Most of the dessert recipes that I post end up falling under the "seldom splurge" category. Sure, they are lighter than a typical sweet treat but they still contain too many calories and too much sugar to be considered "guilt-free". This dessert is more diet-friendly than most of the others and provides a large portion for only 110 calories. Farmers have reported that strawberries (and peaches) are reaching their peak ripeness ahead of schedule this year. That means that you can already find the red, juicy varieties in your grocery store. Strawberries are one of my all time favorite fruits so I decided to use them to create a sugar-free strawberry shortcake. I actually ran across the recipe on the back of a box of Truvia natural sweetener. I know that I tend to use Splenda in place of sugar in a lot of my recipes but that is mostly because granulated Splenda measures cup for cup like sugar, making it very easy to substitute. Otherwise, I like to use Truvia. The recipe called for a low-fat baking mix to make the shortcake. I used Carbquik because it is lower in calories and higher in fiber than other baking mixes but you could use Heart Healthy Bisquick for slightly higher calorie stats and less fiber. I loved so many things about this recipe. It was very quick and simple. It used only a few ingredients. It made 4 portions so there weren't a ton of leftovers to go to waste. The portions were quite large for a minimal amount of calories. And most of all, it was lightly sweet, fluffy, and absolutely delicious. This strawberry shortcake will definitely be a go-to summer dessert in my house.

1. Prepare fresh strawberries: rinse, hull and slice. Sprinkle 6 packets of Truvia onto strawberries. Stir and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Mix together baking mix, 3 packets of Truvia, and milk. Stir until a soft dough forms. (You may have to add a couple more tablespoons of milk)
4. Drop 4 spoonfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool.
5. Slice shortcakes in half and fill with strawberries and cool whip. Top with an additional layer of strawberries and cool whip.

Nutrition: (with Carbquik) 110 calories, 21g carbohydrate, 5g protein, 5g fat, 12g fiber
weight watchers points: 1
weight watchers plus points: 3

Nutrition: (with Heart Healthy Bisquick) 148 calories, 29g carbohydrate, 3g protein, 3g fat, 2g fiber
weight watchers points: 3
weight watchers points plus: 4

While Thanksgiving is usually a day of ignoring calories and satiety cues, there are still plenty of ways to lighten up traditional holiday dishes. This year I prepared a hash brown casserole and carrot cake cupcakes. Typical hash brown casserole is much like other Thanksgiving sides, loaded with fat and drowned in butter. By using reduced-fat soup, light sour cream, and 2% cheese I was able to drastically decrease the calories. The recipe for my has brown casserole will be coming soon, but today's post is actually about my dessert dish. Carrot cake seems to be such a deceiving food, as its name implies that it is healthy since it includes a vegetable. Carrots make up a very small amount of the cake and do not make up for the sugar and fat content. While my recipe most definitely falls under the "seldom splurge" category of my blog, I made substitutions to avoid a diet-disaster. Since I was transporting the dessert, I decided to make cupcakes instead of a layered-cake. The batter is prepared with whole-wheat pastry flour, which is a great substitution for all-purpose. It also contains shredded carrots (well duh, it IS carrot cake), applesauce, raisins, crushed pineapple, and chopped pecans. I prepared the cream cheese icing using reduced-fat cream cheese and light butter. These cupcakes are not overly sweet and the flavors are brought to life with a taste of the smooth, creamy icing. The end product is an individual-sized cake, perfectly moist and full of fall spice.

1. Spray a microwave-safe coffee cup with cooking spray. 
2. In the cup, with a fork, combine the flour, cornstarch, Splenda, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
3. Stir in the milk and lemon extract.
4. Microwave on high for 35 seconds. It should be moist and will continue to set up for a few seconds. If it is still wet, microwave for another 5 seconds. Do not over cook or it will be rubbery.
5. Serve warm. Top with cool whip free, fat-free cream cheese, or a sprinkling of additional Splenda if desired.