Products

When Tara Met Blog just featured a good review of TY KU liqueur. TY KU is a citrus-flavored liqueur with 3.6 carbs and 72 calories per 1.5 oz serving, making it a perfect replacement for higher-sugar liqueurs in cocktails. It includes all-natural ingredients such as yuzu, honeydew, mangosteen, ginseng, green tea, and goji berry, which provide antioxidants and other health benefits.

TY KU has put together several low-calorie recipes that feature their liqueur. Check out these cocktails with less than 100 calories [PDF], or check their website for more TY KU liqueur recipes.

TY KU liqueur is available in 22 states and retails for $32.99.

Low-carb dieters in Canada may be interested in ALIVE, a new 80-calorie, zero-carbohydrate vodka-based drink.

Describing the product as having a “crisp, not-too-sweet taste,” distributors Independent Distillers Canada say their goal is a healthier drink. It’s gluten-free and sweetened with sucralose to avoid aspartame’s health concerns. Flavors include grapefruit, lemon lime and mixed berry.

For more details, see the Independent Distillers Canada website.

The friendly folks at Zilch have generously donated a few boxes of their margarita mix, so I’m adding some more prizes to the giveaway. The first prize will remain the same, but now there will also be three second prize winners, each of whom will receive one box of Zilch. The contest ends just before midnight on 5/20/2009, so enter now.

They also offered these suggestions for enjoying Zilch:

• The brand of tequila makes a big difference in the taste of the margaritas. A couple of good ones to try: Sauza Commemorativo or Cuervo Gold.
• If it tastes watered down, try adjusting the ratios. A little less water or a little more tequila may do the trick.
• And a couple of drops of fresh lime juice add a nice splash of flavor.

Thanks to Zilch for the suggestions and for the extra prizes!

Baja Bob’s Margarita Mixes (reviewed here) may be good to keep on hand at home, but what if you’re out on the town? Zilch Sugar-Free Margarita Mixers, with their single-serving packets, fit the bill perfectly.

I tried the Zilch packets recently and was very happy with the results. It was a lot less tangy than Baja Bob’s mix. In fact, where Baja Bob’s mix had a bit too much of a twang for me, Zilch was ever-so-slightly on the too-sweet side. I found that a salt-rimmed glass gave it the right touch, cutting the sweetness just enough. It’s not as strongly flavored as some other mixers. I liked it like that, but some reviewers felt like it tasted watered-down.

While the packets make Zilch easy to take out on the town, that’s not the only option. Each individually-wrapped packet has instructions for 4 different ways to mix: on the rocks, frozen, or by the pitcher-full at home; or on the rocks in a restaurant. The Zilch instructions are well-written, too. The Baja Bob’s mix was unclear about how much ice to add to make a frozen margarita, but the Zilch’s packet tells you everything you need to know. Even the price is better than Baja Bob’s: each $0.50 packet makes an 8-oz serving, compared to Baja Bob’s $0.31 for a 4-oz. serving.

Zilch just makes the one flavor — no strawberry or pina colada mixes like Baja Bob offers — but they do it well. I say it’s definitely worth a try if you’re looking for a good sugar-free margarita.

Giveaway: Low-Carb Margarita Prize Pack

We’re giving away 1 box (10 packets) of Zilch Sugar-Free Margarita Mixer, plus a Margarita Glass Salt Rimmer, to one lucky reader. Just fill out the form below with your name, email address, and either your favorite low-carb beverage OR a beverage you’d like to have a low-carb version of. One entry per person. Enter by 11:55 p.m. on May 20, 2009. Open to U.S. residents ages 21 and older. See the “Details” tab for complete rules.

Update 5/18/09: We’ve just added more prizes! Three second prize winners will receive a box of Zilch margarita mixer. More details here, along with tips for a better Zilch margarita.

Last week, I reviewed Baja Bob’s Sugar-Free Margarita Mix, and came to the conclusion that it’s pretty good, as long as you like your margaritas on the tangy side. This week, I gave Baja Bob’s Strawberry Margarita Mix a try to see how it compares.

I’m usually a fan of all things strawberry — in fact, Twizzlers and strawberry pop-tarts were some of my main craves during my pregnancy. So I was disappointed when this strawberry mix was more sour than sweet. While it wasn’t as lip-puckeringly sour as the margarita mix, it still had that tangy flavor I wasn’t sure about.

