Desserts 4 Today

My mother's parents were English and many of the meals she fixed for us reflected this heritage. Christmas dinner was always roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Dessert was always plum pudding with warm sauce. There are many recipes for plum pudding and all are labor intensive. Mom made plum pudding from scratch a few times, but it was so much work she finally bought Crosse and Blackwell pudding imported from England.

The plum pudding was served with warm vanilla or rum sauce. I did not like the rich pudding, so I only ate a spoonful. But I could have eaten an entire bowl of sauce. Mom also served apple pie with warm vanilla sauce. The combination of warm sauce and fresh pie from the oven was heavenly. With a couple of changes the vanilla sauce recipe becomes rum sauce or rum-raisin sauce.

Desserts

I have lightened the recipe by using Splenda Blend for Baking instead of sugar and elminating the half cup of butter in the original recipe. However, I have added a tablespoon of butter for flavor. Warm vanilla and rum sauce turn simple cakes -- vanilla, apple, and spice -- into special desserts. Top frozen waffles with vanilla ice cream and sauce and you have one of the best desserts on the planet. Garnish with a twist of orange peel and fresh mint to make your holiday desserts more festive.

WARM VANILLA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup Splenda Blend for Baking

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon light salt

2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon butter (no substitutions)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

dash of freshly grated nutmeg

METHOD

Combine the Splenda Blend for Baking, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan. Whisk in hot water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and nutmeg. Makes 8 servings.

WARM RUM SAUCE

Omit the vanilla and nutmeg. Make the sauce and remove from heat. Add 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

WARM RUM-RAISIN SAUCE

Omit the vanilla and nutmeg. Add 1/4 cup raisins to the sauce and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and add 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

http://www.healthwriter.blogspot.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Before she became a health writer Hodgson was a food writer for the former "Rochester Magazine" in her home town of Rochester, MN. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. Another revies is posted on the American Hospice Foundation Website under the "School Corner" heading.

We've all heard it before, avoiding exercise and eating lots of fats and sugar as well as being overweight can cause type 2 diabetes. The good news however is that if you act now you can prevent this form of diabetes from occurring, or reduce and even cure the condition if you've been recently diagnosed.

As type 2 diabetes is usually in direct relation to your lifestyle it's important to make changes to the way you live your life to see improvements. Now this isn't as bad as it sounds and in most cases you can continue eating the foods you like; you just need to be more selective.

Desserts

One of the ways to follow a diabetic diet is to consume foods from all of the four food groups, as well as limiting your intake of alcohol, fat, and sugars. You can incorporate a wide variety of nutritious foods into a diabetic diet plan and combined with regular exercise will help you control your condition.

Now don't think that desserts and snacks are out of the question. In most cases they're not. If you've got a sweet tooth then check out these delicious diabetic desserts.

DIABETIC PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

1/3 c. plain flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp. shortening

2 tbsp. peanut butter

1 tsp. Sweet 'n Low

1 egg, beaten

Mix and stir all ingredients in order (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, shortening, peanut butter and Sweet 'n Low). Add beaten egg and mix well. Drop by large teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

DIABETIC FUDGE

1 14 1/2 oz. evaporated milk

3 tbsp. cocoa

1/4 c. oleo

Liquid Sweetner to equal 1/2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c. nuts

Combine milk and cocoa in saucepan. Beat well. Add oleo, sweetner, salt. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients except 1/4 cup graham crackers. Cool about 15 minutes. Divide mixture into 32 balls. Roll in remaining cracker crumbs and chill.

These recipes look delicious don't they? Believe me, they taste even better too. So by combining sensible eating with regular exercise you can control and even beat your type 2 diabetes for good. It just goes to show that with a little research you can still eat the delicious types of foods and snacks that you did before.

For free information on the symptoms of diabetes including more delicious diabetic dessert recipes make sure you visit http://www.symptomsofdiabetes.org.uk today.

Healthy and dessert are two words that are not usually linked together. Maybe that's because we consider dessert to be a combination of sugar and fat, loaded with calories and other bad stuff. The reality of a healthy dessert can be yours though if you are willing to try something different. Oh yeah, fruit is already a dessert in some countries, but in the USA we consider it a treat only when it's baked inside some kind of crust and loaded with sugar.

Granted, if you have a serious sweet tooth, this alternative healthy stuff is probably not going to satisfy you but if you are also trying to be healthier and weigh less, it will help a lot. The easiest way to give yourself a healthy treat is to go for a really good yogurt-like Bulgarian yogurt, or Greek yogurt-which can be found in your local health food store. Then wander down the aisle where they keep the cacao products and grab yourself a package of cacao nibs. To that you can add some Goji berries or golden currants but stay away from the Incan golden-berries unless you are a great fan of TART and sour tastes (those little things may be packed with great antioxidant power but boy, are they tart). Throw in some chopped nuts, add a little stevia for sweetness, mix it all up, and you have a great healthy dessert. Another healthy treat is to put the same things in some ricotta cheese. That's a little heavier but just as tasty and usually doesn't require any sweetener.

Desserts

Okay now let's get real and talk about chocolate, which is what you are really reading this for right? Yes, you can have your chocolate and still be eating something healthy. The cacao bean is chock full of antioxidant power; it's the sugar that gets added that is the problem. You can get the cacao bean and grind it up with some coconut oil or organic cream and get yourself a creamy treat but you'll still have to add some sweetness to it. You can get the sweetness either from stevia (a natural-source sweetener called Honey Leaf) or just add honey, fruit juice or sugar. To be healthiest though, use stevia. If you just make the creamy cacao mixture you can spread it on something healthy like apple slices or make some almond bark. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be a healthy dessert, right?

Another healthy alternative is to put some nut butter on fruit; that works best on apple or pear slices but you can always thin the butter out a bit with some coconut oil or cacao and dip strawberries, cherries and the like...and then roll them in nuts. Whipped cream is also an easy addition to make some fresh fruit special and if you fry some bananas in butter or coconut oil, dip them in cacao cream and then throw some chopped nuts on them, with a dollop of whipped cream...well...Elvis would have gone for that, I'm sure.

©2010 Dr.Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved

Dr. Valerie Olmsted is an author, naturopathic physician, metaphysician, internet entrepreneur, artist, speaker, and lover of life. Traveling with the Quantum Vortex Experience, she has helped thousands of people reach the inner connection they are seeking and has contributed to the discoveries of manifestation practices via quantum physics applications.

http://www.BeWhoYouReallyAreCoach.com
Contact: Dr. Valerie Olmsted
2370 W. SR 89A
Ste.11-#121
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-257-3290