After drying, the fruit’s pulp is roasted and ground into a powder that resembles cocoa powder.  Both come from a tropical pod but have different flavors (the pods which hold cacao beans are processed to make cocoa powder and chocolate too).  But carob has some great virtues when compared to cocoa.  1 tablespoon of unsweetened carob powder has 25 calories, no fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and 6 grams carbohydrate and 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder contains 12 calories, 1 gram of fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and 3 grams of carbohydrate. But  unlike cocoa powder and chocolate, carob is caffeine-free and it also contains three times as much calcium as cocoa powder. Unsweetened carob powder is naturally sweeter than cocoa but carob is not as flavorful as chocolate. To substitute carob powder for cocoa powder, replace one part cocoa with 2-1/2 parts carob powder by weight.  I love carob chips when substituted for chocolate chips in recipes for beverages and baked goods. But if you decide to include carob in your meal plan, be sure to read the labels as you'll want to know what was added to the carob product and what the calorie, fat, and carbohydrate counts of the product are too.

Another great low carb comfort food recipe from Linda's Low Carb (www.genaw.com utbutter_candy.html): 2 TBS butter 1/4 cup natural chunky peanut butter 1/4 cup Splenda 1 cup chocolate whey protein powder 1/4 cup Da Vinci SF Vanilla syrup 1/4 cup Salted nuts (optional) * Melt the Butter, and mix with Splenda. * Add the Peanut Butter to the mix until smooth. * Mix protein powder until crumbly * Add SF syrup, and the mix should turn glossy and much easier to form into 2 mini loaf pans * Freeze …