See you soon, Savannah!

Ever since I read "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" way back in the day, I've been jonesing to check out Savannah. I've always loved that Southern Gothic, Spanish moss, mint juleps on the veranda, antebellum architecture vibe...New Orleans, Charleston and Key West are probably three of my favorite cities in this nation, after all. And over the years, I've heard similar comparisons to the decadent Savannah.
So guess who is FINALLY making her way to Savannah for a long weekend? THAT WOULD BE ME!!! I couldn't be more excited. According to some friends, I've already dorked out considerably, looking up information online to see what are the best sites, restaurants and attractions to check out. You better believe it, baby. I love to go prepared.
As far as food, I've got a whole list of places put together, but I'm probably most eager to check out Paula Deen's restaurant, The Lady and Sons.

So to kick off my departure, I thought I'd share with you, my dear readers, a sugar-free Paula Deen recipe. I know, can you believe it? I didn't know she made anything without sugar!!

Paula Deen's Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Yield: 18 cookies

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
1 1/3 cups baking sugar replacement (recommended: Splenda)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.
In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, 1 cup sugar replacement, the egg, and vanilla, and stir well with a spoon. Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet. With a fork, dipped in sugar replacement to prevent sticking, press a crisscross design on each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes, remove from the oven, and sprinkle the cookies with some of the remaining sugar replacement. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

I'll be back Monday, with lots of stories (and recipes) to share. 'Til then!

The Proof of the Pudding...

Whenever someone mentions butterscotch, my first association is to remember an elderly neighbor from back when I was a wee one. He would stuff the pockets of his cardigan with butterscotch candies and hand them out to all the children on the block. What a sweetie!
My second association is with butterscotch pudding - which makes me hungry. YUMMMMMMY. As most of my friends know, I'm a big fan of pudding and gelatin products. I have boxes of the instant stuff cluttering my cabinet space. But why wouldn't I? It's tasty and quick to make - plus Jell-O has gone and made many of my favorite flavors sugar-free or fat-free. Woo hoo!

So guess who will be raising a cup of sugar-free butterscotch pudding later today in honor of National Butterscotch Pudding Day?! You betcha, ey. That would be me! On a sidenote, I will also be raising a pint of beer on behalf of my baby brother, who turned 25 today. Where does time fly?!

For all you other butterscotch pudding fans, today's a good day to indulge in the sweet treat. And if you want to dress it up a bit, I'm including two sugar-free recipes that build on the idea of butterscotch pudding.

Butter Pecan Layer Pie

Bread and Butter Pudding With Butterscotch Sauce

Now, because I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, here's a classic '80s pudding commercial featuring everybody's favorite TV dad, Mr. Bill Cosby.

Good eating to you all!

Happy almost Memorial Day! I'm about to hit the road for my long-awaited camping adventure in, oh, 30 or so minutes. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Can you tell I'm excited? Anyhoo, not sure what the rest of y'all are up to this weekend, but there has been lots of chatter onthe news lately about the escalating gas prices and how that's hindering many a person's plans to hit the road this Memorial Day. So for all of you staying put, I'd imagine there will be a number of backyard BBQ events taking place this weekend. Hmmmm? Trying to figure out how to keep that sugar-free diet with so many fatty foods around? Well no need to fret. There are some sugar-free recipes you can enjoy. Check it out.

Hot and Spicy BBQ Sauce

Chopped Salad with Buttermilk Poppy Seed Dressing

Classic Coleslaw

Black Bottom Pecan Pie

Have a great (and safe!) weekend!

Gingerbread goodness

As I've made clear in a previous column, I'm not one of those people who rushes off to Starbucks every weekend to plunk down nearly $5 on a non-fat, soy-milk, no-foam double-shot latte. And on the few occasions I do spend money on coffee (rather than making my own), you're more likely to find me visiting the local mom-and-pop style, independent neighborhood cafe. However, I did make a trip over to the local Starbucks this afternoon after hearing this fabulous tidbit: they're now offering a sugar-free Gingerbread Latte. For reals! And that news absolutely made my day.
For me, the seasonal Starbucks Gingerbread Latte is like McDonald's Shamrock Shake around St. Patrick's Day - I have to order at least one every year. It's definitely my favorite of the holiday coffee drinks. And the fact that they've now cut the calories and sugar is the icing on this java-licious cake. If you order a tall, nonfat, sugar-free gingerbread latte, you're only taking in 90 calories and 14g carbs...which ain't bad when you compare it to the 200-calorie, 38g-carb original version.
However, if you prefer to make this latte at home, I'd suggest investing in some Splenda-sweetened, sugar-free Gingerbread Syrup from Da Vinci Gourmet.
That and a little whipped cream will do the trick!
Either way, this delectable treat is like a liquid dessert that doesn't pile up calories.
If you're looking for some other low-fat, low-cal replacements for some of Starbucks' most popular drinks, the crew over at Hungry Girl has whipped up a few yummy-sounding concoctions.
Seasons greetings!

