Some people manage healthy living with diabetes by limiting carbohydrates in their diet, but this means they miss out on tasty, high-carb baked goods. To fill the gap, some California bakeries have opened shop to provide classic treats in a low-carb, sugar-free version.
Besides helping diabetics, Duncan’s Lo-Ca’s mission is to give options to people on gluten-free, keto, and low-carb diets so they can have baked goods that will make their new ways of eating easier.
The website states that the owner was inspired to help her parents, who struggled with diabetes, to gain control of their eating habits and blood sugars. With that she embarked on a baking journey to bake them anything low-carb that she thought would make the transition easier.
The website noted that the owner was especially inspired to help her father, Oscar, who was a Vietnam veteran and suffered from the effects of Agent Orange. He beat colon cancer, and he had stage 5 kidney disease due to the toll of diabetes on his body.
After helping her parents switch to a low-carb diet, for the first time in years they were having normal blood sugar levels, their insulin intake was reduced, and they felt great. This led her to want to share her items with other people to give them options.
Their bagels feature a cheddar and mozzarella cheese jalapeno-topped bagel with a net carb count of 2. Ingredients are almond flour, baking powder, eggs, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, pickled jalapenos, and cheddar cheese.
Their donuts feature a coffee cake donut named the “Oscar” after the owner’s father, with a net carb count of 1. Ingredients are almond flour, baking powder, eggs, heavy cream, cinnamon, monk fruit, erythritol, xanthan gum, and butter.
Her menu includes granola bars, cupcakes, mini cakes, muffins, cookies, scones, donuts, bagels, pancakes, waffles, charcuterie, and Cobb salads.
“I’ve done keto off and on for most of my adult life and found it hard to maintain at times because I didn’t always feel like baking and I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I knew there had to be others out there with my same problem, so I decided to help (at least in my area),” Jill, the owner of JillyBean’s Keto Bakery, told The Epoch Times.
She said that if she can help people stick to their dietary goals or be able to enjoy a corn-free, soy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free treat, then it’s worth it to her to give up some of her free time to bake on the weekend. She has a full-time job during the week.
Her website states that she noticed that keto and low-carb foods were gaining in popularity. With a lack of options in baked goods, the owner was inspired to bake her own treats and give people convenient options.
Her cupcakes feature a carrot cake cupcake with 3 net carbs. Ingredients include almond flour, coconut flour, carrots, eggs, avocado oil, erythritol, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, butter, cream cheese, stevia, pure vanilla extract, and heavy cream.
Her cookies feature a white chocolate macadamia cookie with 1.9 net carbs. Ingredients include almond flour, macadamia nuts, baking soda, cream of tartar, confectioner’s erythritol, eggs, pure vanilla extract, coconut oil, and ChocZero baking chips.
“We originally started out using Splenda [for the sweetener], since that was what I typically used in my personal cooking, but I had several people who asked early on for an alternative because they cannot have anything with corn. Splenda contains maltodextrin, which is typically derived from corn. So I started looking at alternative sweeteners,” she said.
She added that she attempted to use just stevia but ran into the same issue she was having with Splenda; most bags contain maltodextrin. The more she looked, the more she saw that she was never going to be able to please everyone.
“The problem with non-sugars is every single one has its downside. And they all can cause dietary issues for some people if consumed in large amounts. It’s just the sad reality of non-sugar sweeteners,” she said. “So I moved on to a happy medium with the stevia/erythritol blend we use today and plan to stick with it.”
She also stopped using baking powder because most baking powders contain cornstarch, so she could officially add “corn-free” to the ever-growing list of special diets she caters to.
Currently JillyBean’s Keto Bakery only offers delivery to the following areas: Pittsburg, Bay Point, Concord, Clayton, Walnut Creek, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill.
She added that she does not plan to add shipping because she wouldn’t be able to control the quality or presentation of how her product would arrive, which is important to her.
A customer review of JillyBean’s by Caitlin B states, “LOVE supporting this small business owner! Every single item is packed with flavor—you forget it’s without sugar! I’ve already lost track of how many orders I’ve made since Jillian launched. As a type one diabetic, it’s so hard to come across delicious treats that won’t make my blood sugar spike. I’m so thankful that I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Thanks a million, Jillian!”
