Caramel Pecan Pie Recipe #SweetSwaps #ad #IC

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the SPLENDA® Brand. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. All opinions and reviews are my own.”

Summer is now here!! Aren't you excited!?? I know I am. Summer means getting to spend more time with my family OUTDOORS which we love. One can only take so much television and video games (although my boys might disagree).

SPLENDA® wants to inspire and motivate us into making smarter choices. This could be taking the stairs instead of the elevator or using lower calorie ingredients in recipes.

SPLENDA® Brand wants to help you reduce your added sugar intake by swapping out full sugar for SPLENDA® Sweetener Products. Using SPLENDA® Sweetener Products and the recipes featured on SweetSwaps.com, can help you create dishes you love AND fit into a balanced lifestyle.

So instead of my boys being glued to some electronic device we go and explore places outdoors. This usually means a kind of nature hike without all the huffing and puffing. These walks help us balance out all those summertime treats that just seem to pop up here and there. Just the other day my grandmother brought over some banana bread.

Treats are great but they can pack on the pounds. We love that going on a nature hikes with my husband's parents help with that!

The boys love going through the trails and trying to see what neat rocks they can find. Meanwhile I tend to speed walk to try to hide from the mosquitoes. They just LOVE me! The most important thing is that we have fun together as a family! And burning calories doesn't hurt either!

After all that walking we deserved a treat. A yummy tasting one. Funny thing is that most yummy treats come with a lot of sugar. But swapping just one cup of sugar with one cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener can save you more than 600 calories?  That's pretty good considering my sweet treat choice is a delicious Caramel Pecan Pie. Pecan Pies are often know for being way up there on calories.

Luckily, Sonya N. on Sweet Swaps gave me the great idea of making this dessert with SPLENDA® to help with that. The amazing tips, tricks and delicious recipes on SweetSwaps.com are making my summer SWEET. They have SO many recipes that can be part of a balanced lifestyle. Even a totally delicious Pecan Pie!

Caramel Pecan Pie (adapted from Caramel Pecan Pie)

Ingredients 

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated
• 1 (12.25 oz) jar Smucker's Caramel Flavored Topping
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1.5 cups pecan halves
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Preheat the over to 350F. Press pie crust into 9 inch pie plate and flute edges.
2. In a medium sized bowl beat the eggs and SPLENDA® until dissolved. Add in the topping, vanilla, salt, and butter. Blend well.
3. Stir in the pecans and pour into the pie crust.
4. Bake for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.

Trust me no one could tell that this was made with SPLENDA®. It was gobbled up in an instant! My son even tried pretending he didn't like it to try to get more of it. Not sure how that works but he LOVED it! We of course had to have it warmed with some vanilla ice cream just for kicks. I know, I know that adds more sugar but hey it's SO good!

What do you do to keep a balanced lifestyle?

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