Best Brown Bran Bread

My Mother-in-law made the best brown bread this summer. When I probed, she showed me the recipe in the Mennonite Treasury. Page 29 in my cookbook, Brown Bran Bread had a wonderful texture and delicious flavour. When I got home I experimented with the 10 grain cereal, and I've perfected a scaled down version with the addition of some whole grains.

2 1/4- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon instant/bread machine yeast*

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup natural bran

1/2 cup multi-grain cereal (Bob's Red Mill 10-grain cereal is my favourite)

1 1/3 cups very warm water

1/4 cup vegetable/Canola oil

*if using active yeast, dissolve sugar in 1/3 cup of the warm water, then sprinkle yeast over water to proof for 10 minutes while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.

Kitchen Aid Instructions:
Add salt, sugar*, instant yeast*, bran, cereal, and 2 1/4 cups of the flour to your largest Kitchen Aid mixing bowl. Add warm water* and oil. Mix on lowest speed with dough hook, for about 10 minutes, until flour is incorporated. Add more flour, 1/8 cup at a time, until dough no longer sticks to your fingers when you test it.

Take dough off dough hook, and form into a ball with your hand. Remove from bowl, (either hold in one hand or rest on clean breadboard) and add a drizzle of oil to bottom of bowl. Put dough in bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and roll/ shape it into a 6 1/2 inch long roll, and place in lightly greased bread pan. Set in warm place to rise again for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pan out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pan. Cool on baking rack.

Regular Instructions:
Add salt, sugar*, instant yeast*, bran, cereal, and 1 cup of the flour to a large mixing bowl. Add warm water* and oil. Using electric hand mixer/ beaters, beat batter together for 3-5 minutes, until mixture looks gelatinous, (kind of gooey/ glue-y) It will be very sticky.

Now, using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix in 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups more flour. As the flour is incorporated, the dough will get stiffer and you'll find it easier to just transfer it to a lightly floured board and mix with your hands.

When the dough starts to feel less sticky, and the flour is mixed in, begin to knead the dough, adding a little flour at a time as needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands. As you knead it, the dough will get less sticky and the less flour you add, the lighter your bread will be.

To knead: Gather the dough into a ball. With the heel of your hands, push the dough away from you. Now with your fingers pull the dough back towards you into the ball. Repeat with pushing away and pulling it back 4 or 5 times. The dough should start to get longer, side to side. Rotate the dough, (1/4 turn), so it is long-wise to you; gather the longer end up into a ball with your fingers, then push it back out in the kneading motion as before. Continue kneading and turning the dough for at least 10 minutes. The longer you knead, the better your bread will be.

Put a drizzle of oil in the bottom of the bowl. Put the dough in the bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and roll/ shape it into a 6 1/2 inch long roll, and place in lightly greased bread pan. Set in warm place to rise again for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pan out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pan. Cool on baking rack.

Yield: 1 large loaf

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Mmm... coffee cake for breakfast. Company's Coming Muffins And More cookbook has a good recipe that I thought could be made better for you. I made it the night before so I wouldn't have to be up really early.

The night before you could mix the "topping" ingredients together in a small bowl, the dry ingredients together, and then the wet ingredients together- except for the baking soda. I would cover the butter/egg/sour cream mixture and put it in the fridge for the night. In the morning, the first thing I would do is add the baking soda to the sour cream mixture. Then I would turn on the oven and prep the baking pan. Now just mix the dry/flour ingredients into the wet, and follow the instructions for layering the batter and the topping in the pan and stick it in the oven. You've got about half an hour to shower now. Go!


1/2 cup hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1/2 cup all purpose (white) flour
1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Demerara sugar (beside the brown sugar at the store)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Cream margarine, Splenda and first egg together in a large bowl. Add second egg. Beat well. Add baking soda, sour cream and buttermilk. Mix well.

In a smaller bowl, mix flours, baking powder and salt. Add to batter. Stir to mix. Put half the batter in a well greased Bundt cake pan*.

