Coconut Sweets

3 ounces nonfat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Grease an 8-inch square pan. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat ricotta cheese over medium heat. Add milk powder and stir to mix thoroughly. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated. Stir frequently to avoid sticking or burning on the bottom.

Add sugar and stir. The ricotta cheese mixture will become liquid again. Cook for another 5,minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the coconut and mix thoroughly. Continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes. The mixture should be quite thick.

Pour the mixture into the greased pan and press the mixture with a spatula.

Cut into 1-inch diamond shapes. The mixture sets as it cools. Cool completely before removing from the pan. Yields 16 servings.

Calories 137, Fat 3.9 g, Chol 7 mg, Carbs 20 g, Sodium 52 mg, Fiber 0.6 g

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fat

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup creamy style peanut butter
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup SPLENDA? Granular
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350?F.

In a large bowl, beat margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer until creamy, approximately 1 minute.

Add egg substitute, honey and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for approximately 1 1/2 minutes.

Add SPLENDA and beat on medium speed until well blended, approximately 30 seconds.

In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, beating on low speed until well blended, about 1 1/2 minutes. Mixture may be crumbly.

Roll level teaspoons of dough into balls and drop onto a lined sheet pan, about 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball with a fork, pressing a crisscross pattern into each cookie. Bake 7-9 minutes or until light brown around the edges. Cool on wire rack.

Serving size: 2 cookies. Makes 24 cookies.

Nutrients Per Serving: Serving Size 0.9 ounce (25g) (2 cookies); Calories 140; Carbohydrates 9g; Protein 3g; Dietary Fiber 1g; Total Fat 11g; Saturated Fat 2g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 110mg

Diabetic Exchanges: Starch 1/2; Fat 2

Lemon Delight Squares

Crust
1/4 cup diet margarine
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup Splenda? granular

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the margarine and stir it into a mixture of the graham cracker crumbs and Splenda? Granular. Press into an 8-inch square pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Filling
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups Splenda? granular
2 tablespoons water
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup lemon juice or the juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Graham cracker crumbs

In a heavy saucepan or double boiler, combine the flour, second amount of Splenda? Granular, water, egg yolks, lemon juice and grated lemon rind. With a wooden spoon, stir constantly over very low heat for about 5 minutes.

Beat the egg whites for 30 seconds until frothy, then add the cream of tartar and beat for a further 2 1/2 minutes. Fold the stiffly beaten egg whites into the lemon sauce and spread over the cooled crust. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 15 minutes.

Turn off the oven and leave the pan inside for a further 5 minutes or until the squares are set. Allow to cool; loosen the edges and slice.

Yields 16 squares.

1 square = 89 calories; 11.4g carbohydrate; 2.5g protein; 3.7g fat; 0.5g fiber; 71mg sodium

Guiltless Turkey Gravy

Source: National Turkey Federation

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
4 cups turkey stock and defatted pan juices*
Salt and pepper to taste

* Whatever you lack in pan juices, make up for in stock.

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, bring stock and pan juices to a boil.

Meanwhile, blend the cornstarch and water until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling pan juices, continuing to stir until gravy has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE: For variation, stir in one or more of the following to cooked gravy: coarsely chopped, cooked turkey giblets, 1/3 cup sherry, 1/2 pound saut?ed thinly sliced mushrooms.

Fruity Sweet Potatoes

Source: The All New Diabetic Cookbook – Kitty Maynard, Lucian Maynard and Dr. Theodore Duncan

4 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled
1 teaspoon low-fat margarine
1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon chopped pineapple
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of grated nutmeg
Pinch of allspice
Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Boil the potatoes in a pan until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove skins. In a large bowl, mash the pulp. Add the margarine, fruit juice and broth and whip until fluffy. Add the chopped pineapple and spices. Coat a 1-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the potato mixture to the dish. Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition information per 2/3 cup serving: 116 calories; 0.7g fat (0.2g saturated fat; 5% of calories from fat); 0.1mg cholesterol; 23mg sodium; 26.1g carbohydrate; 2.7g fiber; 1.8g protein

Exchange value: 1 1/2 starch

Diabetic Chocolate-Cinnamon Fudge

1 envelope unflavored gelatine
1/4 cup water
1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon liquid food sweetener
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Soften gelatine in the 1/4 cup water for 5 minutes.

Melt chocolate with cinnamon and sweetener; add milk and water slowly. Add gelatine. Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract; cool. When mixture begins to thicken, add nuts. Turn into cold pan. When firm cut into pieces.

Date Nut Cake

1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon diabetic sweetener
1 1/2 cups diabetic applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dates, sliced fine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Cream butter. Beat together egg, sweetener and vanilla extract. Add to creamed butter.

Sift together flour, soda, cinnamon and cloves; add to other mixture. Add remaining ingredients and mix. After mixing, beat on medium to high speed with electric mixer for 3 minutes. Turn into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.