Testimonies of the Day
Phone Client Testimony: “End of week 6! Down 20 pounds!!!!!! Eczema is no where to be seen and for the first time in 4 years I did not have a menstrual migraine while not being on migraine prevention meds. Misty G
30 Day Meal Plan Testimony: “I have already lost 7 pounds and I haven’t even started the accelerated plan yet. l LOVE the simplicity of the program. Thank you.” – Bobbie
Photo Testimony of the Day: “Maria words just cannot express how thankful and blessed I feel to have found you and your blog. I started grain fee back in March 2013 with moderate success in weight loss but hit a plateau after about 6-7 months but still had overall amazing success with eliminating stomach issues, fatigue and joint pain. My husband has been hearing me blab on and on about wanting to do one of your nutrition plans sooo that was my early Valentines present from him this year.
I am so happy to report that after 5 weeks with the advanced keto package that I have lost another 15-18 pounds BUT most amazingly I have went from a 8-10 in jeans to a 5/6!!! Lord I’ve NEVER wore a 5/6 in years and I feel amazing!!!! I still have 30 days to go by starting my maintenance phase of the plan and I’m very excited to keep seeing results! We are all so very blessed to have a person like you who cares enough to want people to get better and be successful in the right way with weight loss and healing the body! Thank you from the bottom of my heart Maria!
(3 pictures, the collage consists of pics of me at my heaviest around 185-190 along with a new one, a tag with my new clothing size and a new pic in my 5/6 jeans as of last night)” – Dawn”
Click HERE to get your 30 day meal plans and start your transformation!
Why Xylitol Suckers
It is interesting how I get emails and comments stating I am too extreme for some and then I get comments on the other side, stating that I’m not extreme enough. Well, my goal is for everyone to stay on track and stick to this lifestyle and that includes children too. You may be thinking, why do kids need to be on a ketogenic diet? Well, there are a lot of reasons. One of which is the story of this mother which brought tears to my eyes!
“My 8 yo son was diagnosed with Epilepsy in November. Through the guidance of our doctor, we immediately put him on a modified ketogenic diet to reduce the number of seizures he would get. As the holiday approached and the kids in his class were eating candy and decorating cookies, he would come home and cry in his room. Then I stumbled upon your website. With his doctors approval, I made this cookie for him, so that he could enjoy a decorating party with his brother and sister. As a new mother of a special needs child, it brings tears to my eyes that I found your site. With the help of people like you, I can start to give my child some of the things he felt like he was missing. To say you have improved my life is a huge understatement, you have brought the spirit of Christmas back into our house. So grateful, thank you.”
It is stories like this that make me want to create recipes like these suckers. Also, now that I have kids, I see Micah and Kai longingly look at other kids “treats” and I want to give them goodies too. Nothing makes me happier than to be able to provide tasty snacks that they love so they do not feel left out.
What is xylitol? It is a naturally occurring low-calorie sweetener found in fruits, vegetables and certain hardwoods. Our bodies can produce up to 15 grams of xylitol per day from the foods we consume. Xylitol produces a lower glycemic response than sucrose or glucose so it has minimal side effects on blood sugar and insulin. It is not as low as erythritol (Swerve), but sadly erythritol doesn’t work in this recipe because it will not melt down properly (it crystallizes as it cools). Also some people prefer the taste of xylitol as compared to erythritol.
Here are some of the Benefits:
1. 40% fewer calories than sugar.
2. Researchers found that kids who consistently chewed xylitol gum had 40% fewer ear infections than those who did not.
3. Pregnant women benefit from xylitol to keep their teeth healthy especially during the third trimester, when teeth are especially soft.
4. Chewing xylitol gum or mints stimulates saliva flow. This will protect your teeth because it brings the PH levels close to neutral. (diet soda has a pH 2.2)
5. Reduces tooth decay: If you drink acidic sports drinks frequently, eat carbohydrates often and spend hours dehydrated and breathing through a dry acidic mouth, such as athletes and teenagers, these are risk factors for tooth decay. Xylitol inhibits cavities by denying plaque bacteria the fuel (sugar) it needs to erode tooth enamel.
6. Studies show that a consistent use of at least 6-8 grams if Xylitol daily can reduce cavities as much as 80%. If you already have gum disease or cavities, these problems can be reversed. Regular use of xylitol can stop things from getting worse (along with a grain-free diet and increased consumption of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K).
