Raspberry Tarts

This Raspberry Tart recipe is one you can use for all berries and fruits. It is one you can be proud to serve to your guest. You can change the taste of the tart shells by changing the cracker to vanilla wafers or adding another spice to the mix. Try it with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or whatever fruit is in season. It's easy to fix and very satisfying when you are craving something sweet.

Fresh Raspberry Tarts

Ingredients:

1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons reduced-fat frozen dairy whipped topping, thawed
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
4 3/4-ounce graham cracker tart shells***
1 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed and drained on paper towels
4 fresh mint sprigs for garnish

How to make tart shells:
5 - 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1+1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (You can use graham crackers, just crush enough to equal 1+1/4 cups)If you don't have graham crackers you can use crushed vanilla wafer cookies.

2 tablespoons Splenda

Graham Cracker Crumb Tarts: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sweeetner. Evenly divide the mixture and press onto the bottom and up the sides of eight - 4 inch (10 cm) tart pans with removable bottoms. (Each tart will use 2 - 3 tablespoons of the graham cracker crumb mixture.) Place the tart shells in the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling.


Instructions for filling:

1. Using the back of a spoon, force the ricotta cheese through a fine sieve. Combine with cream cheese, dairy topping, lemon zest, and orange zest.

2. Spoon mixture equally into tart shells and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. When ready to serve, arrange raspberries over the cream mixture. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve.

Makes 4 serving

Nutrition:

Per serving: 170 calories,
18 g carbohydrates,
2 g dietary fiber,
l171 mg sodium
True carbs= 16g per tart

Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Brownies

Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Brownies

Yields 20 squares

Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar substitute blend ( I recommend Splenda**)
1/3 cup cold water
3/4 cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter***
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil up over the edges of the pan. Lightly coat foil with nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat; remove from heat. Whisk in sugar and the water. Whisk in egg, oil, and vanilla until combined. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and the baking powder until combined. (Batter will be thin at this point.) Place peanut butter in a small bowl; gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of the batter until smooth. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup flour and the cocoa powder. Stir into the plain batter; stir in chocolate pieces. Pour chocolate batter into prepared pan.

3. Drop peanut butter batter in small mounds over chocolate batter in pan. Using a thin metal spatula, swirl batters together. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes* or until top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Tip: Before preheating oven remove one of the wire racks from oven to use as a cooling rack.

**Sugar Substitutes: Choose from Splenda® Sugar Blend for Baking or Sun Crystals® Granulated Blend. Follow package directions to use product amount equivalent to 3/4 cup sugar. Decrease baking time to 15 to 18 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
*** You can also use chunky peanut butter to get that crunch we all like.
PER BROWNIE USING SUBSTITUTE SWEETENER: 13 g carb.
1g fiber
True carbs.=12g

Lemon-Vanilla Cheesecake

Yeah, It's another cheesecake...but with less carbs, so you can have a larger slice. Or you can even have a second slice because it too is made with whey protein powder and is very low in carbs.


Lemon-Vanilla Cheesecake

Ingredients:

2 Cups cottage cheese
2eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup vanilla-flavored whey protein
1/4 cup Splenda
Grated rind and juice of fresh lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

**Low-carb crust

Cooking spray
1+1/2 cups hazelnuts***
1/3 cup vanilla-flavored whey protein powder
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350ºF
Grind hazelnuts or almonds in food processor or blender to medium-fine
Add protein powder and butter, mix well
Spray pie plate or pan with cooking spray
Press crust mix firmly and evenly into pan
Place crust in preheated oven on bottom rack
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until brown
Let cook before adding cheesecake mix.

Directions for filling:

Preheat oven 375ºF
Mix cottage cheese,eggs,sour cream, protein powder,Splenda,lemon rind,lemon juice, and vanilla extract in blender or with mixer(high speed) Blend until smooth.
Pour into pre-baked crust.
Place cake on the top rack of oven.
Place a flat pan of water on bottom rack under cake.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes
Let cool then chill before serving

Makes 12 servings
8g carbs
2g fiber
True carbs=6g

Gingered-Peach Tea Jell-O Dessert

Okay, I heard you, working moms don't have a lot of time to make dessert so here are some easy Jell-o recipes you can make in the morning to serve at dinner. They are fast to prepare and they taste good too. Use for a light dessert or for a great tasting snack.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (0.3 oz.) JELL-O Peach Flavor Sugar Free Gelatin
1 cup cold prepared CRYSTAL LIGHT Peach Flavor Iced Tea
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup chopped drained canned peaches in extra-light syrup

Instructions:

ADD boiling water to gelatin mix; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in tea and ginger.

PLACE peaches in 6 muffin cups sprayed lightly with cooking spray; cover with gelatin mixture.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours or until firm. Unmold onto dessert plates just before serving.



To remove gelatin molds from muffin cups, dip knife in warm water, then run knife around edge of each gelatin cup to loosen. Use moistened fingers to gently pull gelatin cups from muffin pan.

