Food & Recipes

No Sugar Added Cheesecake Parfait

• Serves: 4 – 6
• Preparation Time: 20 minutes
• Total Cooking time: 10 minutes

When I found out I was diabetic, one of the biggest concerns I had was the loss of desserts and sweets in my diet. While I hadn’t had that big of a sweet tooth to begin with the forbidden fruit is always the sweetest as they say. To be honest, most of the artificial sweeteners you come across in cooking and with making sweets up until recently were either too sweet or not suited for cooking, or had a definitive unpleasant aftertaste. Recently, nutritionists and food makers have developed some wonderful sweetener products such as Splenda that while not shown to raise blood sugars, has a comparable sweetness to sugar without the bitter saccharine aftertaste. This recipe is a no sugar added variation on a no bake cheesecake dessert that while having no sugar added to it still has a wonderful texture and sweetness to it. With around 6 grams of sugars per serving, it also is a wise and healthy choice for those on a sugar restricted/diabetic diet.

Cheese layer:

Cherry Topping:

To prepare:

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter and Splenda in a mixing bowl until well combined, pour into a deep bowl and pat down to firm and set aside. Blend the cream cheese, lemon juice, yogurt, sweetener, and vanilla together until smooth. Add in the dissolved gelatin and mix well. Pour over graham cracker crust and set in refrigerator 1-2 hours to set. For the topping mix the cherries, lemon juice, almond extract and sweetener in a small sauce pan and heat over medium heat stirring frequently. Add the Merlot and continue cooking 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and let come to a boil to thicken. Set aside to cool and spoon over the top of the cheesecake parfait and enjoy

Grilled Pork Loin with Peach Mango Salsa

• Serving Size: 4 – 6
• Preparation Time: 35 minutes

A couple of the things that I think epitomize summer for me is the abundance of fresh fruits like peaches and nectarines, and barbeque. The sweet aroma of a perfectly ripened peach, just plucked from the branch under a lazy afternoon sun, the succulent smells of food that is being grilled over mesquite, (or any other hardwood fire for that matter). Not to mention that you don’t have to slave over the hot stove in a stuffy kitchen but are out in the open air, with friends and family.

The following recipes I think prove that you don’t have to sacrifice flavor and texture (that elusive “mouth feel”) that is sadly missing from most of the reduced calorie and low fat recipes out there. Pork loin is one of the leanest cuts of meat on the market, at around 130 calories and 4.1 grams of fat per 4-ounce portion and no carbohydrates. If eaten in moderation this can be a very health conscious meal (note, chicken breasts can be substituted very easily).

For Pork Lion

For Salsa

To prepare Grilled Pork Loin:

Arrange the pork loin chops in a single layer on a large platter or oven dish. Using a Pastry brush, lightly coat the chops with the olive oil. Next sprinkle them with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper making sure to pat the seasonings into the meat, set aside and chill 30 minutes to let them marinate a bit in the rub. Grill over hot coals approximately 5 minutes on each side or until well done. Serve with peach mango salsa.

To prepare Peach Mango Salsa:

In a large bowl combine the mangoes and peaches, stir together with the lime juice. Next add the garlic, and green and red onions, stirring together. Finally, add the jalapeno, cilantro and remaining ingredients (salt, pepper and peach schnapps). Set aside in the refrigerator until well chilled (about 1-2 hours) and serve over grilled pork or chicken.