Sugar-free Chocolate Chips

We all love eating chocolates, don't we? But as we all are aware that today's generation has become extraordinarily conscious about their health, plus there is this group of middle-aged people who are mostly suffering from diabetes or may be some other health problems. Then what for them? Don't worry. I am sure you will have a smile on your face after reading this article.

You all might be wondering, chocolate chips without sugar? Is it possible? The answer is yes. Obviously, you all must be aware of this "sugar-free" fad going on which is the "in" thing currently. But sugar-free does not always necessarily mean zero sugar; it could be negligible amounts of sugar. It's quite obvious that we would not like to eat chocolate without it being sweet. But if not sugar, then? Well, sugar substitutes, popularly called sugar alcohols or sugar replacers or sugar substitutes are available, which do the needful. All the sugar alcohols are called "polyols"; sweeteners being acesulfame potassium and sucralose to name a few. The advantage of using them obviously being, low-calorie intake that is around 2 cal per gram in comparison to the natural sugars which have high, around 5 cal per gram.

As I mentioned above, the calories in sugar-free chocolate chips makes them superbly popular. It is as good as, you can make your chocolate chips and have it too! As we are talking about calories and stuff, let's talk about some nutritional facts. But before listing them, I would like to mention the different brands which make these chips. You all must have heard of Hershey's. Then there is Sensato and Nevada Manna as well.

Just go through the list of nutrients present in these chips: [these are the average values per serving (around 1-2 tablespoons = approximately 15 grams) for the brands available above]

• Total calories: ranges from 50-80 cal per serving
• Total calories from fats: 40 cal
• Total Fat content: 4.5-5 grams
• Saturated Fat: 3 grams
• Trans Fat: 0 gram
• Cholesterol: 0 milligram
• Total carbohydrates: 9 grams
• Sugar content: 0 gram
• Fiber content: 1-7 grams
• Total proteins: 0-1 gram
• Sugar alcohols: 0 gram
• Sodium content: 0-15 milligram
• Vitamin C: 0 gram
• Vitamin A: 0 gram
• Iron: High chances of it being present. Other minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus might be present in small amounts.

Recipe

I am clarifying the fact that this is going to be a totally sugar-free recipe and the taste obviously bitter, so try it if you want to! And if you want a slight sweet taste, you can add sugar sweeteners or replacers as mentioned above.

Ingredients:

• 350 grams unsweetened chocolate bar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 250 ml non-fat milk, preferably cow's

Procedure:

• Arrange a double boiler. Put on high flame.
• Add milk and butter and stir until it gets mixed uniformly.
• When the water starts boiling, add the unsweetened chocolate bar in it. Stir again until the chocolate melts. See to it that the consistency is thick enough.
• Turn off the flame when the chocolate has entirely melted. This will avoid burning of the chocolate.
• You can use molds of different shapes to allow the chocolate to solidify. Cut it into small chips later on. Your sugar-free chips are ready!

If some of you love dark chocolate, then I have a recipe for you all too. If you all are willing to make dark chocolate chips, you all can follow the same procedure as above. But make sure that you use sugar-free dark chocolate instead of unsweetened one. But I would suggest that you think twice before attempting this one. The dark chocolate is naturally a semi sweet chocolate and if you want to make it sugar-free then, all the best! Try it if you can tolerate its extreme bitter taste. If you are hesitant in trying at home, the Belgian sugar-free dark chocolate chips are pretty famous. Go in for them.

To sum up, I would suggest you all to try sugar-free chocolate chips at home. It is going to be fun people, so go and experiment. Some might like and some might not. Depends on your sweet tooth!