Stir Demerara sugar, cinnamon and walnuts together. Sprinkle half over the batter. Spoon the second half of the batter here and there over the top. Sprinkle the second half of the cinnamon mixture over all.

Bake at 350*F for half an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Serve warm. (or cold the next morning... or reheat for a few seconds in the microwave...)

*After I chose the Bundt pan and put it in the oven I realized that I might have trouble serving the cake. The pan was well greased, though, and it came out very well. The benefit of using the Bundt pan was even baking throughout, without the edges drying out before the centre was baked. The original recipe calls for a 9" square pan; If you use a square pan it should work, but it might take a little longer to bake. (45 minutes in the original recipe) Check it frequently after half an hour so you can catch it as soon as the centre of the cake is baked, before it gets too brown on the edges. You might find that an 8" square pan is big enough for this recipe, as replacing the sugar with Splenda reduces the volume of the batter quite a bit.

Per Serving:(1/8th)

Calories: 345
Fat: 19 g
Saturated Fats: 0.86 g
Cholesterol: 48 mg
Sodium: 415 mg (-74 mg if you omit the salt in the recipe)
Carbohydrates: 37 g, 1/16=19 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugars: 29 g, 1/16=14 g
Protein: 9 g
Potassium: 15 mg

Per Serving: (1/12)

Calories: 230
Fat: 13 g
Saturated Fats: 0.57 g
Cholesterol: 32 mg
Sodium: 277 mg (-49 mg if you omit the salt in the recipe)
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fibre: 1 g
Sugars: 19 g
Protein: 6 g
Potassium: 10 mg

(1/16th of the cake = 19 g carbohydrates, 14 g of those from sugars)

Oatmeal Honey Cookies

NEARLY like the original "Honey Oatmeal Cookies" recipe in Company's Coming Cookies...

I reduced the margarine, replaced sugar with Splenda, increased the oats, decreased the flour and replaced the white with whole wheat. Oh, and I added a little baking powder. They're quite good. Last time I made them I used part raisins and part chocolate chips, which was nice. If you use "mini" chocolate chips you get the essence of a chocolate chip cookie without quite as much chocolate. Very yummy, even if they are sort of good for you.


1/2 cup (125 ml) hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup (125 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/2 cup (125 ml) creamed honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla
2 1/4 cups (550 ml) Roger's Porridge Oats
1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
1 cup (250 ml) raisins

Cream butter, Splenda and honey together well. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Shape into balls, and press lightly with a fork. Bake at 350*F. for about 10 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

With a light, summery salad, you need a light, refreshing dressing. This is one. The original (from the Complete Canadian Diabetic Cookbook) called for sour cream and orange juice. I've altered it just a bit. It's light, lovely and very quick to whip up.


1 small- medium orange
3 Tablespoons light mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons fat-free, no sugar added yogurt (I used Yoplait Source Melon Trio)
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

With a citrus zester, zest the orange into a small bowl. (about 1 teaspoon orange zest).

Cut the zested orange in half, and squeeze out the juice to make 1/4 cup. Add it to the orange zest in the bowl.

Whisk together the orange zest and juice, mayonnaise, yogurt, honey, and poppy seeds.

Makes about 3/4 cup. Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator.

Oatmeal Muffins Your Kids Will Eat

These Company's Coming Muffins & More Banana-Oatmeal muffins have been twigged a bit. The substitutions qualify it as a lower fat, higher fibre, no-sugar-added breakfast or snack break. And besides all that- they taste really yummy.

1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 ml) whole wheat flour
1 cup Roger's Porridge Oats
1/2 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) peanut butter (to keep sugar lower, use a natural peanut butter or Kraft No Salt-No Sugar added Peanut Butter)
1/4 cup (50 ml) skim milk
3 over-ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins
1 medium apple with peel, cored and chopped

Preheat oven to 400* F. (200*C)

*Kitchen Aid method: Into large mixer bowl put: eggs, peanut butter, milk and whole bananas. Mix on lower speed until all are blended and fairly smooth.

