How to Make a Reduced Carbohydrate Lemon Cream Pie

For people who have to monitor their carbohydrate intake but still want something sweet now and then, finding any after dinner treat can be a frustrating experience. Fortunately, there are recipes out there that make it possible to enjoy dessert and keep your carb intake relatively low. Try this recipe for a lemon cream pie that works out to approximately thirty carbs per serving.

Things You Need:

1 eight ounce package of cream cheese
1 cup fat free milk
1 four ounce package of sugar free instant lemon pudding mix
1 four ounce package of sugar free lemon flavored gelatin
1 twelve ounce container of non-dairy whipped topping
1 nine inch graham cracker pie crust

Hand Mixer and large mixing bowl

Directions:

Soften the cream cheese. If you are in a hurry, place the cheese in a microwave proof bowl and soften the product using the defrost setting. Twenty to thirty seconds should be enough time in most models. Once the cheese is softened, beat with a hard mixer for a moment or two.

Add the pudding mix and gelatin to the cream cheese, along with the cup of fat free milk. Use the mixer to thoroughly blend all the ingredients. After a couple of minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken to pudding consistency.

Fold in four ounces of the whipped topping. Don't use the mixer; instead use a large spoon or similar utensil to gently work the whipped topping into the filling.

Spoon the filling into the pie shell, and spread it out evenly. Take the remaining four ounces of the whipped topping and spread over the top. Cover and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, or overnight if there is time.

Tips:

To trim a few more carbohydrates off the recipe, make your own pie crust using sugar free graham cracker crumbs and a little margarine.

If you are having trouble finding sugar free lemon pudding, use sugar free vanilla pudding and reduce the milk by a couple of tablespoons. To enhance the lemon flavor, add a couple tablespoons of lemon juice.

This same general recipe can be used to create a low carb chocolate pie by omitting the gelatin altogether and substituting a sugar free pudding mix for the lemon one. For the crust, crush some sugar free chocolate cookies and bind them with a little melted butter or margarine.

You can also add a box of sugar free cherry gelatin to the chocolate recipe and create a pie that tastes a lot like chocolate covered cherries.