Cooking With Splenda

 Cooking Gluten Free with Splenda Sugar

 

So I recently found about my sensitivity to gluten as I've gotten older and the years have passed. I always just assumed that I had eaten too fast or too much and that that stuffed feeling would eventually go away. Well it didn't go away, but got worse as I've aged' I didn't know what gluten was and why it was bad for me. I grabbed whatever I could read and honestly was saddened. I felt like I wouldn't be able to enjoy anything tasty like cakes, cupcakes, and breads. Throw out all the cookies and cereals as they're no longer an option for me.

Thankfully that's not true and I can enjoy some goodies and regular food with just little tweaks here and there. Gluten free just isn't about being wheat free, it needs to be low in carbs as well. Carbs come from many things including sugar. Now everyone needs a certain amount of carbs, but too much is not always a good thing. So I like that by using Splenda sugar I'm not adding more carbs into my diet. Splenda is basically sucralose and has no known side-effects so you get a real sugar taste without all the calories or carbs.
 For my gluten free recipes I chose a couple that I knew would be easy to recreate. I'm not an expert cook or baker, so easy and simple is a plus for me. The first thing I decided to make was banana bread! Banana bread is something that I've made from scratch many times before, but using regular flour which now is not possible. So I took a recipe for all purpose gluten flour from Wheat Belly that included almond flour, coconut flour, and golden flaxseed. I had to totally wing it with everything else, but one thing I did do was substitute regular sugar with Splenda's Baking Blend. I don't normally cook with "fake" sugars because they have that gross fake sugar taste. You don't get that with Splenda at all.  I would share the recipe but honestly there isn't one. I totally winged it and it came out awesome, the best thing is no weird sugar aftertaste!

The second thing I made was breakfast cheesecake, umm yes! I think the second time around I'll definitely make the strawberry glaze the cookbook mentioned because it just wasn't sweet enough for my liking. It still tasted great and the kids were like, "Can we have this for breakfast all the time?" Obviously not, but it's such a great weekend breakfast treat and so easy to make. It doesn't take long at all, only 30 minutes from start to finish. I did make little mistakes here and there while making it though, like I forgot to whip the ricotta cheese mixture before adding the egg whites. But that's what learning is all about, trial and error and finding out what works best for you. Splenda worked perfect in this recipe and again no gross weird after taste that comes with some sugar substitutes. Now one thing I can say is don't get too close when you're measuring Splenda for a recipe because a puff of Splenda dust wafted up and surprised me a bit. Or maybe that's just something I was lucky enough to experience.

I'm so glad that Crowdtap and Splenda gave me a chance to try out these Splenda sugars. While the breakfast cheesecake was just for my family, I did go and make more banana bread to share with my family. My younger brother also has intestinal issues and has to be very careful with what he eats. So he definitely enjoyed all the sweets that I made.
I haven't gotten a chance to try out the Splenda brown sugar, but I will be using it for some gluten free chocolate chip cookies real soon. I love the caramel taste that I get from brown sugar.

Here's a simple smoothie recipe you can make using Splenda sugar, strawberries, banana, and some kefir. Of course you could use anything else if you don't like kefir, but its super healthy for you. 

Strawberry Banana Kefir Smoothie
1 large banana - I like to freeze mine, but that's just a preference
1 cup frozen strawberries or fresh
1 cup kefir - any type or use regular milk, juice, soy
Splenda sugar to taste - this is totally optional, but I do add a little just to add some sweetness if my strawberries are more tart than sweet.

Stick it all in a blender until smooth and enjoy a nice healthy drink for breakfast - or any part of the day.

Disclaimer: I received all three Splenda products for the sole purpose of trying it in my own home in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given.

Purex PowerShot Review & Giveaway

I got a chance to try out the new Purex PowerShot laundry detergent through the Purex Insiders
program. I already love and use Purex so I knew the quality was going to be there. Once I got the box I proceeded to teat that sucker open! I looked at the bottle and thought, huh this looks a little weird. I was a little bit skeptic that it would actually work and that more detergent wouldn't be able to be poured out; man was I surprised! I tilted the bottle over because tearing off the plastic seal and looked at the detergent fill into this little "bowl" and it stayed there. Huh, well time to put it to real work!

Now I have 4 very messy active kids so I need something that is going to get there clothes clean and leave them smelling great. Purex PowerShot is concentrated so you don't have to use a lot in order to get the same results as other laundry detergents. The scent I got to try was Mountain Breeze which has just a hint of floral, but a lot of a clean crisp scent.

Now that the kids are teenagers and can start washing clothes themselves, I've handed the torch - or laundry detergent over to them. They're good about sorting their clothes, making sure not to overload the washer, but they over pour! I found if I let them pour their own laundry detergent then the bottle that should last for 35 loads ends up lasting for like 20. They think they need to fill up the laundry detergent cap completely. It seems that they're hard of hearing because no matter how many times I explain that they don't need a lot, they still overpour. Well thankfully the new PowerShot does it all for them! All they have to do is open it up and flip it to start pouring, and then it stops! Seriously its measured out in the perfect sized dose for child and adult alike. No more wasting laundry detergent thinking you need a whole lot to clean a load. It really does work too, even though I was skeptic, it totally worked! Now I can be at ease when the kids do their laundry because I know they won't be wasting any of it. Not only do they not waste the laundry detergent, but it saves me money in the long run.

The Purex PowerShot isn't available just yet so you need to keep an eye out for it in stores. It's really great for those with teenagers or absent minded hubbies/partners that go a little detergent crazy. The PowerShot will be offered in two scents: Mountain Breeze and Linen & Lillies. I can't really mention price, but because Purex is so affordable I can't see this costing an arm and a leg. It will come in three different sizes: 35oz, 45oz, and 90oz. If you have a heavily soiled load then using two "doses" is recommended.

Right now Purex is running a really nice giveaway promotion where you could win a washer and dryer set, or a bottle of the new Purex PowerShot. ENTER HERE

As for my giveaway I will be giving two lucky winners a chance to win a coupon for their own FREE bottle of Purex PowerShot for when it hits the store shelves. The coupon is good until 12/31/2015 so you have a ton of time to find it in a store near you.

Just enter into the rafflecopter below and you could be a lucky winner of a new awesome product!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclaimer: I received this free product and coupons for the sole purpose of trying it out in my home. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.