Stop mixer and add: flours, Oats, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix slowly, (with pulsing motion for the first minute or so) until dry ingredients are blended. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and apple.

Grease, or line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Put muffin pans in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350*F (180*C) and bake for about 20 minutes. Until centre of middle muffin bounces back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

*Non-Kitchen Aid method: In large bowl, mix together flours, Oats, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the centre.

In a second, smaller bowl, mash bananas, then add eggs, peanut butter and milk. Mix with electric mixer or by hand until well blended and fairly smooth. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients.

Mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and apple.

Grease, or line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Put muffin pans in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350*F (180*C) and bake for about 20 minutes. Until centre of middle muffin bounces back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Fruity Oatmeal Muffins

Originally "Company's Coming Muffins & More" Oatmeal Muffins, these have had the fruit and fibre kicked up. Great for breakfast, a quick snack or even a fairly guilt free dessert. Try them with a little butter and honey.

1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat flour
1 cup (250 ml) rolled oats
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) brown sugar, packed
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) cinnamon
3/4 cup (175 ml) raisins
1 cup (250 ml) chopped, cored, but not peeled apple (about 1 small)
1 egg
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) molasses, treacle or black treacle
1/4 cup (50 ml) Canola oil
1 cup (250 ml) skim milk
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla

Preheat oven to 400*F.

Mix flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, Splenda, 10 grain cereal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, raisins and apple in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.

In a small bowl, beat egg until frothy. Mix in molasses/treacle, oil, milk and vanilla. Pour into well. Stir only to moisten. Let stand 5 minutes.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups. Divide between 16 cups.

Put muffin tins into 400* F oven. After 5 minutes reduce oven temperature to 350*F. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until tops are browned and bounce back when touched, or a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove paper lined muffins to cooling rack. Let un-lined muffins rest for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Makes 16 muffins.

Fresh Fruit Flan Trifle

Probably every time I'm at my Mom and Dad's I've had opportunity to help make dessert, and every time I think of this treasure. I always check this website, and I always find that although I've been meaning to post it, I haven't done so. Finally, here it is.

The cake for the flan started life as "Almond Roll with Fresh Cherries" in the "Simply Splenda Cookbook" put out by my hero, Graham Kerr, back in 2004. This little cookbook has served as a "springboard" for many great cooking, baking and preserving ideas. I hesitate to confess that I've tweaked a Graham Kerr recipe, but honesty compels me to tell you where the original recipe came from. I wanted to add a little fibre, and I reduced the amount of Splenda. The technique is all Kerr, and the resultant sponge is a wonderfully versatile little cake.

For a Fruit Flan "Trifle" I bake the cake in my 10" tart/ flan pan. I've also baked it in a 9 X 13 inch pan to cut into squares for a real trifle, and divided the batter into 2- 8 inch round pans for a shortcake. I haven't tried it as a jelly roll, but I believe it would work really well for that too.

Cake:
4 large eggs
4 Tablespoons sugar (divided)
1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable/ Canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Divide the eggs as follows:

In large mixing bowl place 1 whole egg + yolk of 2nd egg.

In another mixing bowl place whites of 3 eggs, reserving the 2 extra yolks for the custard.

Whip the 3 egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form. Add 2 Tablespoons of the sugar and continue to beat until stiff, but not dry. Set aside.

To the whole egg and egg yolk, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar, the oil and the vanilla. Beat until ribbons form when you lift the beater, (about 5 minutes).

In a 3rd bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, baking powder, salt and Splenda. Fold into the egg yolk mixture.

Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Pour into well greased 10" flan pan. Bake at 350* for 12-15 minutes, until golden.

When cake is cooled, loosen edges of pan and invert onto serving plate. Fill with custard, then top with sliced/diced fresh fruit that has been tossed with a little sugar or Splenda (either one kind, like strawberries or peaches, or a variety of fruit in a pleasing arrangement) and low fat whipped topping. Well drained canned fruit could be used if fresh fruit is not available.