Click HERE to find xylitol made from a birch tree .
Click HERE to find sucker molds and ingredients.
Sugar Free Suckers
Ingredients
- 1 cup birch xylitol
- 1/3 cup strong brewed tea of your choice cherry/lemon/raspberry/blueberry/chocolate
- 2 tsp extract of your choice cherry/strawberry/banana/lemon/blueberry/chocolate
- Few drops of natural food dye if desired
- OPTIONAL: 1 to 3 tsp Citric Acid powder natural sour taste
Instructions
- Place the xylitol and strong brewed tea in a medium sized saucepan over high heat. Bring to 300 degrees. If you get too hot, the xylitol will burn.
- Remove from heat. Stir in extracts, natural food coloring and citric acid (depending on how sour you like you suckers).
- Pour the hot liquid into candy and sucker molds. If making suckers, place a stick in the middle of the mold, then top with a little more hot liquid.
- Place in fridge to set up fast. Let cool before consuming. It is best to let them setup over night.
Notes
Traditional Dum Dum Suckers = 59 calories, 0g fat, 0g protein, 15g carbs
"Healthified" Suckers = 13 calories, 0g fat, 0g protein, 3.3g carbs, 3.3g sugar alcohol
Supercharge your Metabolism Class!
In this class, I will give you the tools to take charge of your bodies fuel source. Our body has 2 fuel sources, you can be a sugar-burner or you can be a fat-burner (called nutritional ketosis). Going back and fourth between being a sugar burner and a fat burner will cause low energy and inability to get the results you see me posting about my clients. This isn’t a “diet” it is a lifestyle! And I will show you what foods to eat that will keep you in the ‘fat-burning’ mode while squashing your cravings. Once adapted you will feel amazing, heal from what ails you (autoimmune, high blood pressure, etc.) and lose weight!
Treats will be served! I will also have my all new hardcover cookbook for purchase (and sign if you like) along with all my other books.
WHEN: Saturday April 26th from 1-3pm central standard time
WHERE: My home in River Falls, WI (You will get the directions when you pay below) or WEBINAR for the rest of the world!
TITLE: SUPER-CHARGE Your Metabolism
COST: $30
In Person (SOLD OUT).
Webinar CLICK HERE.
To eat is a necessity; to eat ‘healthy’ is an art.
Maria, Please please warn people that xylitol is VERY TOXIC to dogs in even small amounts. The warning is not even on most xylitol packages.
Just got your new hardcover cookbook in the mail and can’t put it down!! Absolutely love it. Thank you!
Thanks Peg! Will do!
Do you mind writing a review on amazon.com? It really really helps! http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Healthy-Eating-Savory/dp/0988512483/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A51JBC26TWGDE
Thanks so much for your support and love!
Gladly!
I have a question about your classes. How does this work? Do you send me a DVD? Or is it downloaded? Are we able to save a copy for re-viewing? Thanks.
You get a link and password (plus a download for the slides). You are able to view the video as many times as you like. 🙂
What is the difference between birch xylitol and regular? The link for the birch xylitol isn’t working. 🙁
Many are made from corn which can be from GMO corn. I fixed the link. Thanks!
I soo much wish I could get to your class, but have prior commitments. TY for doing the download, can this be purchased at any time? Thank you. Have a Happy Easter!
Thanks Donna! Yes, they can be purchased and viewed anytime. 🙂
Clicked on the link for the birch xylitol, and on Amazon it said it is made from non-GMO corn, and not birch. Is it linked to the correct xylitol?
Oops, yes, I did link the wrong one. All fixed now. Thanks!
Hi Maria! Wonder if you have an opinion on Dr. John’s xylitol natural lollipops? If I were interested in buying some instead of making them. Ingredients are: polyglucitol, xylitol, citric acid, natural flavors, and malic acid. There was a comment on amazon about the product that polyglucitol has a higher rating on glycemic index.
Thanks for all you do!
They are ok in a pinch, but they do have food coloring. 🙂
Maria, what is the difference between food coloring and food dye and where do you purchase yours? Thank you Barbara
I think they are the same. Here are some great natural dyes. 😉
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=163
thanks for putting the time and effort into these. I also have 2 boys who look longingly at other kids crap food treats, so I will be delighted to give these a go on the weekend! thanks again i appreciate all you do.
