Glucomannan Recipes

[roro]

It has a slight egg taste. It would not work for dumplings, it is not sticky enough.

Another interesting thing - before I cooked it, When I was whipping in the gluc (i put the 2c water in the pan, added the 1/8 tsp. pickling lime, then 2 eggs, whipped with a cake mixer, then added the gluc in slowly while whipping.) It looked very fluffy, like the consistency of egg whites, or revolution rolls. I wonder if I baked it instead of cooking/whipping on the stovetop, if it would come out like angel food cake or revolution rolls? I may not even need the pickling lime. I might try this.

[Nelle Belle]

Originally Posted by roro

It has a slight egg taste. It would not work for dumplings, it is not sticky enough.

Another interesting thing - before I cooked it, When I was whipping in the gluc (i put the 2c water in the pan, added the 1/8 tsp. pickling lime, then 2 eggs, whipped with a cake mixer, then added the gluc in slowly while whipping.) It looked very fluffy, like the consistency of egg whites, or revolution rolls. I wonder if I baked it instead of cooking/whipping on the stovetop, if it would come out like angel food cake or revolution rolls? I may not even need the pickling lime. I might try this.

Please do try it and report back. I just got mine today. Used it in coffee w/hwc. Very chiffon like. I am going to have fun with this.
Glad i opened this thread. I thought you all were trying to make noodles but thread kept being on 1st page so i decided i had to read all 17 pages in one sitting. By the time i was on pg 10, i had ordered some.

Thanks All!

[crazywoman-n-wy]

Interesting roro!!! Shucks on those dumplings. I am just having a hard time conceiving this, even tho you did post the pic! What you had there do look very fluffy, like fluffy scrambled eggs!

If you do try baking it/them, do let us know!

Nelle Belle, glad you found the thread, and decided to chime in. (I know this wasn't your first post, but I didn't get ya welcomed before.)

[shunsweets]

Hi Nelle Belle glad you're here.

Billie's right we're all different. For me gluc has not effected my weight one way or the other but it has helped me have less hunger (I'm always hungry! Maybe 'cause I have diabetes?), helped stabilize my blood glucose levels, and been the first fiber product I have been able to eat with no stomach pain, gas, ect. Much better than oat bran, psyllium, bran, citrocel, veggies.

Hope it works for you whatever you're goals may be. Meanwhile I'm sitting here eating a warm cinnamon gluc roll with a scoop of carbsmart icecream and some Walden's caramel syrup on it. I feel like I'm having dessert for the first time in a year and no bg spike!

[jlp2009]

Billie and Shun,
Thank you . You have been helpful. Billie, I , like you, have issues with counting calories. I like to eat a lot of whatever I am eating. That used to be low fat, which I have figured out is much fewer calories than low carb. Thus the weight gain on LC.
So I sort of need something to fill me up faster. I think that I will try it slowly and see what happens. I'll wait to order form Netrition though.
I sure enjoy reading all of the ingenious ways folks have figured out to use glu!
Thanks to all you pioneers!
J

[ouizoid]

jlp

ditto. ditto. ditto. need lots of food, therefore need lower fat/lower cals. Glu makes it a little easier. Still wishing for total magic cure

[magnamater]

As for me, I am losing weight using glu!!!

Of course it is weight I had regained. . .but still, a loss is a loss.

Since I guess I will have to count calories to stay thinner (drat!) the glu is useful helping me stay full when I lower my calories on purpose.

As to the fiber issue: Glu alone--no problem. Glu with other fibers, and so far, I've tried oat fiber and flax, together and separately, BIG issue.

So I've resorted to using half portions of the mixture--in other words, half a muffin.

I think your mileage on this will differ. . .

Again, remember some have had glu slow things down, so . . .who knows???

This by far is the most experimental group of LCF-ers I've ever met. Isn't it fun???? We go bravely where no one has every trod. . .

Janie

I want pound cake, but am watching my calories today. . .maybe tomorrow.