Custard:
1/2 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
3 Tablespoons corn starch
2 cups skim milk
2 egg yolks in a bowl, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

In medium sized saucepan, combine Splenda and cornstarch. Gradually add milk, whisking to blend.

Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

Whisk small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. (use a small measuring cup or a soup ladle to transfer the hot milk) Immediately pour heated egg yolks back into the pot with the hot milk mixture. Whisk egg yolks in, until well blended.

Return pot to heat, cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.

Stir occasionally while pudding cools to prevent skin from forming on top.

"Diabetic" Cream Pie

This is a take on the "basic cream pie recipe" found in Better Homes & Gardens Pies and Cakes cookbook. It's a nice custard pudding which can be used to make a low fat cream pie or trifle.

3/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/3 cup corn starch
3 cups skim milk
3 egg yolks in a bowl, slightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In medium sized saucepan, combine Splenda and cornstarch. Gradually add milk, whisking to blend.

Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

Whisk small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. (use a small measuring cup or a soup ladle to transfer the hot milk) Immediately pour heated egg yolks back into the pot with the hot milk mixture. Whisk egg yolks in, until well blended.

Return pot to heat, cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.

For Coconut Cream Pie; add 1 cup of coconut to custard and fill cooked pie shell.
For Banana Cream Pie; spread custard into cooked pie shell lined with sliced bananas.

Serve with low fat whipped topping, or meringue made with Splenda and the whites of the eggs used in the custard.

Two Egg Custard

This is a take on the 3 egg "basic cream pie recipe" found in Better Homes & Gardens Pies and Cakes cookbook. It's a nice custard pudding, that can be used to make a low fat cream pie or trifle. For a pie or trifle dessert, I've found that 1 1/2 or 2 times the amount of custard is needed.

1/2 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
3 Tablespoons corn starch
2 cups skim milk
2 egg yolks in a bowl, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

In medium sized saucepan, combine Splenda and cornstarch. Gradually add milk, whisking to blend.

Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils. Cook 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat.

Whisk small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. (use a small measuring cup or a soup ladle to transfer the hot milk) Immediately pour heated egg yolks back into the pot with the hot milk mixture. Whisk egg yolks in, until well blended.

Return pot to heat, cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla.

Stir occasionally while pudding cools to prevent skin from forming on top; or cover with plastic wrap. Serve warm or cool.

For cream pies:
-Coconut Cream Pie; add 1 cup of coconut to custard and fill cooked pie shell.
-Banana Cream Pie; spread custard into cooked pie shell lined with sliced bananas.

Serve with low fat whipped topping, or meringue made with Splenda and the whites of the eggs used in the custard.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Very "crunchy", but really good! Especially with fresh No Sugar Added Raspberry Syrup... Yummy!


1 cup Bob's Red Mill Creamy Buckwheat cereal
1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar or artificial sweetener
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 Tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 Tablespoons additional buttermilk if needed

The night before: combine buckwheat cereal and buttermilk, cover and store in fridge overnight.

Stir together flours, sugar (or sweetener), baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add egg, oil and vanilla to buckwheat mixture; stir into dry ingredients. If batter is too thick, add the additional amounts of buttermilk.

Fry pancakes on a lightly greased griddle or skillet. When bubbles appear and top gets "dull" looking, turn the pancakes to cook the second side. If they're getting very brown on the first side before the bubbles have time to appear, the griddle is too hot, so turn the heat down and cook them a little slower.

Makes about 8 pancakes.

No Sugar Added Raspberry Syrup

I've been a fan of Bernardin's "No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin" for a couple of years now. If you like a little spread on your toast, you need to try this stuff. It's very easy to use, and with a little imagination the possibilities are endless! My favourite from last year was "apricot-mango jam"...

Another exciting thing I've tried with this pectin is syrup making. General rule of thumb: double the fruit and sweetener amounts with one box of pectin to make a syrupy fruit topping. Apricot was very successful, and today's raspberry seems to have worked. (the trial amount on my pancakes this morning would indicate complete success...)

