Enjoy Delicious Taste with Less Calories by Making Splenda 365 #SweetSwaps!

If I told you that this holiday season I was making smart food choices, focusing on healthy living and reducing the number of calories I consume, you'd immediately assume that I was dieting, right?

But that's not me. Going to holiday parties and walking past the lavish tables, politely turning down plates of sweets and glasses of eggnog? Who wants to do that?

Instead, the holiday season is the perfect time to make small, easy lifestyle changes that can lead to big results over time. Don't scrutinize every last thing you eat or go home unhappy and starving from the office party, just take things one day at a time... starting with cutting out unnecessary sugar and replacing it with Splenda No Calorie Sweetener!

A no-calorie sweetener that can be used as part of a healthy diet to reduce the calories and carbohydrates from sugar that you consume, Splenda first made its way into our house when I began reaching for a single yellow packet each morning for my coffee.

This unique substance starts with sugar and is converted into a no-calorie, non-carbohydrate sweetener... resulting in something that tastes like sugar, but without its calories. Did you know that the average American consumes more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day? That's more than triple the recommended amount for women and more than double the recommended amount for men!

Instead, Splenda provides the same sweet flavor but with no calories and no carbohydrates. Count me in!

However, while I've always used Splenda packets to sweeten my morning brew, I've also found that it can easily eliminate excess sugar elsewhere in my diet when I use it in all sorts of other ways instead of sugar. It's called 365 Sweet Swaps!

Filled with tips and recipes to help you save calories from added sugar all year long, I love that the Sweet Swaps site makes it so simple and easy to incorporate Splenda into more areas of my life. Combine that with the huge library of recipes on the Splenda website, there is just no reason for me to not save calories from added sugar every day of the year.

My kids adore Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, so why not bake up a batch that contains less sugar?

I, on the other hand, would love a nice warm dessert this winter that would incorporate a little something more. I could definitely enjoy dishing up this incredible Easy Pear Crisp!

For now, however, I turned to the Splenda 365 Sweet Swaps Tumblr site and found myself drawn to their post about getting in the mood for winter (something that I never do) and the resulting Winter Smoothie recipe.

Utilizing fresh fruit, milk and Splenda, I could blend up something delicious in a matter of seconds? Even I can handle that!

Banana Strawberry Smoothie

1 large ripe banana, sliced
3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
½ cup reduced fat milk
1¼ cups frozen unsweetened strawberries

Mmm, mmmmm! This smoothie took less than a minute to blend up and the results were sweet (but not too sweet), creamy and downright delicious!

This holiday season (and beyond), be sure to reach for any of the great Splenda No Calorie Sweetener products when you are cooking, baking or just looking to lessen your family's calorie intake. Remember that you'll find all sorts of tips, recipes and inspiration at Splenda.com as well as at 365SweetSwaps.com.

Or, if you choose to stretch your creative foodie muscles a bit and come up with your own awesome way to swap Splenda Sweetener Products in for sugar, submit your recipe and you just might be featured next!

If you are ready to join me in making smart choices for healthy living, I want to know. What will you make next with Splenda?

This post is part of the SPLENDA® 365 SWEET SWAPS™ blogger program by McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. and The Motherhood, who sent me products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.