Review: 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes

375 Sensational Splenda Recipes is a cookbook I ordered online when I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes more than two years ago.
   Now it’s a cookbook that I look to for delicious and reliable recipes.
   One of the very best recipes in my collection, Chocolate Mint Cream Pie, comes from this book. It never fails to impress, and I even got an offer of marriage over it. (I wrote about that earlier this year on Recipes That Worked.)
   I often substitute equal parts of Splenda for sugar in cold drinks, cocktails and sorbets without trouble, but I’ve always been hesitant to do so in baking – it’s much trickier, getting the substitution right.
   Rather, I let an expert who has tested recipes with Splenda over and over tell me how to use it. That’s Marlene Koch, the author of the cookbook, who is a registered dietitian, cooking instructor, and nutrition educator.
   Not only does Koch employ the use of Splenda, she also ingeniously incorporates other unusual ingredients to compensate for the taste and texture provided by the absent sugar.
   For example, for two of my favorite recipes from the book, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies (with cocoa powder and chocolate chips), prune purée is used in addition to Splenda to help sweeten up the cookies. I buy the prune purée in the baby food aisle at the supermarket.
   Although there are recipes for salads, dressings, marinades, condiments, dipping sauces and entrees, I turn to this book most often for baked goods, frozen desserts and drinks.
Here are some of the other terrific-looking recipes in the book:
- Cold drinks: Lemonade, strawberry lemonade, sparkling limeade, Hawaiian Fruit Punch, Citrus Splash.
- Warm drinks: Decadent Hot Chocolate, Chai Tea, Krista’s Spiced Tea, Apple Spiced Tea.
- Breakfast dishes: Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, Apple Cinnamon Puffed Pancakes, Crispy Cornmeal Waffles.
- Muffins: Oat Bran, Banana Bran, Blueberry, Chocolate Cherry, Sour Cream Chocolate Chip, Strawberry-Filled Cinnamon, Apple Oatmeal Streusel.
- Quick breads and coffee cakes: Wholesome Banana Bread, Cranberry Orange Tea Bread, Butter Pecan Crumb Cake, Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake, S’More Crumb Cake.
- Frozen desserts: Berry Sorbet, Lemon-Lime Sorbet, Chocolate Sorbet, Double Cherry Ice Pops, Fresh Strawberry Lime Ice Pops
- Cookies: Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, Soft Sour Cream Sugar, Chocolate Brownies
- Pies: Pumpkin, Strawberry Rhubarb, Peach Custard, Key Lime, Peanut Butter, Banana Cream, Coconut Cream, Chocolate Chiffon
- Cakes: Unbelievable Chocolate Cake, Fresh Banana, Chocolate Carrot, Chocolate-Almond Torte, Orange Sunshine Cupcakes
- Cheesecake: Chocolate, Mocha Chip, Cherry Ricotta, Chocolate Peppermint, 10-Minute No-Bake Strawberry Cheese Pie
- Sweet Sauces: Raspberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Strawberry, Chocolate Fudge, Easy Chocolate Cream Frosting
- Cocktails: Mojito, Daiquiri, Margarita, Lemon Raspberry Slush

375 Sensational Splenda Recipes on amazon.ca


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Plum delicious: Plum Sorbet with Black-Currant Liqueur

I can’t recommend Plum Sorbet with Black Currant Liqueur (click for the recipe) enough.
   It’s delicious and fresh, simple yet elegant.
   It’s been been a favorite since I first tried it a few summers ago. My Mom and Dad absolutely loved it when I served it to them during a visit.
   I substitute Splenda for sugar in this sorbet, and actually recommend anyone who tries it do the same.
   Splenda seems to release the fresh plum flavor more than sugar.
   You don’t need to peel the plums for the recipe, which simply adds to its ease.
   An ice cream machine is required to make the sorbet.
   Splenda and water are stirred together over medium heat to create a simple syrup, which is chilled until cold.
   Purple plums, quartered and pitted, are pureed in a food processor until smooth. After being strained, the simple syrup and ¼ cup crème de cassis (black-currant liqueur) is stirred into the plum puree.
   The mixture is spooned into an ice cream machine and processed, then covered and frozen until firm.