Give it a try! It's really not as much work as you might think- and if you don't have sugar issues yourself, but have a diabetic friend or relative, there's nothing that would make a more thoughtful or well appreciated Christmas or birthday gift than a basket of homemade "no sugar added" jams, jellies and syrups!


7 cups raspberry juice*
1 box Bernardin No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin Crystals
2 1/2 cups Splenda artificial sweetener

7 - 8 1 cup (250 ml) canning jars with lids (jars with tin snap lids are recommended; they will need to be processed in hot water bath/ canner)

First, wash and rinse the jars and lids. Set oven to 225*F and set clean jars on rack in oven. They need to be there for 10 minutes to sterilize. (it will take at least that long to make the syrup, so you should be good.) Place the tin snap lids (not the rings) in a small pot; fill the pot about half full of water and set over high heat. Bring to a boil and keep simmering while you cook the syrup.

Follow the directions in the pectin box for "light jelly".

Basically: Measure Splenda into a bowl/ container and set aside- where you can reach it while you're stirring the juice.

Whisk pectin crystals into juice in your largest pot. A tall stock pot is wonderful, as jams/ jellies/ syrups tend to "spit" when they're boiling.

Bring juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. When juice is boiling, add Splenda. Stir/ whisk in and boil for 1 full minute.

Remove from heat, and skim foam off into a bowl (for the kids to eat on bread... ) Now, instead of "ladling into jars", I poured the syrup into my 8 cup Pyrex bowl- the one with the handle and the pouring spout... and then I filled the jars.

Remove jars, one at a time, with tongs or oven mit, then pour syrup into jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top of the jar. Using a magnetic canning tool, or tongs or a fork, lift a tin snap lid from the hot water and place it on the jar, securing it in place with the ring.

When all the jars are filled, place them in a canner, cover the jars with water, and boil the jars in the canner for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars, and without tightening the lids, set them on a towel to cool, upright and undisturbed for 24 hours. (well... that's what the instructions say... I can't promise I always leave them "undisturbed" that long...)

The tin lids should snap down, feeling a little curved under. They shouldn't "pop" up and down at all. If popping occurs the jar isn't sealed, and you must store it in the fridge.

Yield: 7 - 8 cups syrup.

*You could try using pure, unsweetened commercial juice, but I used juice obtained from fresh fruit: I put the raspberries in my largest pot and added water to almost cover the berries. You need water to keep the berries from burning on the bottom, but you don't want them swimming in it or the juice will be watery. I brought the fruit and water to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so, then turned the stove off, removed the pot from the heat and let the cooked berries stand until they were completely cooled. I then ladled the fruit into a jelly bag (a pillow case that I could do without was cut in half for this purpose several years ago) With a strong string, I tie the bag closed and hang it from an upper cupboard doorknob over a very large bowl. My jelly bag has 2 corners, so I catch one of the corners in the middle when I'm tying it up so the other corner is aiming down into the bowl. (this helps the juice drip to that point, and prevents a big mess all over the counter)

Carrot Cake

Or, "Have my Birthday cake and eat it too." For a long time now I've been thinking that Carrot Cake would be a good one for tweaking. I decided to work on it for my Birthday, and it came out pretty well. Porridge oats increases the fibre, the sugar is replaced with Splenda, and I've cut out 1/4 cup of the fat, and then replaced half of the remaining amount with unsweetened apple sauce. The cake didn't really smooth out during baking, so I'd advise making the top as smooth as possible before putting it in the oven. Give it a try, then let me know how yours turned out!


1 cup orange juice
1 cup Roger's Porridge Oats
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 cups all-purpose white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups grated carrots*

*If using commercially shredded carrots, (which I did, and which are fairly thick and coarse) measure them into a microwaveable bowl, add 2 Tablespoons of orange juice, and microwave 2-5 minutes, until carrots are slightly tender. Let cool while you mix up the rest of the batter.

