Fool’s Gold: Grain Sweetened Carob Chips

April 01, 2009 ↓ Comments (4)

Grain Sweetened Carob Chips

You can buy stuff in bulk at the Whole Foods store near my home. I usually buy unsweetened carb chips and use them as a chocolate substitute in unsweetened cookies.

Carob is not chocolate by any means. While it has a similar texture, it just isn’t chocolate. When I compared the sugar content in the grain sweetened carob chips and found that there was less sugar (by one gram per serving) in the grain sweetened chips I figured I’d give them a try.

Gwenn made banana muffins and used the grain sweetened chips. We purchased enough for a batch of muffins and then some. The muffins were good, but I could feel the grain sweetened stuff immediately. It was pretty addictive. I kept eating the muffins and then feeling bad. I didn’t feel guilty bad. I felt tense and as if I needed to binge on them so to get rid of the rest. It wasn’t fun. And, of course, eating all the muffins left me feeling bloated.

The carob contains sugars naturally. “Grain sweetened” is still sweetnened.

Since we still had about a cup of them left, I crushed them up and washed them down the garbage disposal so that I wouldn’t eat any more. Sometimes you do whatever it takes to get them out of the house and out of reach.

Even though the unsweetened carob chips measure in at one more gram per serving of sugar that the grain sweetened ones, they do not make me want to binge. I can eat a few unsweetened carob chip cookies and save the rest for another day. Not so with the grain sweetened stuff. This is a key element of avoiding sweets. Avoid anything that drives you to binge!

As a result of this experiment, I’m back to the unsweetened carob chips. Notice that I don’t get upset at myself and say, “I was doing so well. I blew it and ate something I shouldn’t have.” Instead I learned something and moved on. You must also experiment with what triggers you to binge. The only way you’ll know is if you try.

Comments · Fool’s Gold: Grain Sweetened Carob Chips

Helene
Oct 29, 2009

I have the same problem with the sweetened carob chips.
I put unsweetened peanut butter on lundburg rice cakes and then spinkle the unsweetened carob chips on top. Eat it with a Mendota Springs sparkling water and I am full and satisfied and no desire to binge.

My question is, where do you buy yours, everywhere I have looked they are so expensive.

DavidVanadia
Oct 29, 2009

Hi Helene,

We get unsweetened carob chips from the Whole Foods bulk aisle. We also get them from New Seasons and a local food co-op. You can usually find them at health food stores if you don’t have Whole Foods or New Seasons near you.

As for price, yes they are expensive. We’ve paid up to $21 dollars for a decent sized bag of carob. Perhaps they can be found online for less…

Helene
Oct 31, 2009

ok, thanks so much. Would you know of a carob chip cookie recipe that is also low in sugar?

DavidVanadia
Nov 01, 2009

Here’s the recipe we use:

Carob Chip Cookies