk together quickly just until combined. Do not overmix. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 mins or until done. Makes 1 dozen.

The original recipe called for white flour, vegetable oil, 1/2 c brown sugar and 1 c raisins

[Staceyy]

2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 T Splenda
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 c buttermilk or sour milk or combination of the two
1 T vanilla
2 T canola oil

In large bowl combine dry ingredients, In separate smaller bowl combine wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk just until mixed.

Do not use soy flour in this recipe as it will stick to the griddle.

I'm sorry but I no longer have the original recipe that inspired these waffles. I sometimes will mix 1 c whole wheat flour and 1 c white all purpose flour to make these. I have not tried yet but would not hesitate to use oat flour mixed with half whole wheat flour in this recipe. This recipe does not raise my blood sugar. I love this recipe!

[Staceyy]

1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
2 T canola oil

Sift the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined. Do not overmix. Do not double this recipe. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle or skillet that contains a small amount of heated oil. Serve with sugar free syrup.

The original recipe called for white flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 T melted butter. I sometimes will mix 1/2 c white flour and 1/2 c whole wheat flour to make these. The original recipe cautioned not to try to double this recipe but to make additional batches if needed. I have not tried to double the recipe. Do not try to use soy flour in this recipe as the pancakes will stick.

My oatmeal pancake recipe can be found on the Pancake thread in the recipe section of this site.