Heat orange juice to just before boiling point.

Measure oats into large mixing bowl. Pour orange juice over oats. Let stand about 5 minutes, until cooled to lukewarm. Add eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla. Mix well.

Add coconut and walnuts, stirring to mix well.

Stir together flour, Splenda, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to wet ingredients. Mix gently until well combined.

Add carrots and raisins.

Pour into greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350*F for 30-40 minutes, until brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool, in pan, on wire rack until completely cool. Ice with cream cheese icing as desired.

The cake is good without icing, too, so for an easier conscience, try just a dusting of icing sugar over the cooled cake, or a very thin layer of frosting.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These started life as Dad's Cookies (from the Mennonite Treasury), but I think, from here on in, they'll be known as "Mom's Cookies". Not sugar free, but sugar reduced. I've cut the recipe in half, as Splenda baking tends to dry out quicker than its sugar laden counterparts, so a smaller batch will be eaten quicker when the cookies are freshest. I promise to do the math on these ones, as I'm also curious about how the nutritional analysis will shape up. So, keep checking back. Until then, go with one at a time, and keep an eye on your sugar levels if you're in doubt.

1/2 cup hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup Roger's Porridge Oats (a combination of large flake oatmeal, oat & wheat bran and flax; follow the link for more info. Scroll down past Large Flake Oats)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 cup raisins

Cream margarine, brown sugar and Splenda together until light. Add egg and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the coconut, oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in raisins.

Divide into 24 balls, and place on lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten each ball with a fork. Bake at 350*F, for 8 - 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Let cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Multi-Grain Banana Bread

This is good. It turned out very nicely. It didn't rise as high as the regular sugar-laden loaf, but has a light and slightly crunchy texture. The cake & pastry flour is a little lighter than regular all-purpose flour, and seems to be a good companion to the whole wheat flour and whole grains. I have to get it written down before I forget what I did...

1/3 cup hard margarine, softened
1/3 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1- 100g container fat-free, no sugar added yogurt, any flavour
1/2 cup multi-grain cereal (such as Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal)
3/4 cup cake & pastry flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350*F.

(I used the Kitchen Aid mixer...) Beat margarine, Splenda, eggs, bananas and yogurt together. Add multi-grain cereal and continue beating until ingredients are well mixed.

Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add to banana mixture and stir to combine. Mix just until dry ingredients are incorporated.

Spread batter into a lightly greased loaf pan, and bake for 45-55 minutes, until loaf is browned and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

A Great Grain Pancake Idea

If you have a mixed marriage as I do, (1 Diabetic- me, + a bunch of regular people), and you have Anti-Grainites in the bunch, you might give this a try:

Mix up a batch of Basic Pancakes, then add 2 or 3 Tablespoons of multi-grain cereal (like Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain cereal) to the last bit of batter. I've found that with the Basic Pancake batter, I can make 8 x 4-5 inch pancakes for "them" add the cereal and get 2 or 3 pancakes for me.

I've used this trick when making waffles as well. Try it with whatever pancake or waffle mix you use- just make enough for the family, then add the cereal for yourself.

I've found E.D. Smith No Sugar Added Syrup to be not bad, (it was better when I added half a teaspoon of maple flavouring to it...) but I often have pancakes with no sugar added jam or peanut butter and jam (for the extra protein).

Mulit-Grain Bread

I promised Gwen that I'd post this... so here it is. I got tired of putting out $4 a loaf for multi-grain bread, so I worked on this. Many, many loaves later I've had consistent results long enough to be ready to share the recipe. It's a fairly light bread with a nice crunchy texture from the grains. The amount of oil can be halved to lower fat content, but the bread will be a bit denser. I often mix up a loaf of this bread on a day I've planned hamburgers, hot dogs, or soup then I'll cut a piece off to make myself a bun for supper and put the rest into a slightly smaller loaf. If the bread is too "grainy" for you, try it with less multi-grain cereal. The amount of flour you need will increase proportionately. Makes 1 large loaf, 9 large buns or 12 medium sized buns.

