Banana Spice Cake

( Serves 8 )

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened at room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese (full fat) - softened
1 cup granulated Splenda
1/2 cup Diabetisweet
1 teaspoon Brown SugarTwin *
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons sugar free banana extract
1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla extract

Directions:

Cream butter, cream cheese, and sweeteners well. Add eggs - one at a time - beating well after each. Mix almond flour with baking powder and spices. Add egg to mixture a little at a time while beating. Add banana and vanilla extracts. Pour into greased 9"-10" Springform pan (or 9" round cake pan) and bake at 350°F for 50-55 minutes.

6.2 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons granular Splenda
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup Soy protein isolate
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup natural (no sugar added) peanut butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup finely chopped peanuts or pecans [optional]
2 Tablespoons liquid lecithin *
(or 1 1/2 Tablespoons granular lecithin plus 1/2 Tablespoon oil)
1 Tablespoon glycerin **

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a small bowl, combine Splenda, oat flour, soy protein, baking soda & powder; and mix well. In another bowl, combine butter and peanut butter and beat until fluffy. Beat egg, cream, lecithin, glycerin, and vanilla into the peanut butter mixture. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Beat until thoroughly combined. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten by criss-crossing with the tines of a fork. (I moisten the fork with a spritz of PAM, then dip into a little granular Diabetisweet as I go, but this is totally optional.)

Top each cookie with chopped peanuts or pecans if you're opting for them. Bake in 375°F oven for 7-9 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool cookies on a wire rack, and enjoy!

Makes approximately 36 cookies at 1 carb per cookie.

* Lecithin - both granular and liquid can be found in most health food stores.

Cool Strawberry Cream Pie

Ingredients:

Ingredients For Meringue Shell:

4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 Tablespoons Splenda®

Ingredients For Filling:

1 small pkg. sugar-free gelatin (strawberry or raspberry)
1 pint heavy cream
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Splenda®
1 quart strawberries, cleaned and sliced

Preheat oven to 275°F. Grease one Pyrex pie plate and set aside.

Directions:

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar then beat until whites stand in peaks. Add Splenda and beat for an additional minute or two. Spread the meringue evenly in the bottom of the plate and up the sides. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes in a 275°F oven, then raise the temperature to 300° and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool while you make filling.

Dissolve gelatin with 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir in 1/3 cup cold water. Place in freezer for aprroximately 15-20 minutes (just until it begins to gel.)

When the gelatin is ready, whip the heavy cream until stiff (but not dry). Fold in cream cheese and Splenda. Fold in gelatin. Stir in strawberries (reserving a few for garnish if you like.) Pour over meringue shell in pie plate and let chill until firm -- about 2 hours.

5 grams per serving.

Jell-O®

Ingredients:

1 box Jell-O®, any flavor
1 packet Thermojetics® Peach Mango Drink Mix

Directions:

Add Jell-O® mix to 2 c. boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add 2 c. cold water to the Drink Mix and stir until dissolved. Combine hot and cold mixtures and stir. Pour into dessert dish(es) and refrigerate until firm.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Pie Shell:

1 cup ground pecans
2 packets Splenda
3 Tablespoons butter - melted
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract


Ingredients for Key Lime Filling:

16-oz cream cheese, softened
1 large package Sugar-Free Lime Jell-O
2 packets Splenda
1/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup cold water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract


Directions:

Prepare pie shell: Melt butter in a small bowl. Add ground nuts, sweetener and half the coconut extract. Mix well.Press firmly into bottom and up sides of 8 inch pie plate and refrigerate until firm.

In a small bowl, whip the heavy cream with sweetener until peaks form. Set aside. While it is being whipped, bring water to boil. Mix the jello with 1/3 cup boiling water until all the gelatin has dissolved. Then, add cold water and stir. For the next step you need a big bowl with HIGH sides. Put gelatin in bowl. Slowly add in the cream cheese (add each 8-oz package in 4 chunks) and continue to beat with a mixer at slow speed. After all cream cheese is added, put in the remaining coconut extract and beat at high speed until smooth. Then, carefully fold in the whipped cream. Use a spatula to scrape mixture into the pie pan and spread around. Sprinkle extra ground nuts on top. Refrigerate several hours or overnight to allow Jell-O to set thoroughly.

Makes 8 servings. 4 grams of carbohydrate per serving.

Old Fashioned ' Sugar ' Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/2 cup Splenda
2/3 cup erythritol *
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon butter flavored extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
Diabetisweet or granulated maltitol,
or erythritol

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix almond flour with Splenda and erythritol, sifting until well mixed. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg and then mix well with extracts and softened butter. Add to dry ingredients and mix really well.

Form dough into 24 small balls and space evenly on two ungreased cookie sheets (most cookie sheets will hold 12 cookies –– 4 rows of three –– very evenly.) Press moderately to flatten to a silver-dollar pancake size.

Sprinkle cookies with granulated Diabetisweet or granulated Maltitol, or Erythritol, just as you would traditional "sugar" cookies. Bake for approximately 8 minutes at 350°F. They will slide right off the cookie sheet. Cool 5 minutes before eating.

These cookies are the best cookies I've had since low-carbing. None of my non-LC friends can tell these are not "the real thing" and they go like wildfire at a party. Be careful, they're addictive!

Makes 24 cookies. 1.8 effective grams of carbs per cookie.

Plum-Nutty Low-Fat Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray a 9" x 13" baking pan thoroughly with cooking spray and set aside.

8-oz. can of crushed pineapple
1 cup (6 oz.) dried pitted plums (prunes)
1-1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoon. brown sugar
4 cups shredded carrots (not grated), lightly packed
4 egg whites or an equivalent amount of egg substitute.
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1-3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup wheat germ, wheat or oat bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 cup walnut pieces, chopped (Note # 1)
cooking spray

Directions:

Put the dried plums (prunes) in a small pan. Dump the crushed pineapple into a plastic strainer or colander placed over the pan. After a few minutes, when the pineapple is thoroughly drained, remove colander and place the pineapple in a large bowl.

Bring the dried plums to a boil, cover and immediately reduce the heat as low as possible. Simmer, checking frequently, until almost all the liquid is absorbed.

Add the sugars to the pineapple and mix. Shred the carrots medium-fine, and pack lightly into a measuring cup until you have four cups. Add to the pineapple mix and stir to coat (Note # 2).

Place the eggs and vanilla in a blender or food processor. Add the dried plums with any leftover juice. Process until mixture is completely smooth. Add to the carrot mixture and stir to blend.

Mix the dry ingredients well in another bowl. Add the chopped walnuts and the dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and stir just until no dry flour is visible. Mixture will be very stiff.

Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading and flattening evenly. Bake 50 minutes; the cake should be springy and slightly dry to the touch.

Cool and cut into squares. Stack in a container, with layers separated by waxed paper. Keep refrigerated. This recipe freezes well in zipper freezer bags or short-term in sandwich bags, and is a great bagged lunch addition, thawing by lunch time.

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Note # 1: Chop the walnuts very fine indeed for children under three or the elderly.

Note # 2: Add each cupful and mix to coat immediately to keep the shredded carrots from turning brown.

Thermo-Pie

Ingredients:

1 c. ShapeWorks Formula One Nutritional Shake Mix (Chocolate or Vanilla)
2 c. 1% or non-fat milk
1 box of sugar-free/fat-free pudding mix
(any flavor)

Directions:

Mix pudding with Formula One Shake Mix and milk. Pour into a pre-molded, low-fat graham cracker crust and chill for six hours. Top with fat-free, non-dairy whipped topping. Enjoy a slice of Thermo-Pie as part of your weight-management program.