I think I may be in love … with a carrot cake cupcake, a cheesecake, and a protein bar, and, mostly, with Guiltless Protein Bakery. It’s pretty much a perfect love story. But first, as all good stories go, let’s go back to the beginning of my low carb adventure.

I started following a low carb diet almost six years ago. It worked so well for me – hello to never getting sick! – that I stuck with it.

Now, there is much about eating a low carb, or, in my case, a mostly ketogenic, diet that I could go into but that is not the point of this article. There is a bunch of great research out there if you want to delve into more detail.

But whether you think a low carb diet is good or not, there is one thing most of us can agree on: The modern diet contains too much sugar and too many processed foods. And pretty much every single one of us could do well by cutting a bit of that out.

Introducing Guiltless Protein Bakery

But just because you avoid all of the bad stuff doesn’t mean that you can’t have some fun. And that’s exactly where Guiltless Protein Bakery enters the mix.

A couple of years ago, Guiltless owner Claire Going thought exactly that. This baker extraordinaire set out to create an assortment of baked goodies and sweet treats to enjoy with none of the bad stuff.

Guiltless Bakery creates its magic using whey protein, small amounts of gluten-free oats for texture, and xylitol to sweeten. Their products contain no added sugar, are gluten-free, high in protein, low in carbs, and contain no preservatives.

A full product breakdown of each item informs you exactly how many calories, protein, carbs, sugar, fibre, and fat each goodie contains. Winning!

The Guiltless Protein Bakery Go-To Box

I tried some of the Guiltless goodies a while back before the world went crazy and absolutely loved it. But I really wanted to try everything! Luckily, at Guiltless, there’s an option for that too.

They have a super nifty offer called the ‘Guiltless Go-To Box’ (R300, including delivery), which pretty much contains one of everything. You’ll find:

• 6 assorted bonbons
• 4 assorted cupcakes
• A soft-baked chocolate chip cookie
• Protein bar
• Brownie
• A slice of cheesecake

I mean, R300 for all of that AND you can indulge without feeling guilty? Yes, please!

Cupcakes For The Win

The Guiltless Go-To Box contains 4 cupcakes:

• Nuts for Carrot
• Red Velvet
• Salted Caramel
• Triple Chocolate

Very often, my biggest criticism with low-carb, sugar-free baking is that everything is just too sweet. Bakers often forget that, as people decrease their sugar intake – or even cut it out completely – their sweetness levels reset too. This means that a ‘normal’ amount of added sweetness can taste too sweet.

But Guiltless Bakery gets this right. These cupcakes have just the right amount of sweetness. They are still sweet treats without being sickly sweet. And the texture is pretty amazing too.

Strangely enough, even though I don’t usually like carrot cake, the Nuts for Carrot cupcake ended up being my favourite. Spiced and moist, it reminded me a bit of Christmas and happy times. And that cream cheese frosting? Wow! Just wow.

The Red Velvet cupcake is also covered in an amazing cream cheese frosting. Again, not too sweet, delicate, and oh-so-soft and moist. This cupcake was amazing too.

The Triple Choc and Salted Caramel cupcakes are also good but, in my opinion, the Carrot and Red Velvet cupcakes are in a league of their own.

A Bonbon A Day Keeps The Sadness Away

The Guiltless Go-To Box also contains six bonbons:

• White choc carrot
• Dark choc carrot
• Red velvet
• Espresso
• Chocolate
• Peanut butter

Our Go-To Box contained an additional red velvet bonbon as the peanut butter one was out of stock. I am dealing with a pretty severe peanut butter addiction at the moment, so I was sad to miss out. But I guess that just means I should order another Go-To Box asap!

The bonbons are a bit sweeter than the cupcakes – but not overly so. This just means that you’ll be pretty satisfied after eating just one of them.

The best way for me to describe these bonbons is to imagine a delicately textured truffle enrobed with chocolate.

Again, the carrot option was my favourite. Even more spiced and intense in flavour than the cupcakes, these carrot bonbons were heavenly.

The red velvet bonbons were my sister’s favourite, and she was pretty happy to have two of them. And I agree that they were yum.

The chocolate and espresso bonbons are also very good.

A Protein Bar, Cheesecake, Brownie And A Choc Chip Cookie Walk Into A Bar

I don’t know why they’re walking into a bar but just go with it.

One of the reasons I like the idea of an assorted box is that you end up receiving something you may not have usually ordered. I would never have selected the carrot cupcake or carrot bonbons but now I will always have these at the Guiltless Bakery.

Another thing I wouldn’t even have looked at is the dark chocolate cookie dough bar. But OMG, I’m glad I tried it! This chewy nougat-style bar covered in chocolate literally took my breath away. Again, it’s not too sweet but oh-so-satisfying.

This is the closest thing to a guilt-free bar of chocolate that I’ve ever had. No, scrap that. This is better than any bar of chocolate I’ve ever had.

Now, let’s talk about the rest.

Light and fluffy, the cheesecake pretty much wins all cheesecake contests. The rocky road brownie is nutty with a wonderful texture and pretty good too. The soft-baked choc chip cookie was too sweet for me but, other than that, it was exactly what it promised to be.

Sweet Endings

After following a low carb diet for so many years, my taste buds have changed and I am acutely aware that I may find some low carb things yummy that other ‘normal’ people may not. So whenever I review a low carb goodie, I make use of the Sister Taste Test.

Benike, the sister, is the original foodie. She has zero dietary concerns and will eat pretty much anything. But being a good foodie also means she is excellent at sniffing out anything that isn’t quite right.

And here’s the thing: Guiltless goodies don’t taste like substitutes. They taste like the real thing, just minus all the bad stuff.

So whether you follow a low-carb, gluten-free, or sugar-free diet, or if you just want to have some really delicious goodies without a sugar-induced coma or feeling sluggish, Guiltless Protein Bakery is probably where you should be looking.

I do love a good love affair. Thank you, Guiltless Bakery, for creating such an amazing selection!

A Quick Note For The Serious Low Carbers 

Bear in mind that baked goodies, even if healthy, are still treats.

The Nuts for Carrot cupcake, for example, contains 12 g of carbs. So having one is yay. But having two might kick you out of ketosis.

That said, we are in the middle of a pandemic and I, for one, have relaxed my carb count till the world has stopped spinning like crazy.

Get Your Hands On Guiltless Protein Bakery Treats

The Guiltless Go-To Box is available at R300, including delivery. Of course, you don’t have to indulge in the whole box – you can also order individual treats.

For more information, to view the menu, delivery schedule, and to order, visit the Guiltless Protein Bakery website. Also, feel free to check them out on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also reach Claire directly via e-mail at orders@guiltless.co.za or telephone on +27 21 007 5669.

Written by Sabine Palfi
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Article Date: July 2020

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