1/2 cup multi-grain cereal. ("Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal" makes a really nice loaf)
1 cup very warm water
1 Tablespoon/ package active yeast (not instant)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup Canola or vegetable oil
2 - 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons Canola or vegetable oil

Cover multi-grain cereal with water in large mixing bowl/ Kitchen Aid bowl, and sprinkle yeast on top. Sprinkle sugar over yeast and let stand about 10 minutes, until yeast is puffing up and foamy looking.

*Kitchen Aid Instructions:
Add salt, egg, first amount of oil and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on lowest speed with dough hook, for about 10 minutes, until flour is incorporated. Add more flour, 1/8 cup at a time, until dough no longer sticks to your fingers when you test it.

Take dough off dough hook, and form into a ball with your hand. Remove from bowl, (either hold in one hand or rest on clean breadboard) and add second amount of oil to bottom of bowl. Put dough in bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom of the dough with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and roll/ shape it into a 6 1/2 inch long roll, and place in lightly greased bread pan. Set in warm place to rise again until the top of the bread is at least an inch and a half above the rim of the pan.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake the loaf for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pan out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pan. Cool on baking rack.

*Regular Instructions:
Add salt, egg, first amount of oil and 1 cup of the flour. Using electric hand mixer/ beaters, beat batter together until oil and flour are incorporated, and mixture looks gelatinous, (kind of gooey/ glue-y) It will be very sticky.

Now, using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix in 1 to 1 1/4 cups more flour. As the flour is incorporated, the dough will get stiffer and you'll find it easier to just transfer it to a lightly floured board and mix with your hands.

When the dough starts to feel less sticky, and the flour is mixed in, begin to knead the dough, adding a little flour at a time as needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands. As you knead it, the dough will get less sticky and the less flour you add, the lighter your bread will be.

To knead: Gather the dough into a ball. With the heel of your hands, push the dough away from you. Now with your fingers pull the dough back towards you into the ball. Repeat with pushing away and pulling it back 4 or 5 times. The dough should start to get longer, side to side. Rotate the dough, (1/4 turn), so it is long-wise to you; gather the longer end up into a ball with your fingers, then push it back out in the kneading motion as before. Continue kneading and turning the dough for at least 10 minutes. The longer you knead, the better your bread will be.

Put second amount of oil in the bottom of the bowl. Put the dough in the bowl, swishing it around to cover the bottom of the dough with oil, then flip the dough to cover the other side.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2- 2 hours.

When bread dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and roll/ shape into a 6 1/2 inch long roll, and place in lightly greased bread pan. Set in warm place to rise again until the top of the bread is at least an inch and a half above the rim of the pan.

Preheat oven to 350*F, then bake the loaf for 30- 50 minutes until nicely golden.

Take the pan out of the oven, and carefully tip the bread out of the pan. Cool on baking rack.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serving Size: 1 Slice (1/13 of loaf)

Calories 170, Calories from Fat 70, Total Fat 7g, Saturated Fat 0.5g, Cholesterol 15mg, Sodium 190mg, Total Carbohydrate 22g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 0g and Protein 4g.

Gingerbread Men

This recipe is a kicked up version of the "Gingerbread Figures" recipe found in the Company's Coming For Christmas: Holiday Magic For Your Table cookbook, by Jean Pare. I love the spices in these cookies, and I was happy to find that a sugar- reduced version was as good as the original recipe. You can decorate with a minimal amount of icing, or try adding raisins and nuts for faces and buttons before baking. I hope you enjoy this rolled cookie recipe that your diabetic kids can help you make! This is one time they can have their cookies and eat them too. Just don't eat too many, and keep an eye on the blood sugar- remember that molasses has as many carbohydrates/ sugars as the same amount of sugar or honey.