A drink to impress the cocktail connoisseur: Pineapple-Basil Margaritas

Do you have a foodie friend who is tough to impress? Or a cocktail connoisseur pal who seems to have tipped every type of drink on the planet?
   I’ve got a recipe that just might surprise them: Pineapple-Basil Margaritas (click here for the recipe on the Martha Stewart Living website).
   It’s an unusual drink, as it’s not completely liquid – there are small bits of pineapple in it. Some settles to the bottom, but most of it is drunk with each sip.
   I loved this margarita. I thought the blending of the tastes of the pineapple and basil with the tequila and a bit of salt was terrific.
   With the unusual texture, however, it may not be everyone’s cup of cocktail.
   But for the right taste buds – people who don’t mind trying something different once in awhile, such as the afore-mentioned cocktail connoisseur – it will likely go over well.
   It would be ideal with fajitas, quesadillas or chicken wings.
   The first step in making the drink is preparing a simple limeade of water, limes, and superfine sugar (berry sugar or extra fine granulated sugar.) I substituted an equivalent amount of Splenda successfully.
   Pineapple chunks (I used some from a can, but you could cut your own from a whole pineapple) are blended until chopped but not pureed.
   Fresh basil is muddled with sugar in a large pitcher. Limeade, the pineapple, tequila and coarse salt are added, and the drink is stirred.
   After being refrigerated for at least an hour, the margaritas are served.
   The recipe says to fill the pitcher with ice cubes at this stage.
   It’s a good direction – the ice melting into the margarita as it is drunk helps to liquefy it a little more.
   You could also fill individual glasses with ice and pour the margarita over. That’s what I did.
   I also skipped garnishing the cocktails with pineapple chunks and fresh basil.

Muddle your way to a magnificent mojito

The word “muddle” has a negative connotation.
   It implies that a person messed something up or that he or she did something half-fast.
   But there’s a time when muddle is a lovely word, a brilliant word: When you’re making a mojito.
   Muddling is key to the success of this cocktail. Muddling releases and blends the lime and mint flavors that are the trademarks of the mojito.
   You can muddle with a special tool, appropriately called a muddler, or the end of a wooden spoon. To muddle, you push on the limes and mint. It’s a great way to let out stress or frustrations.
   Mojitos took the food world by storm a couple of years ago.
   You know it’s a popular drink when you go to the supermarket and the mint is labelled “mojito mint” as if it has no other purpose.
   I’m rather fond of my mojito-making technique. It seems to produce consistently good cocktails.
   Here’s how I do it (makes one mojito):
- Put seven fresh mint leaves in a tall glass. Add one tablespoon of freshly-squeezed lime juice, and put the squeezed section into the glass. I find that half of a decent-sized lime yields about one tbsp of lime juice.
- Add two teaspoons of sugar (or Splenda), and muddle until the sugar dissolves.
- Fill glass with ice.
- Add 1 ½ oz. white rum.
- Top with club soda and stir to mix.
- Serve with a straw.
You will have muddled your way to a party after producing a few of these!

Mint driving you crazy? Here's a great way to use it

Every year I like to grow mint in my herb garden. This year I planted peppermint and a spearmint.
   As a mint plant grows, I like to watch its glorious green leaves reach out to the sky, ready to be picked and used in a delicious dish or recipe.
   But as anyone who plants mint knows, it grows well. There’s no need to coax a mint plant along – there is always a plethora ready to be picked once it starts to grow.
   The recipe I write about today, Mintade, is one of my favorite ways to use plentiful mint.
   It’s so quick, so easy, and a lovely drink to serve at a summer breakfast.
   The recipe was originally published in Gourmet magazine a few years back, but is not present on epicurious.com, the mag’s recipe site.
   However, I found it reprinted on another blog. Click here for the recipe.
   The recipe calls for fresh orange juice and fresh pink grapefruit juice, but in the interest of saving time, I use store-bought juices in these instances.
   The fresh lemon and lime juices, though, I squeeze from the citrus fruits with a juicer.
   The recipe says to tear the mint leaves, and that’s a good direction. It helps release the mint flavor into the drink.
   The blog on which this recipe is reprinted says the writer used ¼ sugar – I used ½ cup as the recipe directed. And, I used Splenda instead of sugar.
   You don’t need to strain out the mint leaves before serving this drink. They will settle to the bottom of the glass, or sneak in with a sip.
   To make mintade, orange, pink grapefruit, lemon and lime juices are combined with water, fresh mint leaves and sugar.
   Chill and serve!

Hibiscus and Ginger Iced Tea - another brilliant non-alcoholic summer refresher.

