Awesome looking reduced sugar oreo cheesecake recipe!

Just found this on the web and HAD to share!!
Link: http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/what-have-we-here/

What have we here?

August 28, 2009 by Linda

OREO CHEESECAKE

That’s right, kids! The good stuff is still available to us!

Creamy white and packed with crunchy bits of cream-filled wafer cookies this cake will make a huge splash whenever you serve it!

(I have to say my daughter made the one that got photographed…so gorgeous!)

~~~~

Vegetable cooking spray
2 pkgs sugar free Oreos or Murray’s sugar free chocolate sandwich cookies, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
Four 8-ounces pkgs reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups Splenda Granular
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cups sour cream
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with the cooking spray. Wrap in aluminum foil so that the butter doesn’t seep out and burn in the oven and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Finely crush 1 1/2 pkgs of the Oreo cookies (or 1 pkg of the Murray’s) and place in a medium bowl along with the melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until crispy to the touch. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl whip the softened cream cheese just until smooth. Beat in the Splenda, vanilla, sour cream, and whipping cream just until blended. One at a time, beat in eggs just until incorporated. Coarsely chop remaining cookies and gently fold into cheese mixture. Pour into cooled crust. Bake for one hour, loosely covering with foil after 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake, but do not remove the sides of the pan. Allow to cool completely. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill overnight or at least 5 hours. Remove sides of pan and slice. (Cheesecakes will be creamy, soft for the first few hours, and will become more dense and cakey the longer they are allowed to chill. They really do get better as they sit and rest!) Makes 18 servings.

Per Serving: 230 Cal; 6 g Protein; 17 g Tot Fat; 14 g Carb; 0 g Fiber; 0 g Sugar; 219 mg Sodium

Chef Jay's/Tri-O-Plex Products Discount!

Any of you use these products? I got them to agree to give us a discount. Boxes of 12 packets are $20 each. http://www.chefjays.net/ They are normally $25 on their site, so this is a 20% discount like we've gotten elsewhere...

She wrote the following:

Your group can call in to our office to place an order. We answer phones Mon - Fri 8am - 5pm PST. They must give the code

W500

when ordering to receive the special discount.  The product will be $20.00 per box PLUS $5.95 for shipping.
Ph:702-873-7777

THIS DISCOUNT DOES NOT WORK ON THEIR WEBSITE!!  YOU MUST CALL IN TO ORDER!!

SO, if you use these products, I thought I'd pass it on!  I know that I've paid from $2.49 to $2.99 per packet when I've bought these items.  I've seen them as high as $3.29 each.  Cookie packets have two good sized cookies in them and brownies are one fair sized brownie.  They have like 18 to 20 grams of protein in them...  They are pretty good too.  And, the $5.95 for shipping IS flat rate--one box or 20 boxes.  I confirmed that with her!  Oh, and they also have a "protein puff" that is sort of a higher protein Cheeto sort of thing!  My surgeon's little shop sells them, but I've never tried them.

If you've tried their products and have a favorite, pass it on to us!  I love the Decadent Chocolate Brownie when I just neeeeeed some chocolate but want the protein too.  I have also tried 3 or 4 of the cookie flavors and liked those as well.  I've not tried any of the bars or the puffs...

Recipe: Lea's Apple Crisp

This is one of those let's-indulge-a-craving sort of recipes... It is a comfort food around our house. Thankfully it at least has some redeeming qualities... I mean, apples are fruit, right?? LOL


LEA'S APPLE CRISP

6-8	tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (such as Granny Smith)
2-3	tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4	cup granulated Splenda
1 1	teaspoon cinnamon teaspoon ground nutmeg OR 2 teaspoons apple pie spice

Put apple slices in bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle Splenda and spices over apples. Pour melted butter over them and sort of toss all with a spoon to coat the apple slices.

Prepare topping (see below) an sprinkle over top of apples. Bake at 350 till golden brown (30 to 40 minutes usually).

Topping:
1 cup oats (rolled is better, any will work)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated Splenda
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

NOTE--In topping, you can use other flour! If you have a preferred replacement, go with that. I've used almond flour with some baking soda, baking powder, and salt mixed in...

As I said in the beginning, we only do this once in a while. I canned several quarts of apple slices last summer, so I can drain a jar of apples and dump them into the baking pan and go from there... Easy, peasy! LOL It feels like cheating now (not having to peel, core, etc), but it sure didn't when I was getting all those bushels of apples ready to can!

Tips for Limiting Desserts/Sweets/Treats

Tips for Limiting Desserts

· When you have a sweet craving, try either chewing a piece of fruit flavored sugar free gum or drinking a 20 oz bottle of water.

· I was scared to give up sweets because I was QUITTING something. But I turned the negative of quitting into a positive. I am ADDING the habit of having one dessert per week.

· When you crave a dessert or sweet treat, try brushing your teeth. Something about the act of brushing and the minty flavor of toothpaste is supposed to tell you that it's not time to eat – plus candy or chocolate or whatever it is you want to snack on won't taste half as good with that minty flavor in your mouth!

· Besides not buying treats (they are too tempting and my family gets enough other places without needing them at home), when I am winding my day down I will make myself a large cup of herbal tea. It takes me a while to drink it (because it is hot), I am getting flavor in my mouth (I now have a huge stash of tea varieties), and it counts toward my water consumption. I have found that I really look forward to sipping my tea, and I can watch some TV or read a book and not feel guilty that I am consuming mindless calories.

· I have a piece of paper on my refrigerator and every time I have a craving, I write it down. The deal is that on Sunday I can pick one thing from the list to eat in moderation IF I STILL WANT IT. I usually find that after a few hours the thrill is gone, and I can make a reasonable decision for a treat on Sunday. It's funny, but most of the time once I write the craving on the paper I can usually forget about it.

· What helped me is that I planned which days I would have a dessert. I am trying to focus on asking myself which dessert do I want to have on Saturday instead of focusing on what I am saying no to at the moment.

· Remember the Three Ds: DRINK (preferably water); DIVERT (take your mind off food); and DELAY (wait 15 minutes).

Compiled by member of the YahooGroup NoExcuseWorkOutSupport

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Recipe: Ricotta Fluff--MY way

A while back, I posted a Ricotta Fluff recipe that was from Val, an OH member. Val uses whole milk ricotta cheese and the big tub of it (32 oz). I did not care for the taste with the whole milk ricotta. I might add that I don't like the taste of cottage cheese either, so maybe it was just me! BUT, I made ricotta fluff for myself again this weekend and changed the ingredients to make something that I thought I'd like the taste of... Here's what I used:

Ingredients:
15 oz tub of part-skim ricotta cheese
8 oz tub of sugar free Cool Whip
1 box sugar free cheesecake flavor Jello pudding mix (just the powder)

Directions:
With a hand mixer, whip the ricotta cheese and Cool Whip together till smooth. Pour in the pudding powder and continue to mix till blended. Serve with a fruit topping for added flavor.

I've been eating mine with strawberries on top. Krogers has a frozen strawberry slice that is sweetened with Splenda and is yummy! I put a spoon or two of that on top of the ricotta fluff and man-oh-man is that good! I've also used fresh strawberries and thawed, frozen strawberries. I just love strawberries!