Quarter Cup Muffins

Oatmeal muffins reinvented, using one bowl and two measuring utensils. There are a lot of things you can personalize about these low fat, low sugar muffins. Change up the sweetener or the nuts, add a small apple, finely chopped, or leave out the cinnamon or raisins. Basically, a very nice, hearty muffin that makes a lovely breakfast or snack. If you don't have parchment liners, you might want to either use oil instead of apple sauce, or grease the muffin tins instead of using paper. (the muffins will stick to regular paper liners because they don't have any oil in them.)

1/4 cup sweetener (xylitol, Splenda, white or brown sugar, Stevia)

1/4 cup all purpose Gluten Free flour blend

1/4 cup almond flour

3 x 1/4 cup quick oats

1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are nice)
1/4 raisins

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 x 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 x 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 x 1/4 cup milk (I use dairy free almond milk)

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce (or vegetable/ Canola oil)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Measure ingredients into a medium sized bowl in order given, then mix very well. Actually, mix the heck out of it, then let it stand for 1/2 hour to give the flours time to soak up the liquid and thicken up, while the oven preheats to 350* F. 

Using parchment muffin papers, line 9 muffin cups, then divide the batter between them. Bake for 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned, and the top bounces back when pressed, and when a toothpick inserted into the middle of one comes out clean.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight bag or container. Can be frozen or stored in the fridge to last longer.

I like these eaten with Becel Vegan margarine and honey or marmalade, or with slices of goat cheddar.

Makes 9 medium sized muffins.

Easy New York Style Cheesecake

I've been hungry for cheesecake for awhile. Cherry cheesecake, to be specific. Problem is, the cheesecake at your typical restaurant is worth nearly two whole meals, carb-wise. (Swiss Chalet and Boston Pizza's  nutritional information indicates their cheesecakes have about 75 g of carbohydrates per serving) Also, no one makes Cherry Cheesecake anymore; not that I have anything against strawberry topping, but my favourite has always been cherry. Yes. Since the '80's. SO. Not wanting to fuss with my most excellent graham wafer crust, and finding a New York Cheesecake recipe in the new Splenda cookbook I have become possessed of, I put 2 & 2 together and came up with this quick, smaller, delicious cheesecake. I popped open a can of E.D. Smith Light Cherry Pie Filling, and even The Husband approved. 

1 pre-made graham wafer crust

500 g (2 x 250 g/8 oz packages) light cream cheese

1/2 cup Splenda granular

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

Preheat oven to 325*F. 

Mix all remaining ingredients together, blending until smooth and creamy. Spread in graham wafer crust,  (for added stability, I set the pie crust tin on a cookie sheet) then bake for 30-45 minutes, until filling is firm to the touch and just lightly browned. 

Serve with fresh fruit or pie filling.

Per Serving: (1/8th before topping) *Check the nutrient guide on the pie filling. Serving size=about 1/3 cup; half of that gives you a good 2.5 Tablespoons topping. Add calories and carbs to your totals accordingly. The E.D. Smith Light Cherry Pie Filling I used adds 30 calories & 10 g carbs per serving. 1/4 cup of fresh, chopped strawberries adds about 12 g carbohydrates. Add 5 g of carbs for each teaspoon of sugar you mix with them.

Calories: 300

Fat: 22 g

   Saturated Fat: 11g

Cholesterol: 94 mg

Sodium: 92 mg

Carbohydrates: 19g

   Sugars: 8.5 g

   Protein: 9 g

 

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I needed to make some sugar free muffins this week and I had oatmeal on the brain. I also had a bunch of overripe bananas, but I couldn't find a recipe that had both oatmeal and bananas, so I ended up going to my new "Company's Coming Mostly Muffins" cookbook, which has the most amazing muffin recipes, and took inspiration from two recipes: Basic Banana Muffins and Basic Oatmeal Muffins. I really liked the texture and flavour I got. I also liked the numbers that came up when I crunched them. I think these would be really good with chopped walnuts or pecans, together with or instead of the mini chocolate chips- (which are great for muffins because they are tiny and give the illusion of chocolaty goodness without actually adding too much chocolate). It made a lovely big batch of pretty large muffins. I'm hoping they freeze well, as the extras were tossed into the freezer this morning for breakfast and snacks later on.

1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup buttermilk (or milk soured with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice)

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener (you could make it 1/3 cup if you like 'em sweet)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Canola/vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Combine oatmeal and buttermilk in a medium sized bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

Combine next 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.

Add eggs, oil, vanilla and bananas to the oatmeal mixture. Mix well. Add to the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, until just moistened.

Divide between 15 paper-lined or greased muffin cups. Bake at 375*F for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Let stand in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cooled with butter if desired.

Makes 15 large muffins.