Calories 15
Sodium 45 mg
Carbohydrate 2 g

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

If this doesn't impress your health nut friends, nothing will. It has NO fat and only 70 calories per serving. It is soooo delicious you may be temped to eat just a bit more.

INGREDIENTS

* 3/4 cup(s) flour, whole-wheat pastry
* 1 1/2 cup(s) sugar substitute
* 1/4 cup(s) cocoa powder, unsweetened
* 2 teaspoon espresso, instant
* 1 1/2 cup(s) egg white(s), (from about 10 eggs)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 10" angel food cake pan with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar substitute, cocoa powder, and coffee three times. Set aside.

3. In a large metal bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt on high speed until they become stiff but not lumpy, 4 to 6 minutes. They should cling firmly to the side of the bowl when tilted. Add the vanilla, but do not mix.

4. With a spatula, gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the flour mixture. Repeat twice until all the egg whites are just combined, but not deflated.

5. Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake springs back when touched, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and invert the pan onto its feet or the neck of a wine bottle. Let cool completely.

6. Gently run a long knife between the cake and the outer rim of the pan, pressing it firmly against the pan to prevent tearing the cake. Run the knife or a skewer around the inside of the tube. Invert the pan and remove cake.

Makes 8 servings.

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 70
Total Fat: 0 g
Saturated Fat:
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 144 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 15 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
TRUE Carbs 13g

Apple Walnut Cake

This cake is not only good tasting it's also healthy. Try it with or without the cream cheese frosting. I like it with a pat of butter while still warm from the oven.
It's also a great snack for the kids.

Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 cup flour (or 1 & 1/4 of wheat flour and 1 & 1/4 white flour)

3 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 tsp liquid sugar substitute

4 cups finely chopped apple (you can use grated apples or chunky applesauce)

1 cup walnuts


Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients;
add butter, vanilla, eggs, sugar substitute, and blend well.

Stir in apples and nuts,
bake in well-greased 9x13 pan at 375 degrees, 40-45 minutes.

Pudding Cookies

Pudding Cookies
(By: Russell Wright)
This is a quick and easy cookie recipe using pudding--pick any flavor you like!
I chose chocolate, of course because like most women, I'm a chocolate lover. You can throw in some semi-sweet chocolate chips or even some pecans or walnuts. Play around with this recipe and come up with one you can call your own.


Original Recipe Yield 1 - 2 dozen

Ingredients

* 3/4 cup buttermilk baking mix
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 egg
* 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the baking mix, vegetable oil, egg and pudding mix in a bowl. Mix well. Stir in the nuts or chocolate chips (optional).
2. Place teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Servings Per Recipe: 24



Calories: 68

* Total Fat: 4.3g
* Cholesterol: 9mg
* Sodium: 140mg
* Total Carbs: 7.1g
* Dietary Fiber: 0.3g
* Protein: 1.1g

Mini-Pumpkin Pudding Pies

The chill of winter is in the air so it may be a good time to serve up some warm comfort food. How does warm mini-pies sound to you? One pie is enough for two but dessert lovers may want their own. You can make several and freeze some for later. These mini-pies would be great to serve at your next gathering.

Filling:

1 cup milk
2- 4 serving size pkg. butterscotch** "no sugar" instant pudding/pie filling mix
2- 15 oz cans pumpkin ( or you can use fresh pumpkin)***
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Spiced Whipped Cream (optional)

To save on carbs I suggest using crust made from soy, wheat, or almond flour.
I have even tried flaxseed and all have worked great for these small pies.
Since the crust is small you may want to stick with the original white flour crust.

Crust:

In bowl combine 2+1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sweetener (Splenda Baking Sweetener works best)
1 tsp. salt

Using fork, cut 1/3 cup chilled shortening and 6 Tbsp. chilled unsalted butter,
cut into 1/2 inch pieces, until crumbly.
Using fork, stir in 8 to 9 Tbsp. ice water 1 Tbsp. at a time,until
dough just starts to form.
Knead 2 or 3 times in bowl.
Divide pastry into 8 portions.
On floured surface roll portions into 7in. circles
Line the 4 to 5 inch tart pans with pastry, trim edges.
Prick bottom with fork.
Pre-heat oven to 450°F
Bake crust 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown

In large mixing bowl combine milk, pudding mix, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice.
Beat with electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Divide mix among the prepared crust,spreading evenly.
Cover and chill for 2 hours to set.
To serve warm pop in microwave for 15 to 20 seconds or less.
Top with spiced whipped cream

To spice whipped cream , in chilled bowl combine 1/2 cup whipping cream, 1 Tbsp. of sugar or sweetener(Splenda) and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Beat with mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form.

** You can use other flavors if you don't care for butterscotch.

*** You can use any fruit pie filling as long as it is sugar free.
I like to make my own to be sure there isn't any added carbs. So give these a try and let me know how they turn out. Get creative and try something new like adding some nuts or some other treat inside these mini-pies.