Author: Rochelle Sy Chua

I have plans to seriously study cooking & baking in the near future.  I’ve been preparing for it – carefully choosing the stove I would buy, ensuring the design of my new kitchen will fit my goal and thinking of recipes to learn.

One thing that I want to start doing is to eat healthy.  I’ve been struggling on that part.  I super love to eat (as frequent readers of this blog would know)!  I want to take baby steps and not change drastically.  For now, I wanted to start with changing the ingredient that would give me the most calories: sugar.

I decided to understand the health benefits of Splenda.

Splenda is a famous healthy alternative sweetener that a lot of establishments have been using already.  I remember that I always choose natural brown sugar over Splenda when drinking coffee.  Actually, I never dared try Splenda.  I tend to think that anything artificial isn’t good.  But considering my plans to bake cakes and to prepare sweet shakes which will surely need a lot of sugar, I have to think of an alternative, or else I would be getting diabetes (yaiks)!

I’m impulsive!  Whenever I think of something, I want to do it ASAP.  It’s especially dangerous when I have an urge to get myself a gadget (which always happens).  Good thing that my urge today is more for my health and my well-being..

As soon as I got off work, I went straight to SaveMore Supermarket to get myself a box of Splenda.

I then started researching on the product, reading the label as well as checking the official Splenda Website.  Discovering that Splenda can cut 3/4 of the calories that comes from natural sugar just by substituting it is really, really super nice!  That means it’s actually better than brown sugar!  I’ll try this for a few months and see if it’ll work for me.

I also stumbled upon Splenda Philippines’ Facebook Page.  A lot of tips and recipes are shared through the page.  I even saw an article that there’s actually a dessert place called Classic Confections that uses Splenda for its desserts!  I liked the page as I wanted to refer to it once I’m ready to start cooking and baking.

I digged through the internet to see what really makes up Splenda.  With those information, I’m convinced to give it a chance and to try it out.

• From Wikipedia:

Sucralose has no caloric content, and Splenda products have a lower caloric content than sugar.  The actual caloric content of a single-serving (1-gram packet) of Splenda is 3.36 calories, 31% of the calories of a single-serving (2.8-gram packet) of granulated sugar (10.8 calories).  In the United States, it is legally labelled “zero calories”;  U.S. FDA regulations allow this “if the food contains less than 5 calories per reference amount customarily consumed and per labeled serving”. 

Further, Splenda contains a relatively small amount of sucralose, little of which is metabolized; virtually all of Splenda’s caloric content derives from the dextrose or highly fluffed maltodextrin “bulking agents” that give Splenda its volume.  Like other carbohydrates, dextrose and maltodextrin have 3.75 calories per gram.

What this means is that the body does not recognize Splenda.  Even if you sweeten with Splenda everyday, you can enjoy the sweet taste.  Your body will just remove it when you pee or go to the bathroom.

Unlike other alternative sweeteners (e.g., Equal, Palsweet), sucralose is heat stable up to 450 °F (232 °C) so Splenda can be used as a replacement for table sugar in cooking and baking, and there are Splenda products packaged specifically for this purpose.

• From Splenda Website:

On my next post, I would be trying out a recipe or two.  I would share them with you through this blog.  I can’t wait because I don’t even cook!  Let’s see if the available Splenda recipes are easy to make!  Most importantly, I’ll have a peace of mind that I would be using a sweet but healthy ingredient 🙂

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Splenda, No Calorie Sweetener
Available in packets and granules
http://www.facebook.com/SplendaPH

It’s not a secret that I LOVE Kentucky Fried Chicken!  It has been my habit to order 6 pieces of KFC Hot & Crispy Chicken every now and then.  I never forget to post a picture of my yummy comfort food that some friends even thought that KFC is my secret to youthful looks! :))

I’m not in any way connected to KFC and I was never paid to market their products.  I just genuinely love KFC fried chicken.  It has been a part of my life ever since I was a kid.

If you’ve been following KFC Philippines’ Facebook page, you might have noticed their post last September 27.  It says that a new snack will be coming out soon and that it’ll be made of macaroni and cheese.

Well, it’s not a mystery anymore!

Let me break the good news!  The new exciting snack from KFC is called…. *drumroll*  KFC Mac and Cheese Bites!!!

There’s no chicken inside by the way, but it definitely looked like KFC Hotshots.  KFC Mac & Cheese Bites is the latest innovation from the brand.  KFC has never failed to surprise fans like us with their exciting products (remember Double Down?).

I immediately opened a box and examined a piece of KFC Mac & Cheese Bites.  There are 5 pieces of Mac & Cheese bites in every order.  It’s actually pretty cheap!  It is only Php 49!  If you want to order it with fries & drink, then the price is at Php 79.  For cheese-lovers out there, I’m pretty sure you’ll indulge on this especially because the taste was true to the traditional Macaroni and Cheese.

KFC Mac and Cheese Bites is crunchy on the outside and loaded on the inside with soft macaroni pasta and bits of bacon in cheese sauce!  The cheesy taste was so strong that I’m sure cheese lovers won’t get enough it!

If there’s one thing that I want KFC to add to this product is an option to have dips.  Nevertheless, KFC customers would love to try Mac & Cheese Bites starting October 4, 2012 when the product will be officially available at all branches in the Philippines.  It’ll only be a 2-day wait!

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KFC Mac and Cheese Bites
starting October 4, 2012
Ala Carte (Php 49), Combo w/ Fries & Drink (Php 79)