Splenda Powdered Sugar
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: October 28, 2009
I’ve posted this before in another recipe but since I use it a lot in baking I figured it was time to seperate it out from the other recipe.
Splenda Powdered Sugar
- 3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
- 2 Tbl Cornstarch
Place ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until splenda is a very fine powder.
Sugar-Free Simple Syrup
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: October 28, 2009
Simple syrup can be used to make everything from flavored drinks to cakes.
You can substitute Splenda for regular sugar in a basic simple syrup recipe.
Simple syrup is made in a 1:1 sugar to water ratio.
Rich simple syrup is made with a 2:1 sugar to water ratio. Rich simple syrup also lasts longer.
Sample 1:1 Ratio:
- 1 cup Splenda
- 1 cup water
Sample 2:1 Ratio:
- 2 cups Splenda
- 1 cup water
Combine water and splenda in sauce pan. Boil until reduced by approximately 1/3 and it’s a syrup consistency. Take off heat, let cool and store in a clean bottle in the refrigerator. Simple syrup lasts about a month. Rich simple syrup can last up to 6 months. Toss when syrup gets cloudy which soon leads to moldy.
To make a flavored syrup, take syrup off the heat and add flavoring (extract, SF torani or other flavored liquid) of your choice and stir until combined.
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: July 28, 2009
- In: Food| Poultry
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I don’t remember where I got this recipe pre-WLS but it has always been a favorite in my collection. It is simple, quick and good for you post WLS once you can eat the raw lettuce, cabbage and carrots. I tried it recently (I just don’t wrap the mix in a lettuce leaf yet) and I processed it easily. It can be a little spicy so if you have a problem with spice post WLS, like I do, cut way back on the crushed red pepper or remove it altogether. It is just as good without the red pepper.
- 3 Tbl unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
- 2 Tbl Hoisin sauce
- 2 Tbl cider vinegar
- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
- 1 tsp dark sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic (such as Spice World)
- 2 cups packaged cabbage and carrot coleslaw
- 1 cup canned sliced water chestnuts, drained
- 8 ounces grilled chicken breast strips (such as Louis Rich)
- 12 Bibb lettuce leaves
Place peanuts in small nonstick skiller over medium-high heat; cook 3 minuts or until lightly browned, shaking pan frequently. Remove pan from heat; set aside.
Combine hoisin sauce, cider vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, dark sesame oil, red pepper and garlic in small bowl, stirring well with a wisk.
Combine peanuts, coleslaw, water chestnuts and chicken in medium bowl; toss well.
Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken salad in the center of each lettuce leaf; top each with 2 teaspoons of sauce. Roll up; secure with toothpick.
Yeild: 4 Servings … Serving Size: 3 wraps
Calories 197
Fat 7.4g
Iron 1.9mg
Cholesterol 37mg
Calcium 40mg
Carbs 18.2g
Sodium 825mg
Protein 16.5g
Fiber 3.4g
Lemon Raspberry Protein Napoleons
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: July 28, 2009
- In: Desserts| Food
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So I was at the hairdressers skimming through a Good Housekeeping magazine and I stumbled upon their healthier desserts and found these Lemon Blush Napoleons.
They looked so good but I figured there had to be a way to make them better for us (i.e. More Protein, less sugar!!!)
So here is my version and I must say for an altered recipe I didn’t expect this to turn out soooooo good. This is my favorite post WLS dessert.
This serves 4 regular people by the way. I shared one with J. There is no way I could eat one on my own after a meal.
- 12 (3 1/4- by 3-inch) wonton wrappers (about a quarter of a 12-ounce package)
- Butter flavored cooking spray or melted margarine
- Splenda powdered sugar. (See Below)
- 8 ounces Ricotta Cheese (I prefer skim but use whatever variety suits you)
- I package Lemon Fat-Free Sugar-Free Pudding mix
- 3 cup(s) raspberries
- Milk (optional)
- Sugar Free Red Raspberry Preserves (Optional)
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a cookie sheet. Place 12 wonton wrappers in one layer on sheet of waxed paper. Lightly spray with cooking spray (or brush with some melted margarine) and sprinkle with splenda powdered sugar. Turn wontons over and repeat. Place wontons on cookie sheet.
- Bake wontons 12 to 14 minutes or until golden on both sides, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking. With spatula, transfer to wire racks to cool. If not using baked wontons right away, store in tightly sealed container at room temperature up to 3 days.
- In medium bowl, stir Ricotta Cheese and lemon pudding mix until blended. If mixture is too thick, blend in milk until desired texture.
- To serve, arrange 4 baked wontons on 4 dessert plates (or place all 4 on large plate); spread ricotta mixture on each. Arrange 9 raspberries per wonton on ricotta mixture. Repeat layering with wontons, ricotta mixture, and raspberries. Place remaining 4 wontons on top.
- Top with Raspberry Preserves if desired. Dust with confectioners’ sugar to serve.
Splenda Powdered Sugar
- 3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
- 2 Tbl Cornstarch
Place ingredients in blender. Cover and blend until splenda is a very fine powder.
I also made a version with Ricotta and sugar free caramel Torani syrup. I personally thought the ricotta mix was a little too runny, and next time I’ll probably use a sugar free caramel ice cream topping instead for a thicker texture, but it was still delicious.
I snapped a few quick photos of the end result.
Plateaus Suck
Posted by: bonniebytheounce on: July 24, 2009
I didn’t reach my birthday goal of 175 pounds. As a matter of fact I have been stuck at the same weight for some time. I realize it’s a plateau since I am at a size I held on the way up for some time but that doesn’t make it any easier to handle.
I suppose the reason this frustrates me so much is the lack of control I feel over my weight and weight loss. I’m doing everything right, or at least I hope so (I admit to not going to the gym as much as they recommend but I never did), and I haven’t changed any habits from when I was losing so in theory I should be losing at the same rate until my body thinks its at it’s goal, right? WRONG!
“This surgery is a tool” and they make sure you realize that going in but I feel there is something wrong with that statement. You believe if you use a tool correctly, things will work but sometimes they just don’t. You can be a master carpenter with high end tools but every once in a while, something can go funky by no fault of your own. Sometimes your body readjusts, stalls, gets tired and laughs at your attempts to get it to do what you want it to do.
Sadly, though, you believe you are failing. You must not be using your tool correctly, right? You must not be getting enough protein/exercise/hugs from your teddy bear, you big loser. But this body does what it wants to do sometimes and as frustrating as that is, I’ve got to come to terms with it considering my options.
1. Analyze EVERYTHING!!! – Chart everything, weigh food, exercise non-stop, down protein and nothing else while beating yourself up the whole time. This could lead to an eating disorder. Eating disorders are typically a control issue. WLS patients can develop eating disorders in an extreme measure to control something when they feel out of control elsewhere.
2. Come to terms with your body – Analyze your current habits to make sure you are still on track without making yourself crazy or beating yourself up. It’s always good to go back and take a look at where you are at and how it might have changed. Make appropriate changes but realize your body is going to do some odd things you don’t understand sometimes.
Of course I recommend and follow #2 but that feeling of failure, frustration, or my lack of control of my tool, makes the other an understandable option. Body image, lifestyle changes and staying in control while rolling with the punches is not an easy thing to handle sometimes, especially when things aren’t going well.
So right now I am having an extremely difficult time with my body and its lack of cooperation and I am frustrated with my “tool”. And this is why plateaus officially suck.
