Desserts
I don't make many dessert recipes because even though they are low in fat, they are usually full of sugar or artificial sweeteners, which I try to avoid. I have had some good results with a natural sweetener called Stevia extract, you can find it at a good natural foods store. Use sparingly, it is very concentrated; try about 1/16 of a teaspoon for each teaspoon of sugar. Stevia is a shrub from Paraguay. Its leaves are extremely sweet, about 200 times the sweetness of sugar. It has no calories, and no known poisons, (as do Nutrasweet, and saccharin, etc.).
Here are a few of our favorite dessert recipes worthy of posting:
Baklava
Pineapple
Nieve (Snow)
Cinnamon Chips
Mango Frozen
Yogurt
Banana Cream
Dessert
Cocoa-Banana
Frozen Dessert
Fruit Nut Rice
Krispies Treats
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts,
dry-roasted
8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed (in the freezer
pastry dough section)
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon margarine (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, mix raisins and nuts, set aside.
Lightly spray every other sheet of phyllo with vegetable oil spray, stacking all the sheets.
Spread raisin-nut mixture over the phyllo, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides.
Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Starting on the long side, roll lengthwise, and place, seam side down, on a nonstick baking sheet, making sure the ends of the roll are tucked under. Brush the top lightly with margarine, (or spray with vegetable oil). Cut through the pastry to the raisin-nut mixture, at 1 1/2 inch intervals, to provide vents for steam to escape.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until light golden brown. Slice, using vent lines as guides.
Per serving: (12) 156 calories, 2g protein, 32g carbohydrate, 3g fat. From AMA Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook.
leeway: To further reduce calories and fat grams, substitute 1 apple for the nuts. Also, you can use stevia extract, about 5-10 drops in place of honey. Still tastes decadent!
5 cups coarsely chopped pineapple (1 large
pineapple)
1/4 cup sugar (1/2 to 1 teaspoon Stevia)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Place the pineapple in a food processor for 2 minutes or until very smooth. Add sugar and lime juice and blend. If desired, strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl, discard the solids.
Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. To prepare without a freezer, pour mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish; cover and freeze until firm, stirring occasionally. Best when eaten as soon as it freezes. Serve with cinnamon chips.
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 tablespoon water
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small
bowl. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with water, and sprinkle each
side with the cinnamon mixture.
Cut each tortilla into 12 wedges. Arrange the wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until crisp.
Per 4 wedge serving: 59 calories, 59, 1.1g. fat. From Cooking Light Magazine.
3 large (15-16 oz.) ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and cut up (3 cups)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 8-oz cartons plain fat-free yogurt
Place mangoes, sugar, lime juice, and ground cardamom in a blender container or food processor and process until smooth. Stir in yogurt.
Transfer to a 2-quart electric ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.
Per serving: 140 calories, 0g fat. From Better Homes and Gardens Low-fat Recipes.
leeway: I use fresh papaya and reduce the amount of sugar in
half. Or, omit the sugar and use fat-free vanilla yogurt.
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup honey
2 small boxes fat-free vanilla pudding
2 cups nonfat milk
3 tablespoons sugar
4 ripe medium bananas, sliced
3/4 cup coconut
1 8 oz frozen light nondairy whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup walnuts
Using a fork, combine graham cracker crumbs and honey in a small mixing bowl. Press into the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the instant vanilla pudding and milk until thickened, about 90 seconds; set aside.
In another bowl, beat together cream cheese and sugar using a mixer on low speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the pudding until blended.
Spread pudding mixture over graham cracker crust. Arrange bananas on top of pudding mixture; sprinkle with coconut.
Spread on nondairy whipped topping; sprinkle on nuts. Cover and chill at least two hours. From Shape magazine.
leeway: Hoo boy! Well, it is not Nation's Banana Cream Pie, but this is a superb recipe that should be followed exactly at least once when time permits. Otherwise, you can make a variation that is also very good, with less fat and calories, and hardly takes any time to at all:
Make 1 large box of fat-free, sugar-free vanilla pudding according to directions, if you are concerned about artificial sweeteners, and don't mind the sugar calories, buy the fat-free variety.
Crush the graham crackers (lowfat) with a sweetener you prefer, or none.
Use a tub of spreadable fat-free cream cheese, you won't need to use a mixer, or omit from recipe
To reduce calories and fat grams, omit the coconut and walnuts, and use Cool Whip Lite or Free, it is still terrific. As prepared from the original recipe, each serving is 261 calories and 7.4 g of fat. I'm sure you can knock off at least half of that by making some omissions and substitutions. It was this recipe that got me started on the Cool Whip Free kick-don't ever read the list of ingredients if you have any concern for natural foods!
Put together as outlined above; if you can
wait 2 hours to eat this, and have just one serving, you have incredible
discipline!
4 very ripe bananas
4 heaping teaspoons of pure, unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Two tablespoons dark rum or real maple syrup (optional)
Peel the bananas and place in the food processor along with the cocoa powder.
Add the vanilla extract and the rum, blend until very smooth.
Pour into individual cups or small bowls and freeze until just frozen.
From Ask Dr. Weil.
leeway: You can give up the Haagan-Daz chocolate sorbet, this
easy to make recipe is surprisingly good. Adjust the rum according to taste and
ability to tolerate. A lightweight drinker like me gets a slight buzz off of
this dessert.
Fruit Nut Rice Krispies Treats
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon peanut butter
1 bag (10 oz) marshmallows
1/2 cup wheat germ, toasted (optional, but nutrient dense)
1/2 cup dried strawberries, chopped
4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
Coat a 13" x 9" pan with cooking spray. Melt butter and peanut butter in a large, deep pot over low heat, swirling occasionally. Add marshmallows, and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
Stir in wheat germ and strawberries, then add cereal. Stir well to coat. Using waxed paper or a spatula , spread into prepared pans. Per square as prepared: 91 calories, 2 g fat. From Self magazine.
leeway: As if Rice Krispie Treats weren't good enough, these
have a terrific peanut butter and jelly flavor. Since it is impossible to eat
just one square, to reduce fat, substitute reduced fat margarine for butter,
and use low-fat peanut butter or reduce to 1 tablespoon. Dried fruit is often
coated with sugar, look for unsweetened fruit to save calories. Try dried
cranberries, blueberries and cherries for variety.
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