New Product Alert

Every now and then, I see a new product on the market that gets me excited. Occasionally, there have been times when I have been lucky enough to have played an integral role in creating the product; other times suggesting and recommending the idea for the product. Being in the nutrition and supplement industry as long as I have--with a marketing background as well-- I often come up with products/flavors that I can see being enjoyed by the vast majority of the public.

In this case, I merely suggested some flavors. I have been making "frozen yogurt" for as long as I can remember, and lately have been trying every yogurt under the sun. I emailed the people at Danone silhouette yogurt with a few questions/comments, among which I suggested some flavors that I would love to see their products selling and incorporating into their line. I am sure they have had thousands of requests, and mine just added to the already massive heap ( I must have sent approximately 25 suggestions--including cappuccino, coconut cream, a few pie/desserts, Tiramisu etc). Yesterday, while browsing the dairy isle at my local grocery store, ready to pick up my normal products, Silhouette's new packaging for their 16 packs caught my eye.... and so did their new "limited edition flavors". Having shamelessly professed my love of all things coconut, I have been searching high and low for a sugar free fat free coconut flavored yogurt. They have these in Europe at every corner store and yet aside from Liberte's fantastic Mediterranean line, have found barely any.

Of course I make my own coconut by mixing a vanilla/plain/Greek yogurt with Davinci's sugar free Coconut syrup (or Torani, Monin) or flavor drops, but it would be nice to be able to buy it pre-made. Although I take no credit for their new flavors (I wish!), Silhouette has expanded their line with:
Cappuccino, Caramel, Lemon Cake and Coconut Cream!

 Naturally, I snatched a pack up immediately.  Despite the fact that Silhouette by Danone is much thinner and less creamy than the other 2 brands making fat free/sugar free delicious yogurts (Source and Astro Zero), possibly due to gelatin content, I still do enjoy these yogurts very much.

As with the other 2 brands, Silhouette claims to have only 35 fat free*, sugar free** calories per container or 100 grams.

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Calories	35
Fat	0 g	0%
Saturated 0 g 0% + Trans 0 g 0% Total 0 0%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%

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Sodium	50 mg	2%
Carbohydrate	6 g	2%
Fibre 0 g Sugars 3 g
Protein	3 g

In actuality, all these yogurts contain closer to 40 calories, since carbs and protein have 4kcal/gram and fat has 9 calories per gram. See not below on the meaning of fat free (which means 0.5g or less). If you calculate the carbs and protein alone--not even taking into account the less-than-0.5g fat clause, we are already at 36 calories. Adding the fat, for example using 0.4g of fat (which is considered fat free), we get:
 6g carb*4+(3g protein *4cal)=(0.4*9g fat)= 39.6 calories= 40 calories, and this is minimum.

My favorite way to enjoy them is with PGX granules sprinkles stirred in ( I sometimes add some sugar free syrup), or frozen! I will be posting a recipe for my go-to easy frozen yogurt in the future, so stay tuned!!! The key to making it properly is the container you freeze it in and the consistency of the yogurt itself. I find that if I don't do these correctly, the silhouettes sometimes form ice crystals, whereas the other 2 brands are less inclined to do so. However, their yogurts are wonderful and very versatile. I like their new flavors-- they are nice, smooth,  mild, and not at all over powering.
Silhouette has a nice variety of 17 flavors and I enjoy their limited editions! I hope these stick around for a long time!

*According to their site:
"Silhouettes is a product with 0 grams of fat. Nada, zip, absolutely no fat. However the Canadian Food Inspection Agency allows products to be called “Free of fat”, "fat-free", "no fat", "0 fat", "zero fat", "without fat", "contains no fat", "non-fat" as long as they contain :
(a) less than 0.5 g of fat per reference amount and serving of stated size; or
(b) less than 0.5 g of fat per serving of stated size, if the food is a prepackaged meal.
Danone achieves a fat-free yogurt by a skimming process with its milk to extract dairy fat. During Silhouettes' skimming operation, fat is separated from the milk which results in two products: skim milk and cream."

**Sugar Free means:
Silhouettes has no sugar added which means it does not contain added: white sugar, a food that contains white sugar, brown sugar, syrup, molasses, glucose, honey or fructose.
Silhouettes uses a sweetener called sucralose.
That said, "no added sugar" doesn't mean there is no sugar in the product. Silhouettes contains sugar in its natural form from milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose). Silhouettes Plain is the only flavour that does not contain fructose.