Nutritional Analysis per 1 muffin:
Calories:  154
Total Fat: 6.4 g
Cholesterol: 27 mg
Sodium: 178 mg (lower this to 100 mg by omitting the salt)
Potassium: 112.55 mg
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugars: 6 g
Protein: 4 g

Healthier Butter Tart Squares

Butter Tart Squares are a family favourite around here, but I don't make them very often because I like them, and they're traditionally VERY full of sugar and flour. Although this version is still very high in carbs and calories, I switched up more than half of the white flour for whole wheat flour and wheat germ, so between kicking up the fibre and replacing half the brown sugar with sweetener, it's at least a little better for you. If you cut them smaller that will help a bit too. Just remember- one at a time. Savour the sweetness.


Bottom Layer

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
2 Tablespoons Splenda  artificial sweetener
1/2 cup hard margarine, softened

Second Layer

2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Splenda  artificial sweetener
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or hard margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups raisins

Crumble Bottom Layer ingredients together then press into an ungreased 9" square pan. Bake at 350*F for 15 minutes.

Mix eggs, brown sugar and Splenda together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread over Bottom Layer and bake for about 20 minutes, until light brown. Cool. Cut into 36 squares.

Twisted Peanut Butter Muffins

The Fall '10 What's Cooking (Kraft Foods magazine) came the other day, and there was a recipe for peanut butter muffins that I thought looked good. As I lay in bed this morning I contemplated these muffins for breakfast, and decided that plain peanut butter muffins might be a bit boring. "What goes with peanut butter?" I asked myself. Bananas, chocolate, and jam sounded good to me, so I mixed up a batch of muffins and divided the batter three ways to try them all! I think my favourite is peanut butter and jam. They were quite delicious for breakfast, still warm, with coffee. Yum!


Twisted Peanut Butter Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (Kraft light) crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup hard margarine
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375*F and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin- grease, or line with paper liners.

Mix flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in peanut butter and margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (as for making biscuits or scones). Add milk and eggs, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. (batter will be lumpy)

Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins: add a large, not over-ripe banana, cut into small chunks. Gently stir in banana pieces to distribute them evenly throughout the batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips to batter, stirring gently to mix them in. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container.

PB & J:  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Add a teaspoonful of strawberry jam* to the centre of each muffin-cup of batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container. *cut down calories/carbs and increase fibre by adding a cup of chopped fresh or frozen strawberries.


Nutrition Facts (as supplied by Kraft Canada, for plain muffin made with light peanut butter) 
per muffin: 200 calories, 9g fat, (1.5g saturated fat) 30 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 26g* carbohydrates, 2g fibre, 11g sugars, 6g protein.
*add 2.5g carbs (for 28.5g carb) to PB&Banana muffin
*add 7g carbs (for 33g carb) to Chocolate PB muffin
*add 2-5 carbs (for 28-31 carb, depending on the jam you use-check the label) to PB&J muffin. Strawberry pieces will add about 1g carb per muffin.
*you can lower the carb count further by using Splenda artificial sweetener instead of sugar. Try 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup sugar. 

Better Banana Bread

Better because it has wheat germ added to kick up the fibre, and Splenda added to replace half of the sugar. There's still sugar in it, so your anti-sweetener, "if it's good for me I don't like it" children will like it. Just don't tell them about the wheat germ. Or the lowered sugar.

1/2 cup (125 ml) hard margarine, softened

1/2 cup (125 ml) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (50 ml) Splenda artificial sweetener

2 eggs

3 medium (about 1 cup/250 ml) mashed ripe bananas

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla

1 3/4 (375 ml) all-purpose white flour

1/2 cup (125 ml) wheat germ

1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda

1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt

Cream together margarine, sugar and Splenda. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add bananas and mix until fairly smooth.

In another bowl (unless you're like me and you just add everything together in the Kitchen Aid standing mixer and then mix it up...) mix together flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to banana mixture stirring only to moisten.

Bake at 350* F in a greased loaf pan for 50 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Yield: 1 tasty 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.

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.

Meringue

Having just written up the custard for cream pies... it seems right to give you a recipe for meringue as well. My Mom and I made some "diabetic" cream pies for my Dad's birthday dinner, and we tried a meringue topping using Splenda which seemed to work pretty well. I'll give you the basic meringue recipe, and you can replace the sugar with Splenda if you need to.

Basic Meringue: Smaller Meringue:
3 egg whites 2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 Tablespoons granulated sugar (or Splenda, artificial sweetener) 4 Tablespoons sugar

Beat egg whites with vanilla and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.

Gradually add sugar/Splenda, beating til stiff peaks form and all sugar is dissolved.

Spread atop pie, sticking meringue to edge of pastry.

Bake at 350*F for 10-15 minutes, or til meringue is golden.

Cool.

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.

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.

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.