[Nelle Belle]

So i made some sort of concoction, very simple. 1tsp gluc and 2 cups water. I added some Mio flavoring and took it to work. Drank some before break time and before lunch. I loved it, smooth and silky. I didn't notice any appetite suppression, but i did eat less both times, jello for break and small salad for lunch when normally i would have had a couple HB eggs and a big salad. We shall see how it works for wt loss.

[PaminKY]

Glucomannan Strawberry Glaze

I made this on Sunday but it was still weak so I worked on it again last night and now it's perfect. I wrote everything down but went off and left my recipe at home this morning but this is what I used.

2 cups cold water
2 envelopes unsweetened strawberry Kool-aid
1/4 tsp strawberry extract, McCormick brand (may not need, I added this before deciding to add the second packet of Kool-aid)
4 Tbs Steviva (a stevia/erythritol blend)
1/4 tsp stevia extract, powdered
1/4 tsp liquid Sweet n' Low (I don't use this much but was trying to get a synergestic effect from the sweeteners)
?1/2 xylitol (not sure of exact amount but didn't use much)
?3/4 tsp glucomannan powder (also not sure on this amount, will double check tonight)

Put water in saucepan, add all ingredients except glucomannan and whisk until dissolved. I measure the glucomannan powder into a stainless steel shaker and then sprinkle over the liquid a little at a time whisking the whole time until all the glucomannan is added. I then slowly heated it up a bit until everything dissolved and was as thick as I like. Pour into container and let cool then refrigerate.

I bought the shaker for the glucomannan at Marshalls, it's made by Tablecraft and is stainless steel with a handle on the side and lots of holes in the top. This works perfectly for mixing in the gluco slowly and so far (knock on wood) I've not had any problems with clumping. I bought a shaker and labeled to use just for the gluc powder. I've always used this method with xanthum gum and I've also never had clumping problems with it.

[gharkness]

Originally Posted by MsWoods

So if I go to a store and find the capsules, it's the same thing as the powder you order, I just have to empty the capsules, right? (I'm even finding a hard time finding the capsules here but I don't want to wait to order the powder Lol). I have 1 bag of shiritake left and I'm sad (even though I have a case coming Thursday)

This is true, but realize that ounce for ounce, the capsules are WAY more expensive. If you are okay with that, then just use the capsules, but I found that, especially with all these recipes, the capsules would soon bankrupt me.

[gharkness]

Originally Posted by PaminKY

Glucomannan Strawberry Glaze

I made this on Sunday but it was still weak so I worked on it again last night and now it's perfect. I wrote everything down but went off and left my recipe at home this morning but this is what I used.

My experience with this sort of thing is that unless you NEED for it to be hot, the blender will work great, but YMMV. If you have a VitaMix, so much the better (and if it really does need to be hot, the VitaMix will heat it, too). So many of the recipes here work just fantastic in the blender, and save time, trouble, and most important: mess!

BTW, this looks delicious!

[PaminKY]

Originally Posted by gharkness

My experience with this sort of thing is that unless you NEED for it to be hot, the blender will work great, but YMMV. If you have a VitaMix, so much the better (and if it really does need to be hot, the VitaMix will heat it, too). So many of the recipes here work just fantastic in the blender, and save time, trouble, and most important: mess!

BTW, this looks delicious!

You're probably right but I always heat just a bit to make sure the erythritol and other sweeteners dissolve and it does get a bit thicker too.

[MsWoods]

Originally Posted by gharkness

This is true, but realize that ounce for ounce, the capsules are WAY more expensive. If you are okay with that, then just use the capsules, but I found that, especially with all these recipes, the capsules would soon bankrupt me.

Oh I ended up just buying a bag about a month ago.

[gharkness]

Originally Posted by MsWoods

Oh I ended up just buying a bag about a month ago.

Ah, yes, I probably should have checked the posting date. Sorry!

[SherBel]

I found a bottle of gluc powder at my local organic/health food store, but it was $40.00!!!! I didn't buy it, I'm going to hang on and wait for Netrition to get it in stock and then do an order since I need some other 'stuff' too.

This is the coolest thread, I cannot wait to try this stuff!! Thanks to much for all of you who have been paving the way and experimenting!

[Nelle Belle]

Made a vanilla protein shake, 1 scoop PP, 16 ounces almond milk 1.5 tsp GP.
OMG I love the mouth feel of this.