I tried blending up the Strawberry Daiquiri first (3 parts Baja Bob mix, 1 part rum, and ice to fill). When I think of strawberry daiquiris, I think of oh-so-sweet (and terribly carb-y) beach drinks. So for me, the sourness of this mix meant it didn’t work well as a daiquiri.

Next I tried the directions to make a Strawberry Margarita (3 parts Baja Box mix, 1 part tequila, and ice to fill). I liked this much better. The flavor of the tequila worked well with the flavors in the mix, making a not-too-sour but not-too-sweet drink. When made with tequila, I actually prefer Baja Bob’s Strawberry Margarita to their Original Margarita.

Of course, this mixture has all the same benefits I mentioned in the previous review: it’s affordable, easy to mix, convenient to keep on hand, and there are no carbs or calories. I also like that you can use the strawberry mixture to make a variety of drinks (daiquiri or margarita, frozen or on the rocks), and make them as strong as you want. The mix is even pretty good by itself, if you want a sugar-free virgin daiquiri.

Kudos to Baja Bob for another good product. While the mix is a little to sour for daiquiris, the strawberry margarita definitely gets my approval!

If you can’t stand to have Mexican food without a margarita, you’ve probably already noticed just how sugary the regular margarita mixes are. Almost all the major brands have 20+ carbs in a 4-ounce serving. (And who stops at one 4-ounce serving?!)

Lucky for us margarita-lovers, there are now some surprisingly tasty sugar-free options on the market.

Baja Bob’s Margarita Mixes are sugar-free, carb-free alternatives to the sugary stuff. They’re available in powdered form or pre-mixed, with a variety of flavor options in each.

I tried the powdered version of the original margarita mix. I followed the directions, stirring one packet into a 2-quart pitcher of cold water. It was easy to mix — the powder dissolved quickly in cold water.

This mixture can then be combined with ice and tequila to make margaritas, either frozen or on the rocks. I first tried a margarita on the rocks, using their recommended ratio of 3 parts mixture to 1 part tequila.

The flavor is good. Since it’s made with Splenda, it doesn’t have that aspartame aftertaste. It didn’t taste sugar-free to me at all… but then again, I only drink diet drinks, so I may not be the best judge. Still, it seems like a drink regular folks (i.e., non-low-carbers) would like too. My test subject (aka my husband) preferred the frozen version, so you might try hauling out the blender if the on-the-rocks version doesn’t hit the spot.

My only complaint is that the flavor is a little on the tangy side. If it’s too tangy for you, too, try mixing 2 parts of the prepared mix with 1 part Diet 7-Up and 1 part tequila to give it a toned-down flavor (keep in mind, though, that this only works for the on-the-rocks version… carbonated beverages and blenders don’t mix!). Or try one of the other recipes on Baja Bob’s website. There are 10 variations for the margarita mix alone — plenty of things to try if you get bored!

The powder packets are a great deal (about $0.31 per 4-oz. serving, compared to $0.70 per serving for the pre-mixed bottles). Plus their small size makes them cheaper to ship and easier to store til you need them. Once you mix them up in your handy-dandy pitcher (or an empty 2 Liter bottle, in a pinch), they’re just as convenient as the pre-mixed bottles. Either option is great for parties or to have on hand, pre-mixed, for an easy after-work drink. (If you needing a going-out option, they also have single-size mixes, but they appear to have limited availability.)

I give Baja Bob’s Margarita Mix a big thumbs up. Thanks, Bob, for making low-carb Mexican night a little more fun!

MillerCoors has announced they’re putting their Miller Chill beer on a diet. The reformulated beer will have 100 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving, down from the current 110 calories and 6.5 grams of carbs. See a comparison of various beers’ carbs & calories here.

Look for the new Miller Chill (in its new clear bottle) in stores next month.

Source: The Business Journal

Glamorous celebs weren’t the only ones hitting the red carpet at this weekend’s Academy Awards. New sugar-free Slender wines from Chateau Thomas Winery in Plainfield, Indiana, were selected to be included in this year’s Oscar celebrity gift baskets.

According the the winery’s website, these sugar-free wines are sweetened with Zerose, a natural sweetener which has zero calories, a zero glycemic index, no carbs, and no fats.

While we haven’t had a chance to give these wines a try yet, they sound like a good bet for low-carbers who love wine. Anyone tried these? Leave a comment with your impressions…