Diet
Easy Sugar Cookies Recipes using Splenda

Introduction
What is it with artificial sweeteners and controversy over safety issues? Oh yes, History continues to repeat itself, and some of us never learn. First, it was aspartame, and now a controversy with Splenda, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle.
Oh, of course, it isn’t natural, unlike sugar, yet ironically it barely has any side effects as compared to most other artificial sweeteners on the market.
Interestingly, it is 600 times sweeter than sugar and three times sweeter than aspartame, its infamous predecessor.
Its properties, advanced if we can call it that, are due to the sweetener being sucralose-based, a zero-calorie substance. Ironically, it is stable under heat as well as over a range of pH values, unlike aspartame.
Yet when you look at it, the negative publicity isn’t so bad after all because the product holds a 62% market share, with sales at about $ 212 million in 2006.
And this only goes to show how safe this product is, in terms of consumption, so much so that entire recipes have been designed around the Splenda product.
So, let’s look at some recipes that one can prepare using Splenda…
Cookie Recipes using Splenda
If you browse the cookies recipes using Splenda, including appetizers, beverages, BBQs, Desserts, Jams, Sauces, and other food preparation can be found on their website. But we’ll just look at their easy-to-prepare cookie recipes for now.
1. Lighter Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Canola cooking spray
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Splenda® or another artificial sweetener for baking
1/2 cup less-fat margarine with added plant sterols (such as Take Control brand)
1 1/2 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half (plus extra to brush on cookies, if desired)
2 tablespoons egg substitute (or substitute one egg yolk, preferably from a brand of eggs higher in omega-3 fatty acids)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Powdered sugar for dusting work surface
Preparation
Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Combine the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar, and Splenda® in the bowl of an electric mixer; beat on low speed to blend. Add margarine and beat on low speed until the mixture resembles cornmeal (about 1 minute).
Add half-and-half, egg substitute or yolk, and vanilla and almond extracts all at once, then beat on low just until dough forms. Wrap dough well in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator, if desired (it rolls out more easily if it has been in the refrigerator for a few hours).
On a flat surface lightly coated with powdered sugar, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer the shapes to the prepared cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the cookies with half-and-half and sprinkle with sugar crystals, if desired. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until delicately browned. Remove from pan. Let cool on wire rack or paper towel.
Yield
About 2 dozen small cookies, or 12 larger cookies (like Christmas tree shapes)
[As described by Elaine Magee in her article on MedicineNet.com]
2. Splenda Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup Splenda
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk powder
2 Tablespoons warm water
Preparation
Cream the butter, eggs and vanilla extract. Add in the Splenda and continue to blend until evenly added to the mixture.
Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and milk powder separately. In thirds, gently add in the dry flour mix into the creamed butter mixture.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and once all is evenly mixed, there should be dough. If the mixture is still too dry, add in warm water one tablespoon at a time until the dough is more consistent.
Place dough on sheet of plastic wrap, wrap well and chill for about 30 minutes.
After chilling, roll dough out to 1/4 in thickness and cut out shapes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake on parchment paper or greased cookie sheet for about 8 minutes. The bottoms of these cookies will brown slightly and that should be it.
[As described by Catherine Bridges on Bakespace. Com]
In Closing
Perhaps the general population that has accepted Splenda, one can tell whether its detractors are merely playing a game to reduce Splenda’s share in the market. If you ask me, it’s more fun to go and try these recipes and see whether your loved ones enjoy rather than worry about the side effect involved. After all, if one has to feel the side effect, you should consume about 75 packets of Splenda on a daily basis.
Diet
7 Healthy Ingredients Your Diet Needs

For a perfectly fit body, a perfect diet chart is needed. And for making a perfect diet chart, the necessity of healthy ingredients and elements is very important. Proper healthy ingredients in diet make the diet chart beneficial for your body. Actually, keeping oneself fit, one cannot change the lifestyle. What they need in their diet is to use perfect food material.