[terrry7]

Originally Posted by ev.cheung

My various "noodle making" experiments yielded similar results as y'all that tried it.

The first time I put the gel in a ziplock bag and cut a little hole to squeeze the gel out into a pot of simmering water since I too read that the heat is supposed to firm the gel up. Well, the majority melted and I ended up with a thickened liquid with little lumps. I turned the batch into soup.

I also tried spreading another batch of gel into a cookie sheet then bake it in a low oven hoping to firm it up then cut into strips. It partially set and I ended up with some very softish solid pieces but I didn't like the texture.

Finally I tried a method that requires steaming the gel in a square pan for 20-30 minutes, let it cool, soak in cold water then cut into desired shapes. Blanch them in boiling water with salt and vinegar. Remove and store in cold water until ready to use. This time I actually got solid pieces, but again the texture is nowhere close to the commercial shirataki noodles.

I found on Wikipedia this morning about commercially manufactured shirataki noodles "shirataki was prepared by pouring konnyaku sol through small holes into hot water containing lime in high concentration" so Roro's comment about we can't duplicate it exactly at home hits the nail on the head.

Oh well, there are still so many other uses for the Gluc powder.

Evelyn

I'm new here & have been reading what you did. It seems like you stopped 1 step too soon!
All you would have to do is put the pickling lime (I got some at Walmart) in the water you were squeezing the glu from the ziplock bag.

Could you please send the links or expound on how you made your 3 different formulas? I would like to try the boiling in lime water step!

[marcea]

So Welcome to all of you I see popping in onto this thread!!! It is so good to see you!!! I sure do look forward to hearing how you work with the Gluc - this is such a creative bunch here!!! I've just been really enjoying the heck out of it!!!

For myself, even though I've done well with low carbs in the past, just counting carbs hasn't been getting me back down to 135 lb. Blast!!! I had been sitting at about 145 lbs (and rising)
until I started working with the Glucomannan. Mostly I started with the Glu because I was trying to level out my BS and Cholesterol levels. Anyway - I'm down to a steady 139 now - Hallelujia!!! Also, my husband has lost 25 pounds since I've been using Gluc to cook with - he's totally jazzed!!!
In any case, the Gluc has really helped me get my BS and Cholesterol under control and that has been wonderful!!! The Fiber has not been a problem for either my husband or I. However, I have alway used lots of fiber - especially when I'm religiously doing low carb.

OK - so I got hungry for Pizza. This recipe is a derivative of the cheese bread, but I tried to decrease the cheese and lower the calories a bit. Here it is. I tried put pictures on - I guess I'll see if it was successful. What I tried to show in the pictures was how thick the crust was and the texture was very much like a "thick" slice of Pizza. Husband and I enjoyed it for upper and we have enough left over for lunch tomorrow.

Cheers
marcea


GF Glucomannan Pizza
Ingredients:
6 Eggs (Large)
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Olive oil
3 tbsp Water
1 tbsp Baking powder
1-2 Cloves Chopped Garlic
5 tsp Glucomannan Powder
1/4 c Flax Seed
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Beat (using electric beater) Eggs, Salt, Water, Olive Oil and Baking Powder until quite fluffy. Then slowly add in Glucomannan. I use a seasoning shaker to shake the Glucomannan in while the electric beater is running. When the beater leaves "waves" in the dough, it's probably just about thick enough. It'll be kind of the consistency of pudding. I then poured in the Flax Seed and the Parmesan Cheese. Pour batter onto a 16 Inch Pizza pan and spread it out as evenly as possible. (Mine came to abut 1-1 1/2 inches from the edge)

NOTE: Start out with just the 5 tsp Glucomanna, but depending on the size of the eggs you may need a bit more.

Cal Carbs Fiber
Eggs 360 (I think Eggs do have some Carbs - maybe .07? but I didn't figure those.)
2 T Oil 220
Flaxseed 140 5 4
Parm Cheese 480 0 0
Glucomannan 0 25 25

Calories 1200 for the entire Pizza Crust I cut it into 8 slices so that's about 150 calories a slice of Pizza crust. (Then you gotta figure out about the toppings.
Carbs 30 - Fiber 29. makes 1 Carb For the entire pizza

Note: The next time I make this - I am going to totally leave out the Parmesan Cheese and try replacing it with another 1/4 C Flax seed.

