A little over a month ago, I shared how I was joining the SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener #GoodbyeSugar30 Challenge. If you need a little refresher of why this challenge is important to me or my motivations behind joining, be sure to check out my original post here. As part of this challenge, I’ve become much more aware of what’s in the food I’m eating. I’ve learned how to look for hidden sugars in my favorite snacks and how to create my own items from scratch in order to control more of the ingredients, especially the sugar. I’ve heard it said many times that it takes 30 days to make or break a habit and as I cross the finish line of this challenge, I know just how true that is. Not only am I more aware of what I’m eating now (leading to me feeling better) but I’m also getting creative and coming up with new recipes that fit into my better-for-me lifestyle, like this one for drool worthy Cinnamon Baked Apples.
Now, as I shared before, this change was important to me because I’ve really taken control of my health over the last almost year. I’ve lost a lot of weight. I’ve made exercise a priority. But since switching out regular sugar for SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, which gets it flavor from from Rebaudioside D (Reb D), a better tasting stevia leaf extract, I’ve been able to push past some of the barriers I was hitting and up my energy without the need to add sugar! And since SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste, I feel like I’m truly living the sweet life with this easy substitution. Now, I could go on and on about all the benefits but you can read my last post for that. This time, let me just say that the proof is in the way I feel…and it’s in the fact that my hubby has joined me to incorporate SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener into his lifestyle. During my challenge we tried tons of recipes together and he finally got my motivation for giving up sugar. While we’re had many favorites over the last 30 days, I have to say that the recipe we love most is my Cinnamon Baked Apples. They taste like little apple pies without the carbs or sugar! So do you want to know how I made them?
What You Will Need:
4 Large Apples
1/4 + 2 Tablespoons Cup of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener
4 Tablespoons of Cinnamon (Plus More for Garnish)
1 Tablespoon of Ground Cloves
2 Tablespoons of Butter
1/2 Cup of Water
2 Cups of Heavy Whipping Cream
How to Make Them:
Anything apple flavored is a favorite for me this time of year. Apple cookies, apple pies, apple turnovers; you can’t go wrong with sweet apple treats. But as I looked at all my options, I was reminded how much sugar they boast. Since I want to make the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge part of my life for much more than 30 days, I decided to whip up my own version that I could feel fabulous about eating (and serving). To start, I cut the core out of my apples and then scooped out all the seeds and about 1/3 of the apple inside with a spoon.
After prepping all my apples, I washed and dried them both on the inside and outside and started to prepare my cinnamon and SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener filling for the inside. To do this, I added my SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, cinnamon, cloves and one tablespoon of my butter (cut into small pieces) to a bowl.
After mixing it all together, I placed my apples into a cooking dish and filled each one with my mixture.
Once my apples were filled to the brim, I cut my remaining tablespoon of butter into four equal parts and added one slice to the top of each apple.
Next, I boiled my water and poured it into the bottom of my baking dish.
Then my cinnamon baked apples went into a preheated oven on 375 degrees for thirty minutes.
Once my apples were cooked but not mushy, I removed them from the oven and allowed them to cool slightly while I whipping up my own whipping cream. To make it I simply added my heavy whipping cream and my remaining two tablespoons of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener to my mixer and mixed it on high until it was thick and creamy.
Then I removed my homemade whipping cream from the bowl, added it to a piping bag and piped a generous portion onto each apple.
After sprinkling a little more cinnamon over the top, my cinnamon baked apples were complete and let me just say, they looked AND smelled totally amazing…all while being low carb with no sugar added.
As my hubby and I cut into them and savored the perfectly sweet taste with no bitter aftertaste, it was clear that neither one of us are going to miss sugar. In fact, it’s easy to see that life is sweeter with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener.
These last 3o days of the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge has proven to me that life is sweeter without all the sugar. As I continue on my journey toward a better me, I’ll be continuing to substitute SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener for sugar in my recipes and I’ll continue to be more aware of what is added to the foods I purchase and eat. And now it’s your turn! It’s not too late to join the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge for yourself and discover a sweeter life without sugar! Start by picking up your box of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, available in 40 and 80 count boxes, at retailers nationwide. Then pay close attention to what you eat and all the ways that you can substitute SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener for sugar in your recipes and drinks.
For more information, visit SplendaNaturals.com.
Then tell me, how will saying #GoodbyeSugar30 help you live a better life?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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