I hope they have a great Easter! 🙂
do you know of an erythritol that is nonGMO, not made from corn at all preferably? is swerve brand even like this? i ordered NOW brand and was amazed to read its corn based. i will use it as its terribly expensive and it IS non-glycemic but next order i want to get some real good stuff as corn doesnt seem to be good from the explanation in Wheat Belly.
i dont even eat popcorn, wholegrain corn tortillas or cornbread or mush anymore 🙂
Swerve is made from non-gmo ingredients. 🙂
great, but is it from corn? the NOW brand is nonGMO also, but it is corn still? are all the erythritol brands from corn?
Yes, it is still from corn. But the end product (erythritol) doesn’t have any of the bad starches, etc from corn. And it isn’t GMO corn. So I think it is fine.
yeah i am sure for occasional use it wud be fine. i just seem to be eating alot of the muffins as bread substitutes lately. like last nite i even had a couple becuz i rly wanted the crust to the pizza we had. pizza is the one thing i just rly LOVE. i scrape all the toppings off and eat it and it IS rly good, but ive got to find a crust besides the cauliflower one that will satisfy me. its not that difficult to not eat the crust but i am feeling deprived and that is one thing i cant do if im going to live this WOE for good. im perfectly happy to wrap up sandwich fillings in a leaf or put spaghetti sauce over salad or spaghetti squash or eat taco meat on riced cauliflower or spinach. i dont think the pizza toppings over or on anything but a crust is gonna do it tho…
Have you tried this crust? Amazing! 🙂
http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/amazing-thin-crust-pizza/
Are these OK on your 30 day plan?
These would be ok as a treat (for example for Easter). 🙂
Wow this is amazing! I can now make sugar free suckers for my family thanks to you:)
By the way I made your sugar free caramel sauce with xylitol for a german “bee-sting cake” – yum!
I have one important question:
I really like to have salads for lunch but I can not afford MCT oil, Macadamia nut oil etc. and you say that olive oil is not a fat-burning alternative, right?
So what do you think about this german product that is similar to ghee (no milk solids) but even liquid like oil and can be stored at room temperature (because it will harden like coconut oil)?
This product is NOT the same like in America where they sell rancid vegetable oils with butter taste but it is made with real butter!
Can I use this instead of MCT oil on my salads, since butter is a very healthy fat?
Olive oil is an ok option, it just has more omega-6 and not really any MCT oil. Just don’t heat it. Ghee is a good option if not dairy sensitive. 🙂
I need to make a sugar free angel food cake for a friend’s birthday. She has stage 1 cancer and is eliminating all sugar from her diet. I have an egg white protein powder and wonder if and how much I could use to substitute for the white flour. Or maybe you have a wonderful sugar free angel food cake recipe you could share. I need to make a “purple” sugar free icing and don’t have a clue what to use for that. Any suggestions? Thanks
Here you go. 🙂
http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/strawberry-angel-food-cake/
I made these but they didn’t set up. They are more like consistency of honey. Any guess on what I did wrong? I did bring the mix up to 250 degrees.
Not sure. You used xylitol?
Yes. I used small silicone forms. When they didn’t set up, I turned them upside down in a bowl to drain out and see if I could reuse it for a spread; the next day the mixture was hard as a rock and now I can’t get it out of the bowl! Culinary lessons! 🙂
Decided to experiment; microwaved the bowl until the rock became liquid again. Then reheated in a pan until it hit 250 again, actually it went to 265, just turned my back and, boom, it was really boiling! Anyway, put back into the silicone mold and waited. This AM, all but 3 cubes were rock hard. So I picked off some of the crystals and put into the liquid cubes and soon all cubes had crystallized. Hard candy! Thanks!
Awesome!
Mind reader! Yesterday I was on a mission to learn via internet digging, how to make sugar free hard candy/lollipops. None of the sites I looked at could come up with something that didnt include corn starch or maltitol. Maria you are amazing 🙂
Thanks!
I thought I signed up for the coconut oil giveaway but now I’m not sure if I did it in the right place. How can I check that out? Looking forward to the webinar next Saturday!! I think I am following the plan but It’s possible I’m missing something. Somehow I need to find out more about the supplements as well.
