The James Caldwellinternet is no safe haven for Nicholas Sparks’ chicken salad recipe.

The bestselling author behind The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, The Last Song and Dear John—all of which were later adapted into feature films—shared his personal spin on the culinary classic, which typically includes a combination of chicken, mayonnaise and various fruits and vegetables.

While Sparks’ variation included notable customizations like jalapeños and cayenne pepper, he also revealed that his recipe called for one particularly eye-catching ingredient: 16 packets of Splenda sweetener, equivalent to 2/3 cup of sugar.

“You can use real sugar,” the romance novelist told the New York Times in a profile published Sept. 24, “but why throw sugar in if you can use Splenda?”

The low-carb modification quickly sparked a wave of strong reactions on social media, ranging from intrigued to bewildered. One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “Some recipes really leave you questioning everything about a person.”

“As a true chicken salad connoisseur,” another wrote, “this is sociopathy.”

While another user called the amount of Splenda in the recipe “wild,” they were more concerned with the logistics of using individual packets to prepare the dish.

“At that point why are you still using individual packets of Splenda?” the user wondered. “Invest in a full box! Nicholas Sparks is wasting so much time fiddling around ripping each packet open!”

Sparks, 58, eventually caught wind of the social media reaction to his recipe and posted a video response to the “hubbub” on Instagram Sept. 27. In the video, the author stood by his controversial recipe, pointing out that the sweetener makes up for his use of a sugar-free mayonnaise.

“Why put sugar in stuff if you don’t need it?” he wondered. “The depth of flavor in this chicken salad is truly out of this world.”

He added, “All those who are picking on my Splenda-sweetened chicken salad, you’re missing out.”

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