ITALIAN CREAM PIE WITH ORANGE-STRAWBERRY SAUCE

Smooth, creamy, melts in your mouth. Never thought you’d hear those words on your weight-loss surgery journey? The good news is this recipe is all of the above and packed with calcium too.

1 cup skim or 1% milk

1 package (1 ounce) unflavored gelatin (such as Knox™*)

½ heaping cup Splenda™* or Stevia-in-the-Raw™* 1 (15 ounce) container low-fat ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 (6 ounce) containers light vanilla yogurt

1 cup sugar-free whipped topping

8-inch spring-form pan, lightly sprayed with cooking spray

Orange-Strawberry Sauce

½ cup Splenda™* or Stevia-in-the-Raw™*

1 (10 ounce) bag frozen whole strawberries (unsweetened)

1 slice of an orange, and zest from ½ of the same orange

1. In a small saucepan, pour in the milk and sprinkle in gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes. Stir in ½ cup sweetener. Cook on low heat, stirring continuously, until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is heated (do not boil).
2. Carefully pour milk mixture into blender. Add ricotta cheese. Cover (remove cork section of blender so it doesn’t explode!) and blend until pureed. Pour mixture into a large bowl. Stir in yogurt and vanilla extract. Fold in whipped topping.
3. Pour cream mixture into the 8-inch spring-form pan. Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight.
4. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients for the Orange-Strawberry Sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are cooked and mixture comes to a low boil. Remove from heat, and remove orange slice. Carefully pour strawberry mixture into a blender (again removing the cork!), and puree on medium speed. Pour into a serving dish and refrigerate until serving time.
5. To serve, cut pie into wedges and place on individual dessert plates. Top with strawberry sauce!