Use of Coconut oil
Most nutritionist gives advice on using Coconut oil. Cooking with coconut oil is good for the diet. It can give one relief from stress. Not only that, but it fixes the cholesterol level up also. It increases the immunity power in the body. One can use coconut oil for cooking or drink two or three spoons. Coconut oil contains a variety of antifungal acids, and thus, it helps to keep up the energy level throughout the day.
Use of pine apple with meat
When meat or pork is used in the lunch or dinner menu, the presence of Pine apple can make it more digestive. Pipe apple has an enzyme which is bromelain which helps the protein to break down quickly. Then the meat of pork becomes much more digestible. Therefore pineapple slices with chicken or mutton can be good for the diet.
Add Spices with fatty foods.
If someone cannot avoid fatty foods, the use of spices like garlic, black pepper, paprika, rosemary, etc. can help a lot. In that case, the fatty foods will not be out of your favorite options of dishes. These spices will decrease the level of triglyceride in the body.
Drinking aloe vera
Drinking Aloe Vera, which is pure is very good for the health. If this element is in your diet chart, it is very good for keeping fit. Well, it increases digestive power and can repair the problematic digestive system. Aloe Vera thus helps you to keep fit.
Vinegar with some desserts
Desserts are very important options after having your main food. Sometimes these desserts contain some fatty elements. It can make you feel hesitation before taking those. But no need to worry if some vinegar is used on that occasion. Vinegar helps to keep the blood sugar level good. Taking some amount of vinegar in the morning also helps to improve the digestion power of a person.
Cinnamon in coffee
As far as the drinks are concerned, coffee can be a good option in the morning or evening. Some amount of Cinnamon with coffee makes it perfect for you. This spice helps to control the amount of insulin in the body. It decreases the blood sugar level as well. It also helps to keep control of cholesterol levels.
Use of good bacteria
The word Bacteria gives us the fear of bad health. But there are some good bacteria that can be used for a healthy body. Some of the good bacteria can improve the digestive system of humans.
For a perfect diet, these elements can help a lot. It is not possible always to leave a lot of food of your choice. It is better to take these things to keep aside the bad effects of those foods.
About the author: Diana Maria is a blogger by profession. She loves writing about technology, health, and parenting. Besides this, she is fond of games and gadgets. She also likes reading various articles on bornrich.com & cellphonebeat.com
Diet
How to Make Diet Foods Taste…Bad for You

How to Make Diet Foods Taste
There’s just something about diving into a late-night snack filled with “bad for you” ingredients. Whether it’s nacho chips decked out in cheese, meat, and sour cream or six-alarm chili with all the trimmings, food that’s bad for you tastes so much better most of the time.
But what if you could make your diet foods – you know, foods that are actually good for you – taste as mouth-watering delicious as the foods that aren’t? Sounds impossible, right? Not so fast.
Research indicates that you can do just that. Here are a few simple ways you can take to make your diet foods taste like your favorite heart attack on a stick.
Use Stainless Steel Cutlery.
A recent Men’s Health News article cites an Oxford University Study which indicated that using stainless steel instead of plastic cutlery gives the impression that your food is more flavorful. Hmm, really?
Eat with stainless steel cutlery to make your diet foods taste better.
According to the study, when participants were given identical samples of yogurt, those eating with stainless steel spoons rated the yogurt at 5.5 while those eating with plastic spoons gave a rating of 4.6. The theory is that people associate stainless steel with higher quality restaurants, while plastic cutlery is commonly associated with fast food.
Create a Food Ritual.
A July 2013 paper entitled “Rituals Enhance Consumption” tested the theory that ritualistic behaviors actually enhance the consumption of food. Simple acts, such as snapping photographs of your meal prior to eating, can help you enjoy your meals better and feel more satisfied by the foods you eat.
Taking a picture of your cottage cheese can make it taste more yummy. Okay, if you say so.
Of course, it doesn’t have to relate only to snapping photos. It can be small rituals such as saying grace, singing happy birthday, setting the table, or even cutting the food on your plate into tiny, bite-sized pieces. The theory is that the rituals involved focus your mind on what you’re doing, allowing you to have greater enjoyment, or involvement, in the moment. So, the next time you’re eating a healthy meal, pull out your camera phone and snap away.