Maria I love your site and can’t wait to meet you on the low carb cruise next month! I too am a mom of an epileptic, she’s 22 now, and she stays on a keto/paleoish type diet. College is tough on food choices/prep, but she does a good job.
Thought I should let you know that XYLITOL IS CONTRAINDICATED FOR EPILEPTICS!! Swerve is a better option. Just found this out last when during her last finals she tried a chewing gum/recall trick, and it really put her over the edge despite the good diet.
Thanks for your site-
Thanks for the info! I can’t wait to meet you! 🙂
Does anyone know of any flavoring oils/powders made without propylene glycol?
Yes, the Frontier brand mostly do. 🙂
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20?node=16&page=5
Maria, if you made these and were to mail them to me in bubble wrap, what would you charge me. I don’t make candy well. I think there are some things to leave to the professionals. Hard candy is one of them. I think it would pack and ship well. I’m very serious. Please let me know. Here is my email if you feel better replying that way.
Thanks,
Kapu
Sorry Kapu. I would love to help but just too crazy busy these days! 🙂
Maria,
I made these as little hard candies for an upcoming backpacking trip. How long should these take to set up? Overnight?
Thanks!
They should setup overnight. 🙂
Mine did not set up either. I poured them into little silicone candy molds and they were the consistency of honey after several hours. Do you think you could mention in the recipe that it takes overnight for them to harden; for those of us who don’t read the comments until after they’ve failed 🙂
Thanks for all you do!
Wondering what brand you might suggest for multivitamins and others? I see a wide range of them with varying amounts of A, E, etc. Also, none seem to have magnesium glycinate, only oxide. And dyes and nickel is in many brands. Why would anyone want to add Nickel to their diet?
I have lots of great supplements here:
http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4
Maria what do you think about maltitol? I had some last week and my tongue turned white with white spots. I’ve been really really thirsty and this week the spots are along side of my tongue and it kind of feels like Its burning. Its the only thing I’ve consumed off your diet, or I’m wondering if I’m ingesting to much lemon, lime, ginger and acv in my water? What do you suggest, as it’s been almost a week :-\
Nope, I stay away from malitol. 🙂
Hi, Maria! I just tried making your xylitol sucker recipe for the first time yesterday, and it didn’t set up right. It separated: the xylitol crystals formed into a roughly hard structure–more of something crunchable than a hard candy, though–and a sour liquid (the citric acid part) formed around it. I used my candy thermometer and got the mixture up to 249.9 degrees (which should be sufficient, given the margin of error for these things). Any suggestions? Should I put in the citric acid earlier, like when the mixture is heating up to 250 degrees?
Also, I noticed you blogging about Dr. John’s xylitol lollipops in another post, and some of their candies are made with maltitol and others are made with “polyglucitol,” which is totally unfamiliar to me. Any comments on that??
Hmm, not sure what happened there. You could try to make them without citric acid so yours don’t separate.
I only use Dr. Johns made with xylitol. 🙂
Help! I’m not seeing anything on the Dr. John’s web site that’s made only with xylitol. It’s all polyglucitol as the first ingredient. What am I missing?
Thanks so much for this recipe! I NEVER give my 2-year-old daughter candy, and this is something she has never even had, a lollipop. The thought of her putting a regular, sugar-filled lollipop in her mouth makes me cringe!
I’m going to make these for her for Easter. Thanks for taking the time to come up with so many amazing ideas. Now my daughter can have “treats” just like her friends. 😉
Awesome! Hope she loves them! 🙂
Maria, are the carbs in xylitol negated as non-digestible, like they are in erythritol? I am confused! So much contradictory information online! Thanks.
They mostly are but can effect blood sugars in some people. So I would maybe count half of them. 🙂
Hello,
I’m curious, can these be made with Swerve or Just Like Sugar instead of Xylitol? Thanks!
No. They can’t.
Is this 300 degrees F or C. I am from australia. Thanks
Yes
F
What else could be used instead of tea? Can I just use water with a few more drops of flavoring oil? I usually just make regular hard candies with regular sugar, but I am just wanting to make my nieces some healthier candies & have been reading a lot about Xylitol. But it hasn’t been very easy to find any Xylitol candy recipes. I am excited to try your recipe!
You could add Bai water or plain.