It just keeps growing and growing and growing....

The size of my belly, that is. Or at least, it will grow if I continue eating this way.
Y'all, Thanksgiving is already ridiculous in terms of calories, carbs and fat grams. But you make that feast Southern-style and it's insane in the membrane.
Case in point: Since I wasn't able to make it home to Chicago, I joined about 20 other friends for a Turkey Day dinner in Atlanta. From about 2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., we noshed on sausage balls, gourmet cheese and crackers, rosemary almonds, beverages and a tasty little appetizer made with fillo dough, brie, walnuts and fig preserves. Let's not even get started on the beer, wine and bloodies.
Then, after gorging ourselves on apps half the day, we finally ate dinner, which consisted of three birds - two deep-fried and one roasted - along with squash casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, cheesy hashbrown casserole, collard greens, blue cheese macaroni & cheese, pasta and so much more.
I tried, gang. I mean, I worked out in the morning and I ate a healthy, balanced breakfast. I also attempted to cut down on the snacking and stick to fruits and veggies as appetizers. But there was too much temptation around.
And have I told you yet about the desserts? Good gravy! There was pumpkin pie, pecan pie, apple spice cake, banana pudding (with the yummy layers of nilla wafers), chocolate clusters and more...And four words: Krispy Kreme bread pudding.
I watched my buddy chop up two dozen glazed doughnuts, then add sweetened condensed milk, canned (undrained) peaches, salt, cinnamon and eggs. It gets better. Before popping it into the oven, he topped it off with a stick of butter, about a pound of confectioners' sugar and some rum. It was fabulous but after only a few bites of overwhelming sweetness, I literally had to stick a fork in it. I don't event want to know how many calories and carbs were in that delectable dish. By the time I left that night, I felt like Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - after she ballooned into a giant blueberry and had to be rolled out the door.
Of course, the rest of the weekend was a bit of a food bust as well, between the various holiday parties, college football tailgates and leftovers.
Oh well. Today is a new day and the start of a new week. And in an effort to stay as trim as possible heading into Christmas and New Years, I'll be exercising regularly and eating lots of salads, veggies, fruits and lean meats. And when I do partake in a dessert, it will be the sugar-free version.
On that note, I found a low-cal bread pudding recipe! Of course, it doesn't involve Krispy Kremes...but it still sounds absolutely divine.

Check it out!

Sugar-Free Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

The ingredients include French bread, milk, eggs, sucralose, vanilla, margarine, raisins and whisky. The recipe is a modified version of one found at the popular Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans. And that's certainly a city that knows how to make a fabulous meal. Beignet, po' boy or muffaletta, anyone? I'm getting hungry just thinking about the food in that town.

For a little Monday fun, (and the blue feeling that often accompanies the start of the work week) check out this video all about little Violet's blueberry inflation - along with the fabulousness that is Gene Wilder and the Oompa-Loompas.

A sundae on a Sunday

Happy belated National Sundae Day! Don't believe me? There actually is such a food holiday and it was yesterday. And you can be sure I celebrated. Why is it that Sundays are such a great day to splurge on sweet treats? Is it a comfort food thing because you know you have another long, depressing work week ahead of you? Hmmm.....
Either way, I've always been a fan of the sundae. There's nothing tastier than cold ice cream topped with some melting hot fudge. And seeing as how my hometown of Evanston, Illinois is one of the cities claiming to be the birthplace of the sundae, I suppose I should be even more partial to it.

Here's a little more trivia for you factoid-junkies. According to Wikipedia, the most expensive sundae in the world is sold at Serendipity 3 in New York City. The $1,000 (!) dessert features five scoops of Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla, covered in 23-carat edible gold leaf, rare Amedei Porceleana and Chuao chocolate, American Golden caviar, passion fruit, orange, Armagnac, candied fruits from Paris, marzipan cherries, and decorated with real gold dragees. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18-karat gold spoon. Um, wow? Sounds very pretty, but I'd much rather spend $3 to $4 for a waffle bowl sundae at the local DQ.

Or better yet, make it yourself. I made one yesterday that featured butterscotch brownies and let me tell ya...it was fabulous. Yeah, yeah, it's not the healthiest treat out there. But in my own defense, I whipped up the sugar-free variety to cut back on some of the calories.

Here's a Splenda-rific version of the vanilla butterscotch brownie sundae. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Butterscotch Brownies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (11 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels, divided
1/2 cup chopped pecans


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
Combine butter, SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend and vanilla in a large mixer bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup of the morsels and the nuts. Spread into an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining 2/3 cup morsels.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Add a scoop or two of Breyers Double Churn No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream

Add a little Smucker's Sugar-Free Hot Fudge Topping

Top off with a touch of Kraft Sugar-Free Cool Whip