Hibiscus and Ginger Iced Tea - a glorious summer refresher

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I'm sitting outside to write about a terrific drink that my husband I enjoyed with supper just this evening.
   It’s Hibiscus and Ginger Iced Tea (click here for the recipe on the Martha Stewart Living website), and it’s been a summer staple ever since I first made it four years ago.
   It’s a real treat – refreshing and not too sweet, with a light taste I’d compare to raspberries.
   It’s quite family-friendly, too. Perhaps children about the age of 10 or under might not immediately take to it, but everyone else will!
   The drink is easy to make, it’s just tracking down the hibiscus tea bags to get started that might be a little tricky.
   Here in Canada, I found rosehip and hibiscus tea bags at Superstore, and they work perfectly.
   The recipe says it serves eight. Not quite! It makes two generous servings -- if you want to make more, you'll have to double it.
   Although the recipe doesn’t specify to refrigerate before serving, I strongly recommend it. You’ll want to serve this drink ice cold.
   This is another recipe for which I successfully substituted an equal amount of Splenda for sugar.
   To make the iced tea, water, ginger and sugar (or for me, Splenda), are brought to a boil and removed from heat. The tea bags are added and left to steep for 15 minutes.
   The tea is then poured through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl in an ice-water bath, and left to cool (I let it cool for about 45 minutes to an hour.)
   Fresh lemon juice is stirred in. Refrigerate.
   The recipe says to serve over crushed ice, but that’s a fancy touch; regular ol’ ice cubes will work just fine.

Leave the booze out of this lemonade? Not by the hair on my ginny-gin-gin

OK, that was bad, but this drink recipe is really good.
   Thyme Lemonade (click here for the recipe at the Everyday Food website) is a fabulous summer drink from from the June 2008 issue of Everyday Food.
   The recipe says the gin is optional, but I highly recommend adding it. It takes the drink to a whole new level of deliciousness.
   Anyone freaked out by the idea of herbing up a lemonade with thyme, usually found in meat dishes and soups, need not worry. With the lemon, it's a refresher.
   This is one of the recipes in I successfully substituted an equal amount of Splenda for sugar.
   Sugar (in my case, Splenda), fresh thyme and water are brought to a boil to make a simple syrup. This is stirred into lemon juice, water and gin.
   Refrigerate, then serve.

The dessert recipe that got me an offer of marriage

Yes, I honestly received an offer of marriage over Chocolate Mint Cream Pie, an incredibly delicious crowd-pleaser dessert from the cookbook 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes by Marlene Koch.
   Alas, since I am already married, I had to turn the fellow down. It's possible he wasn't entirely serious, too.
   I bought this book when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about two years ago.
   It's full of great, reliable recipes that use Splenda as the sweetening ingredient.
   The first step in making the pie is preparing an easy crust. It calls for chocolate graham-cracker crumbs, which I previously was unable to find and so used Oreo cookie crumbs instead.
   Recently, however, I had a brainwave that Teddy Grahams, found in the cookie aisle at the supermarket, would likely come in the chocolate variety, and lo and behold, they do. I grind these up in a food processor.
   The pudding-like filling can be slightly tricky, but only in that you need to make sure it is thick and smooth as the recipe says. It takes some time, so just keep whisking away.
   Both the crust and filling call for Dutch-process cocoa powder. In Canada, Fry's Cocoa powder, found in abundance in the baking aisle of supermarkets, is Dutch-process.
   The topping is comprised of whipped topping, Splenda and mint extract.
   Make the pie and get your own marriage proposal!

375 Sensational Splenda Recipes at amazon.ca

My full review of 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes

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Luscious lime rickeys

On the May long weekend, I took Lime Rickeys (click for the recipe) (with cilantro, though I left this out) from the June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living for a test drive, and was very pleased with the results. I'll be making it again.
   The lime rickeys are from an article on summer pitcher drinks, which anyone who is thinking of hosting a backyard shindig this summer would do well to check out.
   One set of drinks uses limeade as their base. The limeade is made with water, fresh lime juice and superfine sugar (I used Splenda instead.)
   The lime rickeys are made by combining the limeade, sugar (more Splenda, in my case), and fresh lime slices. I put in the lime slices and then took them out shortly after. We have made limeade in the past that had lime peel left in it for too long and the drink was bitter, so I wanted to err on the side of caution.
   After at least an hour of refrigeration, club soda is added and the rickeys are served over ice.
   With that batch of limeade that is the base of the lime rickeys, two other delicious-looking cocktails can be made: Pineapple-Basil Margaritas (made by muddling chopped fresh pineapple with fresh basil and adding tequila) and Kiwifruit Caipiroksa, a variation on the Brazilian caipirinha.
   Also in the pitcher drinks story are three cocktails to make with ginger ale as a key ingredient: Watermelon Cooler (pureed fresh watermelon and vodka), Dark and Stormy (ginger ale and dark rum), and Pimm's Cup (lemonade and Pimm's No. 1.)
   The June 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living promises "60+ Summer Crowd Pleasers." I wondered as I flipped through it if Living's annual entertainment issue, which is in July, been moved up a month. There's are many recipe ideas in this issue, with food stories comprising the bulk of the features.

Here are the other recipes that caught my eye to try:
- Almond-Apricot Tart with Whipped Cream
- Grilled Buttermilk Chicken
- Grilled Steak Sandiwiches