Spoil your Valentine with a Sugar Free Cookies, Strawberries & Cream Parfait #Recipe #Moms4JNJConsumer #ad

This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS^® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.

It’s this time of the year that I love, we have lots going on from Birthdays to Valentine’s Day and I love to spoil my family and friends with a few treats. Here in Florida Strawberry season just begun and I can’t tell you how much I love strawberries. I love to bake, make desserts, include them in salads and eat them just the way they are. So many possibilities and they are delicious. The hard part sometimes in the early season and with the lack of sunshine here in Florida they turned out a bit sour. No reason to turn your smile upside down.

You can use SPLENDA^® to sweeten your strawberries to put a smile on your face in no time. Splenda is one of my favorite sugar free sweetener, I can’t have anything real sugar so Splenda for me is a lifesaver and I love that a lot of products show me that they have been sweetened with SPLENDA^®. Makes shopping that much easier.

Did you know….

SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated can be used almost anywhere sugar is used, including cooking and baking. It measures cup-for-cup like sugar, but contains 678 calories less than sugar on a cup-for-cup basis. One teaspoon of SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated contains the sweetness equivalency of one teaspoon of sugar with no calories or carbohydrates.

I love that stuff and use it for everything, you can bake your sweetheart delicious chocolate chip cookies, brownies, bake a cake or dish up a Cookie, Strawberries and Cream Parfait like I did and all guilt free, it’s sugar free! This is also a great option for family and friends that suffer from diabetes, you can dish this parfait up without any worries.

This is what you need:

• 1 carton heavy whipping Cream
• 1 package of Strawberries ~ Fresh of course
• your favorite store bought sugar free chocolate chip cookies, or make your own
• SPLENDA^® for sweetening

This is how to make the Cookies, Strawberries & Cream Parfait

1. Whip 1/2 of the Heavy Cream into Whip Cream, add SPLENDA^® to your liking, I’m not a sweet person, so for me 1 teaspoon was plenty; use the electric mixer and whip it. Took about 1 minute, so simple and you now have homemade whip cream!
2. Wash and cut your strawberries and toss into the remaining Heavy Whip Cream that you have not whipped yet and also add SPLENDA^® to your liking; my Strawberries were a little sour, I added 2 teaspoon full, mix it all up. If you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, your cream actually will take the strawberry flavor and will be delicious (not a must.. BUT, I love it… my favorite part).
3. Now add cookies, crumble or whole to a jar, glass or cup, layer with the Strawberries & Cream mixture, Heavy Whipping Cream and more cookies, just keep layering till your glass/jar is full; top with sliced strawberries… Refrigerate or serve right away

There you have a sweet valentines treat that is sugar free and can be pre-made or made quickly while your family eats dinner. Bet they will love the little Cookie, Strawberries and Cream Surprise.

Another twist that I love; leave out the whipped cream and the cookies, just eat the Strawberries & Cream mixture. My favorite. When I was little, growing up in Germany this was a highlight of my summer. My grandma always made a big big bowl full of it and she always set it into the cool pantry to set, us kids always snug into the pantry and before we knew it, the bowl was empty and no denying that we ate it all. LOVE it.. that always brings back memories of home and my grandma and for me that’s a MUST as soon as we have Strawberry Season.

How would you sweeten your family this Valentines Day? Would love to hear your ideas and recipes. Do you try to cut our sugar in your family, too? Have you ever used SPLENDA^®? Let’s chat and you can get a printable coupon for $1 off any SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener product at at HealthyEssentials.com 

To sweeten the savings, you could get a free 30 minute nutrition consultation with a Registered Dietitian when you buy $10 of SPLENDA® Sweetener Products between now and February 17, 2014 – up to $75 value!  More details on this special offer at HealthyEssentials.com.

Healthy Essentials isn’t just SPLENDA^®, there are many other products that would sweeten your Valentines Day, I bet you would have never thought of some of them; check out what I put together…

Use HEALTHY ESSENTIALS^® Products to Help You Prepare for Valentine’s Day and Get Significant Savings, Too!

HEALTHY ESSENTIALS^® is offering amazing printable coupons, tips & tools and so much more for all the products you and your family love. You can get significant savings by visiting the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS website in February and signing up for extra-sweet HEALTHY ESSENTIALS^® coupons and offers. As you prepare for a special Valentine’s Day, these HEALTHY ESSENTIALS^® products and tips can help you be healthy and happy for the ones you love.

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?