[Nelle Belle]

Originally Posted by Nelle Belle

Made a vanilla protein shake, 1 scoop PP, 16 ounces almond milk 1.5 tsp GP.
OMG I love the mouth feel of this.

Leftovers i just heated in microwave and added HWC to make it into cereal.

[PaminKY]

I checked my notes last night and here is the revised version:


Glucomannan Strawberry Glaze

2 cups cold water
2 envelopes unsweetened strawberry Kool-aid
1/4 tsp strawberry extract, McCormick brand (may not need, I added this before deciding to add the second packet of Kool-aid)
4 Tbs Steviva (a stevia/erythritol blend)
1/4 tsp stevia extract, powdered
1/4 tsp liquid Sweet n' Low (I don't use this much but was trying to get a synergestic effect from the sweeteners)
1/2 tsp xylitol
1 tsp glucomannan powder

Put water in saucepan, add all ingredients except glucomannan and whisk until dissolved. I measure the glucomannan powder into a stainless steel shaker and then sprinkle over the liquid a little at a time whisking the whole time until all the glucomannan is added. I then slowly heated it up a bit until everything dissolved and was as thick as I like. Pour into container and let cool then refrigerate.


**I plan on eliminating the Sweet'n Low next time, don't like to use it myself but was originally making this for my diabetic father-in-law and that is his preferred AS and I keep a bottle of the liquid version on hand for his coffee.



Last night I did a taste test with this versus the T. Marzetti brand (regular not sugar-free) with four teenage boys and the gluc version won hands down.

I love this stuff, I can finally thicken things without the slimy feeling you get with xanthum gum.

I had some leftover beef gravy that I had made with gluc. in the fridge and when I made some Dottie's Texas Chili the other night I used it with a bit of water instead of the beef broth the recipe calls for and it made the chili nice and thick with a really nice texture, the way I like it. I can't wait until Netrition gets it in stock, I never want to be without this stuff in my kitchen.

[ev.cheung]

Originally Posted by terrry7

I'm new here & have been reading what you did. It seems like you stopped 1 step too soon! All you would have to do is put the pickling lime (I got some at Walmart) in the water you were squeezing the glu from the ziplock bag.

Could you please send the links or expound on how you made your 3 different formulas? I would like to try the boiling in lime water step!

Hi Terry, here are the 3 methods I tried.

1) The first time I put the gel in a ziplock bag ...
The method posted on Konjac Foods site
2 tsp gluc powder glucomannan
1/8 tsp pickling lime
Procedure:
Pour 2 cups of cold water into a pot. Stir in the pickling lime. Then, add the Glucomannan powder, stirring continuously to a boil. Boil the mixture for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. On the website it said that a thermally stable (non-reversible) gel is formed once the mixture cools down so that it can be cut into small pieces, dip in water or steam about 3-5 minutes and then cook in the way you like. Mine didn't set up.

2) I also tried spreading another batch of gel ... This is a Japanese site which sells their own brand of glucomannan powder and coagulant. I used the Google translater to translate the instructions into English. Not perfect but kinda got the essentials. I also watched the video just to see the steps better. Again, mine didn't turn into those fluffy white blocks.

3) Finally I tried a method that requires steaming the gel ... This is a cooking schoold in Taiwan I think. Once again I used the Google translater as well as watched the video. This time the gel did set after steaming but the texture was very different that the stored bought shirataki noodles.

It's funny - I have been thinking in the back of my mind that I should try the Konjac Foods method again, but this time cook the gel on its own, let it cool then squeeze it thru into simmering pickling lime water. However, I haven't decided how high a concentration to go with. Also, I want to purchase the Konjac brand powder first since what I have currently is from Healthy Village and I wonder if that also makes a difference.

Please do let me know the results of your experiment. I'm definitely hoping that you'll be successful.

