Chatila's Sugar-free Muffins

So I really loved ordering sugar-free muffins from Chatila's bakery, a place I found out about on these forums.  However, yesterday when I went to re-order my muffins online, I found out that they switched their sweetner to Agave nectar and the calorie counts on their muffins have risen significantly.

I am already aware that I am going to be chastised by the all-natural advocates for my artificial sweetner preference.  However, I am wondering if anyone else orders these muffins and is angry about this change.

The old calorie counts were 80 or 90 calories for a 75 gram muffin.  However, I weighed the muffins and they are usually between 90 and 100 grams, which comes out to about 110 to 120 calories, which I still found to be low considering the size and taste of the muffins.  The new calorie counts are 120-130 calories for a 75 gram muffin which comes out to about 170 calories for a 100 gram muffin.

I am really dissapointed in the company for hopping on the all-natural bandwagon without considering that their loyal customers would pay a premium for low-calorie muffins.  Now that these muffins have the same calorie count as any other similar sized muffin, I don't see the point of paying $10.15 for a dozen.

If you are a former Chatila's customer like myself and are unhappy about this ingredient switch, I encourage you to write to the company.  I have already sent an email and received a response touting the benefits of Agave (I don't care! I want my low-calorie muffins back!) :(  Maybe if enough customers express a concern, they will consider switching back, or at least continuing to produce some sugar-free muffins in addition to the Agave ones.

Now I will sit back and wait for the anti-artificial sweetner advocates to pick this thread apart and tell me how maltitol, splenda, ect are going to make me fat and give me cancer.

I order their donuts, but I don't think they've switched on those...yet!  Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I've ever really trusted their nutritional information (years ago, I believe it was shown to be very inaccurate), but I must agree - if they do switch the donuts, I will stop ordering.

Just to follow-up: I spoke to someone at the bakery today, and they are switching to agave-sweetened products for all items (even my donuts - the only reason they haven't switched them so far is because they are looking for a chocolate producer that doesn't use malitol).

I'm bummed -  but MAYBE the new donuts will be better!

NOOOOO! haha you wont find an anti-artificial sweetener gal here.  I have always been a HUGE Chatilas fan, I havent ordered from them in about 6 months, but I would order about 2 dozen of their SF next generation muffins at a time.  I was always a bit skeptical about the nutritional information they posted but the muffins were never overtly too sweet so I figured it wasnt too bad.  Although I am glad you told me about the weight of the muffins b/c I didnt realize that, but still even at 110 calories and no sugar it was a good bargin, I also loved their dougnuts, eclairs, cheesecakes too! Aww im so bummed!
Mostly b/c I can buy higher calorie naturally sweetened muffins at health food stores by my house but these little gems were my favorite find. 
I will definitely write to them as well!

What a bummer!
Also how cool was it that your dozen muffins could be a variety of flavors, that was my favorite part!

Thanks for sharing though!
Such a bummer!
If you find any other SF bakery websites let me know
Linda's diet delites isnt too bad and they have a decent SF cheesecake and good cookies.

You know, I've ordered from Linda's as well - and I think their stock is actually from Chatila's (which is why I started ordering directly from the baker - cheaper and fresher; though Linda's was nice to try things out 'one at a time').

I've been searching for a new 'sugar free' bakery, and will definitely post if I find one!  Most I've found online are simply resellers for Chatila's - there is one company called a Bountiful Harvest, but I can't seem to get NI from them.

I'm so glad to find some fellow artificial sweetener fans on here who feel my pain over the loss of our beloved sugar-free baked goods.  I feel like I never want to post on here because people are always getting attacked for their food choices.  I like processed foods...so what..

I too have been searching desperately for alternative muffins.  I hate Vitamuffins..they are possibly the most overrated food item ever, so that's not an option.  I found a couple of really, really expensive sites that sell sugar-free muffins.  (I used to order from DiabeticFriendly.com.  Their muffins were really expensive at $12.99 for 6!  I considered ordering from them again until I found out that they are a franchise of Chatilas.)  I also found a site that sells fat-free muffins that supposedly have around 100 calories a muffin..it is called SimplyScrumptious.com.  I ordered their fat-free sample pack.  The donuts are good, but they are different than the Chatilas ones.  They are glazed instead of filled.  I could see how some people would think they taste diet-y though.  I haven't tried the muffins yet.  I'll let you know how they are.

I think Chatila's really messed up here.  Their muffins were delicious and not at all diet-y tasting as they were.  They were better than any sugar-sweetned or sugar-free muffins I've tried.  They claim Agave will improve the flavor, but the flavor was amazing as is...I believe the proper sentiment here is "Leave well-enough alone"  Sigh..

I'm going to experiment with making my own sugar-free muffins with soy and almond flours.  I'll let you guys know if I can re-create a muffin similar to what Chatila's sold.

Yes! I have totally thought of trying to create my own version as well, let me know how yours come out, I would to try to make them!

Oh I also forgot have you ever tried any of the Dixie Diners muffin/cake mixes, the nutritional information seem to be on par with that Chatilas was, I have been debating on trying the mixes for a while now.  I think they have 25 calorie SF angel food puffs that look pretty good, I think this week I may go ahead and buy them and give them a shot.

Will let you know the results.

Why not make your own sugar-free muffins at home? I made some lemon cupcakes this weekend for a diabetic church member and they were surprisingly good (I don't usually use or eat artificial sweeteners, and I actually enjoyed them).  I used splenda instead of sugar, egg-whites instead of whole egg, and smart balance instead of butter, and when I figured out the calorie count they were 100 calories each. Then I topped them with some homemade yoghurt that I'd drained in a seive and fresh strawberries.

I'm back with an exciting update on the sugar-free muffin front....

I was browsing the Linda'sdietdelites.com website, and found the following regarding Chitila's sugar-free new generation muffins.  (Linda's is a distributor of the brand.)

"Recently, the bakery switched to Agave sweetener and as a result increased the calories on these mufins. Fortunately, after only a couple weeks of baking the new version they have decided to continue to bake the low calorie, original version for Linda's Diet Delites only. So, don't worry, your muffins will be fully available soon. We will be restocked in all the flavors by the end of the week!"

I'm so excited.  I tried to make my own muffins but they don't have the same wonderful crumbly, yet moist texture as the Chatila's ones do.  I however, only used soy and all-purpose flour, not almond flour.  I think if I want to re-create the Chatilas muffins, I will have to purchase pastry flour, almond flour and xanthan gum, all ingredients present in the muffins, which might cost me more than just purchasing them online.  Oh well, I am purchasing tons and tons of muffins come the end of the week!!!

Great news - glad to hear that you'll still be able to get your muffins!