In my recent tell all interview I was asked whether there was anything I really missed eating now that I follow the Sweet Poison Quit Plan.
Hmmmm. *Thinking*
"No. I really don't crave for anything sweet".
Just hours after the interview the question was still tumbling around in my head.
In bed that night the question was keeping me awake.
Yes OK, I confess. When I first started my sugar detox I really missed chocolate (even more than snakes) and after a month or so I still had fond memories of the way it coats your tongue with its silky, seductive, creamy, chocolate flavour.
(refer to one of my earlier posts Goodbye My Precious)
(refer to one of my earlier posts Goodbye My Precious)
Mmmmmmm. What's not to love about a chocolatey, sugary chunk of fat? *drool*
GRRRRRRRR!
Now go to sleep and make sure to send an update email to the reporter confessing this important revelation.
We don't want you to lose anymore sleep!
We don't want you to lose anymore sleep!
My secret chocolate confession doesn't change the fact that 6 months in I REALLY don't crave sweets (not even chocolate) and the whole exercise led me to ponder that giving up chocolate as part of the Sweet Poison Quit Plan might be a deal breaker for some.
It actually was for my daughter Suzanne.
This got me to thinking.
There must be lots of people out there that don't consider the Quit Plan because they simply cannot imagine that life is worth living without chocolate.
David is often asked the chocolate question and he is consistently dishing out this dirt to his followers when they ecstatically share their "Sugarless" chocolate bar finds in the supermarket or health food shop. His standard response is to give them the bad news that the sugar alcohol in such bars is probably worse than sugar as far as your liver is concerned. He then refers them to this website in Germany.
Where you can purchase this at a price that might put you off the idea of chocolate once and for all.
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| Fructose Free Chocolate |
I have searched (and searched) the Internet unsuccessfully trying to find more fructose free chocolate and concluded that the only thing left to do was try to make some of my own. Then I would be able to share the idea with everyone and before you know it the whole world would be fructose free and I would be the next recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize........(jointly with David Gillespie of course)
Unfortunately my dream was shattered by the reality of my chocolate making experiment.
I found an online video on how to make chocolate. Too simple I thought. Just substitute the sugar for dextrose and the Nobel prize is mine!
This is the result of my first attempt.
Even I have to admit that it looks pretty good at first glance (especially for those still mourning the loss of chocolate) but I could tell when I was mixing it that it was not going to meet my high standards. The texture was all wrong. The dextrose did not dissolve and it had a grainy appearance and taste.
My husband, on the other hand, thought it was delicious and couldn't stop eating it. I encouraged him to indulge because it didn't appeal to me at all and after all I am the one who could do with losing some more weight.
In case you are still interested or desperate here is the recipe
Melt 125g of Copha in a saucepan over medium heat.
When melted add 3/4 cup dextrose, 6 tblspns cocoa, 4 tblspns full cream milk powder and a pinch of salt
(sift all the dry ingredients together before adding to the melted copha)
Spoon into moulds, a tin or just spread it out on a piece of foil and refrigerate till set.
Not all was lost though because my failure bought out the scientist in me and I started to experiment.
I tried substituting the dextrose for liquid glucose but I ended up with a disgusting glump of chocolate goo swimming in fat. FAIL. In the bin it went.
Next I tried dissolving the dextrose in some water on the stove and then adding the other ingredients. The result looked nothing like chocolate but it tasted so delicious. Here is what I call my Chocolate Toffee Drops
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| My Chocolate Toffee Drops... delicious results of an experiment gone wrong |
These taste amazing (just like Pascall Chocolate Chews but a bit harder). Suddenly I was feeling so inspired that I thought I might try to make a soft caramel toffee which (if it worked) would really impress both my caramel loving Daughter and Husband. I Googled "soft toffee" and found that it is made with cream rather than water and that it should be heated to 248% (blah blah) to get a soft chewy result. I don't have a candy thermometer but that didn't stop me from trying and I was blown away by my results and my husband is too busy chewing to comment.
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| I can't believe I made this chewy, buttery, creamy toffee! |
Clearly, if I intend to document and reproduce these treats I will need to invest in a candy thermometer because my methods so far are pretty hit and miss. There's no use me telling you stuff like "Just keep cooking it until it looks right!" I also think I need to find something called Soy Lecithin which is an emulsifier found in chocolate. It helps the fat and liquids magically combine and contrary to my initial suspicions it is not a nasty food additive.
In the meantime, I am very proud to share the results of my experiments and vow to keep working toward my Nobel Peace Prize.
oooh, I love those Pascal chew things! Yummo
ReplyDeleteHi Maree, I have just discovered and read your blog. I am 3 weeks sugar free with the help of David's book. Great blog, keep it going! I am inspired to try some of the recipes, once I'm over the sugar cravings that is!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting Caylow!
ReplyDeleteThe first few weeks are tough but it's so worth it once you are liberated from sugar.
Thanks for posting your recipes Maree. I am going to get some copha and make some of your yummy chocolate toffee drops tonight.
ReplyDeleteWe've been sugar free for about 8-9 weeks now. We did indulge (in cakes and sweets) on a weekend cruise we just did. I was really looking forward to eating some nice cake. I did enjoy it, but luckily it hasn't affected me at all. I am not tempted to go back to a sugar lifestyle.
I would love you to put your recipe up Maree, I am trying mums one, converted right now, I have a thermometer, so hoping it goes OK!
ReplyDeleteI just found this and can totally understand. After almost 9 painful years of not knowing I was finally diagnosed with fructose malabsorption last summer and since then have also been trying out all kinds of things in the kitchen. I've been a DIY-person before, in the kitchen too, but things like chocolate I always agreed I'd be off buying. Well, that changed... My first experiment with selfmade chocolate involved vegatable fat (mind you, not even cocoa butter because I couldn't find any in the UK) and sweetener, which after some loong, vigours stiring dissolved quite well and tasted alright, despite the different texture. The 2nd attempt used cocoa butter (Germany seems better equipped here) and glucose powder, however despite seemingly endless stiring I couldn't get it to dissolve properly. I'm not sure I used the same amounts of everything, but in essences this gave me the impression that sweeteners dissolve much better.
ReplyDeleteI have fructose malabsorption and after six months I am desperately craving chocolate. I'm going to give your chocolate toffee drops a go and hope that works. I'm just so distracted by my craving at the moment. Thank you for your chronicling :)
ReplyDeleteI am on week 2 of the sugar free life, after reading the book. How long does it take to be rid of the sugar addiction & how can I tell? The only thing I miss is Chocolate so I would be ever so greatful for a good recipe if you are still experimenting ladies.
ReplyDeleteOne big mistake imho is in trying to use copha to make quality chocolate, you really need cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is a lot healthier, and contains a large portion of good unsaturated fats.
ReplyDeleteThe same amount of dextrose as table sugar will also result in a bigger insulin spike, as it's essentially double the amount of sugar minus the fructose. Though you can use less and add a potent non-calorie sweetener for the right balance.
I'm sure you know fructose is only really used to replenish liver glycogen stores (if they're not already full from previous food intake), and the rest is stored as fat bypassing any chance to metabolised. Dextrose is still a high GI sugar, it has the chance to be metabolised, and any excess will stored as fat. You don't win in fat loss with dextrose replacing table sugar 1:1, except in the cases of low body fat where you are trying to reveal abs.
You also need good quality cocoa for the best tasting chocolate, and you can also get a better flavour profile by milling whatever sugar you choose to use with the cocoa powder (might want to use a pinch of anti-caking agent of some kind to prevent clumping).