Use Herbs and Other Ingredients for More Flavor.
It is unnecessary to eliminate all hope of flavor to eat healthily. Flavorless food is less satisfying, which often leads to over-indulging. Simple solutions involve using more herbs and spices in the preparation of health foods, according to this U.S. News Health article.
Things like sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, and even low-fat cheese added to dough prior to baking can leave you feeling more satisfied with the flavor of your pizza crusts, rolls, and breads. Adding sharp grated cheeses and dried fruits to food adds a nice burst of flavor, as does marinating foods in low-sodium marinades – particularly those that are tangy, sweet, or savory.
Have Someone Else Prepare Your Food.
Here’s the theory: You’re more likely to find the food satisfying and full of flavor if someone else prepares it for you. When you prepare a meal yourself, you anticipate the flavor while making the food. When someone else prepares the food for you, that mental anticipation isn’t quite the same.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University believe this is due to extended exposure to the food being prepared. Experiencing the making of the meal, in this case a sandwich, makes the sandwich less desirable. It’s sort of like the law of diminishing returns in action. The first bite of a desirable dish is the most desirable (and most satisfying).
These great tips will help you add the flavor diet foods often lack so you can hopefully enjoy them just as much (or close to it, anyway) as you enjoy foods that are notoriously bad for you. Put them to work today and see what a difference they make for your diet efforts.
Have you tried any of these tips or other tips to make your “diet food” taste better? Did they work?
Freelance writer Elizabeth Magill is an author who writes articles, blog posts, news stories, guides, and ebooks on a variety of topics, including health, medical, and many business topics including Reputation.com reviews.
Diet
Why Fruits and Vegetables Will Never Make You Fat

Despite what you have heard from low-carb diet fanatics, eating fruits and vegetables will NEVER make you fat!
Fad low carbohydrate diets like the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet may tell you that you should avoid all carbs like the plague, but the science and common sense just don’t agree. When it comes to eating fruits and vegetables, More Is Better, according to the USDA, and thousands of studies on the research between chronic diseases and fruit and veggie intake.
The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and almost every chronic disease we know!
Yet some diet promoters will go so far as to say fruits and veggies will make you gain weight! Is it true?
Well, let’s talk about common sense here. If you were to write down the 10 most overweight people you know and analyzed their diets to see what could possibly have made them so overweight, here’s what their diet would look like:
The Typical Overweight Diet
- Soda, milkshakes, energy drinks, mocha lattes and other sugary drinks
- Excessive amounts of fried foods – french fries, fried chicken, etc.
- Lots of dairy consumption including milk, ice cream, cheesecakes and other desserts
- Lots of greasy foods like pizza prepared by someone else
- Lots of meat consumption, probably in every meal
- Lots of white foods – white flour, white sugar, white pasta, white salt, etc.
- Lots of packaged and processed and canned foods
- Lots of chips, cookies, crackers, and candies
- Very few, if any, raw foods – including fruits, vegetables, and berries
- Very few, if any, whole grains or legumes (beans)
When you analyze the diets of the average American (and, by the way, the average American is overweight or obese), you realize that this is what most people eat most of the time. And especially overweight people – they’re eating all this processed, packaged food made in a factory somewhere that is loaded with excess empty calories, food additives, chemicals, dyes, preservatives, hormone disruptors and other toxins.
And that’s what they eat day in and day out! In fact, the average American only eats fewer than 20 kinds of fruits and vegetables in any one YEAR – yet many of us will eat 20 different kinds of sugary sodas, 20 different kinds of cookies, 20 different kinds of cakes, 20 different kinds of ice creams, etc. in any one year!
So is the problem with obesity in America that people are eating too much fruits and vegetables? Of course not!
So pay no attention to those who will try to confuse you in order to sell you weight loss products, pills, and quick fix fad diets.
If you want to lose weight, it’s really simple (not easy, but simple). Just reverse the standard American diet we outlined above. Eat very few of those processed foods at the top of the list and eat lots of fresh whole foods – fruits, vegetables, and berries.
Could it really be that simple? Why not try it for yourself!
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