[mrsitaly]

Okay, this is kind of a silly question. We're going on vacation a week from today (YAY!!!) and although I can live without any Gluc for a week, we're renting a fully-equipped house and it would be nice to stay on plan with some gluc pudding here and there.

We're checking a bag and also doing carry-on. do you think white powder in either a zip-lock or small plastic container would throw out any warning signs? I wonder if carry on would be better and then I could explain what it is? or maybe that's worse??

Or maybe I should just live without it for a week!

[PaminKY]

I've never tried making the noodles but have read all of you're different experiments and I wondered if you couldn't squeeze the gel through a potato ricer into the the lime solution.

Like I said, haven't tried it myself, I still have a bag of the Miracle Noodles in the fridge to try, so not sure what kind of texture the gel is that you are working with.

[PaminKY]

Originally Posted by mrsitaly

Okay, this is kind of a silly question. We're going on vacation a week from today (YAY!!!) and although I can live without any Gluc for a week, we're renting a fully-equipped house and it would be nice to stay on plan with some gluc pudding here and there.

We're checking a bag and also doing carry-on. do you think white powder in either a zip-lock or small plastic container would throw out any warning signs? I wonder if carry on would be better and then I could explain what it is? or maybe that's worse??

Or maybe I should just live without it for a week!

Not sure about this but could you put some in an empty Metamucil bottle or Miralax bottle?

[ouizoid]

somebody posted about replacing a pressed powder makeup container with glu powder while travelling--

[ev.cheung]

Originally Posted by PaminKY

I've never tried making the noodles but have read all of you're different experiments and I wondered if you couldn't squeeze the gel through a potato ricer into the the lime solution.

Like I said, haven't tried it myself, I still have a bag of the Miracle Noodles in the fridge to try, so not sure what kind of texture the gel is that you are working with.

Thanks for the suggestion, PaminKY. I do have a potato ricer tucked away somewhere since I started low-carbing. When I find it I might just give it another try. I stockpiled on my JFC Shirataki noodles when we went Chinese grocery shopping last weekend so the supply should last for at least a month. Maybe Terry7 would have a chance to conduct her experiment and report back before then.

I have not tried the Miracle Noodles brand in particular, the ones I get are somewhat chewy. It seems to be the general consensus on Shirataki noodles from this forum as well. Judging from the various posts, I think it's one of those "you either love it or hate it" thing. To me, it sucessfully replaces the Chinese "bean thread" noodles I used to love so much in my pre "watch my carb" days. Now I can fix those same dishes without worrying about blowing my carb allowance for the day!

[marcea]

mrsitaly - the last time I traveled to Mexico I took food in its regular package so it was labeled. I packed it into the checked in baggage. Gotta admit - it took up more room and weight that way - but it made the trip. At that time I had some powdered Vitamin C that was white and it made it through. That was 3 years ago - so I'm not sure whether it would work now or not.

Have fun on your vacations!!!!
cheers
marcea

[mrsitaly]

All good suggestions - thank you!!

[Kathy]

Thanks to all of your requests, Glucomannan Powder is now available at Netrition.

Konjac Glucomannan Powder

[crazywoman-n-wy]

Originally Posted by mrsitaly

Okay, this is kind of a silly question. We're going on vacation a week from today (YAY!!!) and although I can live without any Gluc for a week, we're renting a fully-equipped house and it would be nice to stay on plan with some gluc pudding here and there.

We're checking a bag and also doing carry-on. do you think white powder in either a zip-lock or small plastic container would throw out any warning signs? I wonder if carry on would be better and then I could explain what it is? or maybe that's worse??

Or maybe I should just live without it for a week!

They way they are these days I don't think I would try to carry on (or check) a ziplock bag of powder!!! I'm afraid you would lose it at best. Now it might make it thru the checked baggage, if they didn't happen to do a bag check of the contents of the bag, but I wouldn't take the chance. (Years ago, I probably would have.)
I think your best bet would either to take the original bag along (probably in the checked baggage), or buy a bottle of caps & put them in the checked baggage. Then just empty the caps & use it that way. (as needed!)

My Personal Opinion. What an aggravation these days!!!