A popular treat on the weekends. Great for Sunday brunch!

French Toast

2 eggs or egg substitutes (EggBeaters, etc)
Dash salt
1 tsp sugar substitute
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs milk (dairy, soy, rice)
3 slices bread, whole wheat or multigrain, thickly sliced
Pan spray
Butter or margarine
Agave nectar or sugar-free syrup
Fruit preserves

Mix eggs, salt, sugar sub, and cinnamon.
Add milk to make a batter.
Beat with beater on low for 1 minute, to "fluff".
Pour into shallow bowl.
Dip bread slices briefly in batter, to coat both sides (do NOT soak).
Fry on both sides on a hot, sprayed griddle
(griddle is correct temperature when water drops "dance" on it).
Remove from griddle when nicely browned.
Serve with butter or margarine, syrup, and/or fruit.

This is a delicious soup. Don’t save this for special occasions — have it often! This soup is loaded with vitamins and wonderful phytonutrients (fightin’ nutrients!). Cayenne and paprika add extra nutritional value, so try to include one or the other, whichever you prefer.

When you have some time, give this a try:

Daytime Lime Sorbet (Sugar-Free)

2 cups Splenda or Xylitol, or other sugar substitute
1 cup water
1 & 1/2 cups lime juice
1 tsp grated lime zest (if available)

Combine water and sugar substitute in a saucepan.
Bring to simmer.
Cook, stirring, about 3 minutes, until the sugar sub dissolves. Cool.
Combine 1 & 1/2 cups of the syrup with the lime juice.
Taste, and add more syrup, as needed, to obtain desired sweetness. *
Stir in the lime zest.
Chill in refrigerator 2 - 3 hours.
When chilled, transfer to freeze in ice cream freezer.
Or put in fridge freezer, removing every half hour, and beating it with an electric beater, until frozen and creamy.
The more times you remove and beat it, the creamier it will be.

A smoothie can be a meal, part of a meal, or a snack. If it is to be an entire meal, be sure to include some protein. If it’s a snack it can be lighter, made mostly with fruit.

Smoothies have become so popular that "smoothie makers" are now available at most houseware departments, right next to the blenders, mixers, and processors. I love kitchen gadgets, but I see no need for a glorified blender with a spigot, when a good blender can do just as well or better. But if you have the counter space and can’t resist another gadget, then you might want a smoothie maker.

Vegetarians, vegans, omnivores! For a nice change of pace, try this vegetarian BLT! (Actually a TLT…)

The featured ingredient in this recipe is tempeh, a fermented soybean product originally from Indonesia. It has a high protein and fiber content, and is very versatile.

Tempeh "BLT"

1/2 package tempeh
Oil (safflower, sunflower, or avocado)
Soy sauce (reduced-sodium)
Liquid Smoke
Sugar substitute of your choice
Nutritional yeast (Red Star or Kal recommended)

Cut tempeh into thin slices.
Put a small amount of oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat.
Fry slices in oil until crispy, turning once or twice.
Sprinkle tempeh on both sides with soy sauce and Liquid Smoke.

Try this awesome burger. It's great!

Million-Dollar Burger

1 whole wheat English muffin or burger bun
1 slice uncured, nitrite-free bacon
1 beef patty (organic, low-fat, grass-fed if available)
Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
1 slice reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (organic)
1 tsp creamy mustard (or to taste)
Romaine lettuce (organic)
Tomato slice (organic)

Toast muffin or bun (if desired).
Cook bacon to desired degree.
Grill burger to desired degree.
Sprinkle burger with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic.
Put burger on bun.
Top with mustard, cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.
Serve.

VARIATIONS:

Turkey: Use turkey burger patty.

Vegetarian: Use veggie burger, soy bacon, and vegetarian cheese.

Decadent!

Personal Cheesecake

1 graham cracker, plain, honey, or cinnamon (2-1/2" square)
1 Tbs low-fat cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs sugar-free preserves, strawberry, cherry, etc
Splenda (or other sugar substitute)

Spread cream cheese on graham cracker.
Spread preserves on top of cream cheese.
Sprinkle with Splenda.
Enjoy your treat! :)

VARIATIONS:
Use soy cream cheese.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Impress your friends with this easy, beautiful appetizer.

Antipasto

8 oz firm waterpack Tofu, drained, cut into large cubes
8 oz cauliflower florets
2 carrots, cut in large dice
1/2 cup pitted (pitless) black olives
1/2 cup stuffed green olives
1/2 cup roasted or canned button mushrooms
1/4 cup canned pearl onions (optional)
1/4 cup canned capers (optional)
1 & 1/2 cups Italian dressing
1 tsp natural sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Dash pepper

Steam Tofu 10 minutes. Drain, and dry on paper towels.
Mix dressing, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Put remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Toss dressing with remaining ingredients gently but thoroughly.
Marinate in fridge several hours or overnight.
Taste, and add more dressing or seasonings, if needed.

2 - 3 servings.

VARIATIONS:
Use tuna substitute or cooked tuna in place of the Tofu.
Add sardine substitute or sardines.