foodcourtfeb2006

As Everyone knows, Valentines Day is just right around the corner! The hugs, the
kisses, the flowers, candle lit dinners, oh and yeah…the candy!

As a newly diagnosed Diabetic, this will be my first Valentines Day as one. Personally,
I prefer to receive diamonds as just about any gal would! But there is still the
beautifully wrapped boxed of valentine chocolates. I will be going without those this
year sad to say.

However, there a wonderful alternative!! Sugar free candies! Not the same you say?
Well guys, it’s time to get creative! Two out of the three candies that I’m going to share
with you in this article are either in a small homely looking box or in it’s plastic bag.
This can be changed. Head out to any craft store, (sorry no, Home Depot is not
considered a craft store guys) like Michael’s. There you can pick up what is called a
trinket box. In this time of year, you’ll find heart shaped ones among others. They’ll
even have boxes that are wrapped in satin. See those artificial flowers? They would
make a beautiful decoration on top of the box. A little ribbon and you are done with
your valentine box! Get creative! All you need is a little imagination and some glue. If
you are feeling lost, you can usually find some that are pre-made that you can just buy.
If you find something you want and still can’t figure out how to put it all together, there is
always someone there to help you out with that.

So now you have a beautiful Valentines Day box that is empty. Well that just won’t do
will it? Time to pick up those sugar free candies. Try picking a variety of candies.
After that, all there is left to do is to fill the box with them. Your sweetheart will love you
for the time and effort you put in this project!

Now onto the candies. Before being diagnosed, I fell in love with a candy called Nips.
These are hard caramels in a number of flavors. My favorites were coffee and
caramel. After being diagnosed, I just had to try the sugar free ones. They are
wonderful. The caramel flavored ones are almost as good as the original. They have a
tendency to not be quite as creamy and there is a little bit of a “nutty” taste, but I
enjoyed that. The coffee flavored ones taste exactly as the full sugared ones. There is
also the chocolate flavor, which I have not tried yet. Nips cost about $1.60 for a 2.5 oz
box.

Russell Stover has their own version of low carb candy called NET CARB. These are
sorted chocolates and are delicious. I couldn’t even tell that they are very low on carbs
by the taste. This candy is made with Splenda and costs on average of $7.99 for a 8.25
oz box.

Well, Hershey’s has now jumped onto the band wagon of delicious sugar free candies.
They have now come out with sugar free Miniature White Reese’s Peanut Butter
Cups. These cups are made with white chocolate and are wonderful tasting. I couldn’t
tell the difference of eating sugar free candy! The cost is about $2.00 for a 3oz bag.

Nutrition Facts

NIPS
Serving Size 2 pieces (14g)
Servings per container about 5
Calories 60
Total Fat 1.5g
Saturated fat 1g
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 10mg
Total Carbohydrate 12g
Sugars 0g
Sugar alcohols 12g
Protein 0g

RUSSELL STOVER NET CARB
Serving Size 3 pieces (40g)
Servings per Container about 6
Calories 160 Calories from fat 90
Total Fat 10g
Saturated fat 7g
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 65mg
Total Carbohydrates 22g
Dietary fiber 1g
Sugars 0g
Sugar alcohol 20g
Protein 2g

White Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – miniatures
Serving size 5 pieces (39g)
Servings per container about 2
Calories 180 Calories from fat 120
Total Fat 13g
Saturated fat 6g
Trans fat 0g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 125mg
Total Carbohydrates 21g
Dietary fiber 3g
Sugars 0g
Sugar alcohols 18g
Protein 4g