PrintSusan Burke
eDiets Contributor
*Before you eat dessert, make your entire meal healthier. Browse our Healthy Holiday Recipe Showcase for less fat and more flavor!
With fall in the air, just a whiff of nutmeg makes me think of Thanksgiving. Somehow, the sweet, spicy aroma makes me crave pumpkin pie.
Keeping our waistlines secure over the holidays is definitely a challenge, but the science of smells and flavors means we can have our cake and eat it, too. We can transform healthier ingredients into delightful desserts that are just like the real thing.
Try one or more of my favorite autumn desserts. They’re short on preparation time, but long on flavor:
Pumpkin Cheesecake
From Kraft’s Healthy Living Web site, here’s my adaptation of the Pumpkin Cheesecake. I love this recipe because the texture and taste are rich, but this cheesecake has only a fraction of the original’s calories. Don’t tell anyone that it’s modified; they’ll never guess! By the way, you can lighten up the recipe even further by using egg substitute (a quarter-cup for each whole egg).
Ingredients:
- 2 8-ounce packages fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup thawed nonfat nondairy whipped topping
Whip cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until blended. Blend in eggs but don’t beat. Remove 1 cup of batter and stir in canned pumpkin and spice. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray, and sprinkle in graham crumbs. Pour remaining batter into pan, top with pumpkin batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Refrigerate for three hours or overnight.
Serve with a tablespoon of whipped topping, and a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs. Makes eight servings.
Nutritional value per serving: 150 calories, 2.5g fat (1g sat.), 340mg sodium and 18g sugar.
Pecan Rice Pudding
eDiets Recipe Club has a sinfully delicious recipe for Pecan Rice Pudding. This recipe uses 2-percent milk, or substitute 1 percent or nonfat milk and save about 30 to 40 calories per serving. Better yet, try evaporated nonfat milk for a creamier texture.
Ingredients:
- 1 quart 2-percent milk
2.25 cups uncooked white rice
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup toasted pecan halves
Spread pecans in a baking pan and toast in 350 degrees oven for 5 to 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring rice and milk to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes. Stir in maple syrup, lemon zest and pecans. Pour into serving dishes and chill until set. Serve in chilled parfait glass, topped with nonfat nondairy whipped topping and a tsp of chopped pecans. Makes eight servings.
Nutritional values per serving: 345 calories, 7.7g fat, 10mg cholesterol, 64mg sodium and 11g sugar.
Get the recipes for Baked Apples and Mocha Almond Pie >>
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