Hot Port

Wintertime means comforting drinks like hot chocolate or hot whiskey, though here in Cork hot port is a definite favourite. At 20% alcohol (compared to whisky's 40%), it's a great excuse to have a Christmas drink during the day, though personally I like to have one before bed. It's festive, comforting and makes me a little sleepy!

Ingredients

2 Shots of Port

300ml Boiling Water

1 Teaspoon Stevia 

1 Slice Of Lemon

5-6 Cloves

Method

1. Press the cloves into the slice of lemon and place at the bottom of your cup or glass. 

2. Pour over the 2 shots of port.

3. In a jug, add the teaspoon of stevia (or other sugar alternative) to the boiling water and mix until dissolved.

4. Add the sugar water to the port. If you're making this in a glass, sit a metal teaspoon in to conduct heat and stop your glass exploding.

5. Leave to cool slightly, then enjoy!

all gone!

While red wine is relatively low in carbs, the extra fermentation that goes into port means its slightly less keto-friendly. If you're trying to lose weight, stick to one of these a day along with your regularly monitored diet.

Low Carb, Low Sugar Chocolate From Freeist

Got a sweet tooth? When you're trying to cut back on your sugar intake it can be hard to find a sweet treat that won't destroy your good work. And face it, dark chocolate is lovely, but sometimes you just need a little more.... more.

Image: Free'ist Foods

I came across these tasty chocolate bars from Free'ist in Tesco recently and I'm converted! Their whole range (chocolate, biscuits, jams and wafers) is free from added sugar, so is suitable for diabetics.

Their chocolate is sweetened with the polyalcohol malitol which -compared to table sugar- is half as caloric, does not promote tooth decay and has a lesser effect on blood glucose. However, eating too much of it can have a laxative effect- you have been warned!

There's a lovely white chocolate with strawberry pieces (pictured above), a tasty milk chocolate with hazelnut, a plain milk chocolate (which is pretty darn close to the real thing!), and a slightly sweet dark chocolate.

You can find the nutritional info and stockist listings on their site and follow them on facebook or twitter.

Lunch At O'Flynns Gourmet Sausages

The other day I wandered over to Winthrop Street on my lunch break and decided to check out O'Flynns. I've bought their tasty sausages a few times in the English Market- the Cumberland, Pork & Leek and Honey & Mustard are particular favourites of mine, while S prefers the more exotic Bratwurst and South African Boerewors.

The restaurant is well known for their sausage rolls with lovely crusty bread, but I wanted to see what they could offer a low carber. For €8 I got a footlong Pork and Leek Sausage, fried onions, salad and dollop of relish- it was pretty tasty and easily hit the lunchtime hunger spot. I'll definitely be back.

You can visit their website here and follow them on Facebook here.