All for just 35 calories per servingCoconut Creme Fat-free flavour with no added sugar.

4 Ingredient Protein Cakes Revisited!

Happy November 3rd Everyone!
I thought I'd do a quick 2-3 ingredient Protein Cake tutorial again.

Depending on your microwave, these take no longer than 30 seconds-1 min (depending on thickness of batter, microwave, and size of dish). There are so many variations on Protein Cakes, and I can assure you that I have tried them all. From pureed Cauliflower, all forms of squashes, grated apple and carrots, pureed carrots, nut butters, egg whites, yogurt, cottage cheese, flax, every liquid under the sun,  jams, cereals, diet pop (more on that later!!!).

This is just a simple one that doesn't require a lot of items:

Ingredients:

Protein Powder (whey works best)- I used Isoflex by Allmax this time.

Sweetener (I used sweet and low)

Baking Soda

A liquid (water, Sugar Free Syrup, any veggie puree, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, almond milk- refer to the above list etc)

Optional- Psyllium husks, or PGX granules add a great cake-like texture and add volume/ structure/sturdiness).

Optional-

cinnamon

Directions:

Grab a small ramekin or custard dish/bowl that is microwave safe.

Add a little bit of liquid (not a lot- you don't want the batter to be runny)

Add packet of Sweet and Low (or other sweetener)

Add more liquid if necessary and stir. If you are using psyllium husks etc, add them now (about TB).

Stir.

This next part requires some quick timing: add Baking Soda and stir. AS SOON as the batter starts getting white-ish from the baking soda and getting 'mousse-like' and airy/puffy immediately stick into the microwave and turn it on more 30sec or 40seconds.

If it is done it should have a springy texture and not be moist. Microwave a few more seconds if necessary.

Enjoy! If you want it a little crispier/crunchier keep microwaving it after it's done in 20 sec intervals until you get your desired "crunch" factor. These are so good in protein ice cream, yogurts, dipped in coffee/tea etc.

I also suggest brewing a flavored tea ( like Vanilla Caramel Truffle Tea or Biscotti) or Coffee, and using that as liquid! Great way to use up some leftover coffee/tea etc!

This one above is without the psyllium.

Another Protein Chocolate Cake

I know I haven't been posting as regularly- and I keep meaning to! I have so many recipes, product reviews, updates etc for you guys! I am adding another quick "Protein Chocolate Cake" recipe. I used my normal microwave recipe but baked it instead. I used Bio X Power  Whey Isolate, but using any Whey Protein will work. I love Iso Sensations 93 (see my review HERE), Isoflex, Strive's Pro Isl etc. I also used Chocolate in this case, but use any flavor you have! Obviously, you can add ANY add-ins you want. I normally add 4Fiber, Fibersmart, Wheat Bran, Psyllium, Walden Farms Caramel Syrup, Walden Farms Jams, Walden Farms Peanut Spread, , and Walden Farm or Sugar Free Products/syrups, yogurt, pumpkin puree, cauliflower, coconut, flax, almond meal, chia, coffee, grated apple/carrot, banana's,oat bran,  oats, diet pop etc.

Ingredients

Chocolate Protein Powder (Whey) (Iso Sensation 93 Chocolate Fudge or Isoflex work well)

Sugar Free Syrup (I used Davinci German Chocolate Cake in this instance and Walden Farms Pancake Syrup).

Sweetener (I used Sweet and Low).

Cinnamon

Baking Soda

PGX Granules (optional) (BTW PGX Granules, in Greek Yogurt are the best thing ever!)

Directions:

Mix Whey Protein (or any protein) and Syrup, sweetener and cinnamon and stir. Add any add-ins that you want. Add Baking Soda (LAST) and stir. "Batter" should turn white and start to rise a bit. Pour into your baking dish and pop into a pre-heated oven for anywhere between 10-25 min (depends on how much protein you used and how many servings, depth of your baking dish etc). Key is to add less liquid. Not too watery. Thicker than pancake batter, but only marginally.

Enjoy!!! If it gets stuck to the pan, just add a little liquid and scrape the rest off! It's soo good! Top with any toppings you want! From Greek Yogurt, Sugar Free Jam, Sugar Free Syrups, Chocolate Dip, Nut Butters, a shot of rum....... ha ha