1/2 cup (125 ml) hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup (125 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/2 cup (125 ml) fancy molasses
1 large egg yolk
1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (150 ml) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt

Frosting:
1 large egg white
2 cups (500 ml) icing sugar

Cream butter, Splenda, molasses and egg yolk together until light.

Add next 9 ingredients. Mix well. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. Roll out. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350* F for about 5 minutes (for small/3 " cookies) up to 10 minutes for larger cookies, until lightly browned. Cool.

To make frosting: beat egg with with as much icing sugar as needed to make a frosting that holds its shape. Pipe icing outlines around gingerbread shapes. Large baby bottle liners work well for this. Just fill the plastic liner, cut a small hole in one corner and use as an icing bag.

Orange Cranberry Muffins

My favourite "snack" at McDonalds was the Orange-Cranberry Muffin. When I found the Orange Muffin recipe in Company's Coming Muffins and More Cookbook, I was happy. When I tried it with cranberries and without sugar, I was over the moon! Substituting olive oil for the margarine and using part whole wheat flour makes it even better. These freeze pretty well, and are a wonderful breakfast or coffee break snack.

1 whole unpeeled orange, washed and cut up
1/2 cup (125 ml)no-sugar-added orange juice
1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped dates
1 egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (80 ml) olive oil (OR 1/2 cup/125 ml  hard margarine, softened)
1 cup (250 ml) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (175 ml) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Splenda artificial sweetener
1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 cup (250 ml) dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400*F.

Measure flours, Splenda, baking powder and soda in medium sized bowl. Make a well in the centre.

Cut orange into 7 or 8 pieces. Remove seeds. Combine orange pieces and juice in a blender. Puree. Add dates, egg and olive oil to blender. Blend.

Pour orange mixture into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir just to combine. Gently mix in cranberries.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Place muffin pan in the oven. After 5 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350* F. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.

Makes 12 large, 16 medium muffins.

Note: This recipe also made 3 mini loaves, which were nice when sliced and served with coffee or tea.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Pudding

This recipe is from my French magazine, "Madame" (the September issue). I reread it several times, thinking my French must be faulty... but no, it is indeed cooked oatmeal with an egg added. Being quite sceptical, I tried it, and was delightfully surprised. I was expecting scrambled eggs and oatmeal, but what I got was creamy, tasty porridge with a hint of cinnamon. What a great way to start the day. Now you can have your oatmeal, and some protein too! I'd advise assembling all the ingredients before you start, as once the water boils it goes quite quickly.

Per Serving:

1/2 cup/ 125 ml water
pinch of salt (1 ml/ 1/4 teaspoon for 4 servings)
1 Tablespoon/ 15 ml dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon/ 15 ml (skim) milk
1/8 teaspoon/ .5 ml cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon/ .5 ml vanilla
1/3 cup/ 75 ml quick oatmeal (not instant)

1/3 cup (skim) milk
2 Tablespoons/ 30 ml chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon/ 5 ml sugar or Splenda to taste

Bring the water, salt and raisins (if desired) to a boil over high heat.

Whisk together the egg and milk. Add cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Stir the egg mixture into the water. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the oatmeal. Simmer until the desired consitency is obtained, about 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with 2nd amount of milk, walnuts and sugar/ sweetener as desired.

Rhubarb Spice Crunch Cake

This, as adapted, is like a coffee cake. It turned out moist and nicely spiced, with pieces of tart rhubarb throughout. A nice summer dessert for your fresh rhubarb. I don't think it would work well with frozen rhubarb, but you could try it and let me know how it goes!


1/2 cup margarine, softened
2 eggs
1/4 cup fat free, plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 cups raw rhubarb, cubed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

In large bowl, mix margarine, eggs and yogurt together.

In another bowl, mix flour, wheat germ, Splenda, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.

Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.

Stir in rhubarb, and spread into greased 9 X 13 " baking pan.

Mix brown sugar, second amount of cinnamon, and walnuts together; sprinkle evenly over the top.

Bake at 350 * F, for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, and cake tests done in the center with a toothpick.