Make Dessert Count

Most of us look forward to dessert – sweet, creamy, delicious, comforting dessert! Unfortunately, desserts are usually high in calories and low in nutrients. The trick is to save the rich desserts for truly special occasions and to make other desserts a nutritious part of your diet.Fabulous fruitFresh fruit in season is a treat for the tastebuds. Try dipping it in nonfat vanilla yogurt sprinkled with a little cinnamon. To make another fruit treat, peel and chop apples or pears, sprinkle with about a teaspoon of sugar per cup of fruit, then microwave until tender. Stir in a few raisins or berries if you like, but don’t add water – the fruit creates its own delicious syrup as it cooks. Enjoy the fruit warm by itself or sprinkle with a crunchy low-fat granola cereal to make a fruit crisp.Go for grainsCakes and cookies are usually made with white flour, but you can add fiber and nutrients by substituting whole wheat pastry flour. Try replacing half the white flour at first, but many recipes are delicious when made entirely with whole wheat pastry flour. Also look for recipes that use oatmeal.Soy deliciousAdd the goodness of soy to baked goods by replacing about 2 tablespoons of each cup of wheat flour with soy flour and substituting soymilk for dairy milk. Purée silken tofu with vanilla flavoring, fruit and a little sweetener to make puddings, sauces or fruit dips.Sweet and creamyMost desserts are high in sugar. You can omit 25% of the sugar in most homemade baked goods. For puddings, icings and pie fillings, you can use non-nutritive sweeteners such as Splenda.Reduce the fat content of dessert by using skim or low-fat dairy products. Replace part of the oil with prune purée (use a jar of prune babyfood) or buttermilk.Don’t be fooled!Fat-free desserts are not necessarily healthful or low in calories. Sometimes the fat is replaced by extra sugar and as a result, the modified dessert has even more calories than the regular version.Foods like carrot cake and zucchini bread sound like they should be good for you, but they can be higher in calories and lower in vegetables than you might think. A slice of zucchini bread from a typical loaf (12 slices) has about 230 calories – but only 4 teaspoons of zucchini, or about 1/6 of a serving of vegetables.Enjoy your healthful desserts to the fullest, but remember that you can have too much of a good thing. You still need to eat moderate portions and plan your desserts with your total diet in mind.Frozen Fruit Silk- 1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries in syrup or frozen strawberries in syrup- 1 package (12.5 oz) silken tofuChop or break the still frozen berries into smaller chunks and put into a blender. Add the tofu and purée until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves 4. Each 2/3 cup serving: 122 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 33 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrtae, 6 g protein, 1.5 g fiber.Sweet Squash Pudding- 1 package (12 oz.) frozen winter squash, thawed- 2/3 cup fat-free cottage cheese or silken tofu- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon- 2 egg whites- 1/4 cup skim milk- 1/4 cup brown sugar- 1/2 tsp vanilla or maple flavoringCombine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish and bake at 375° for 45 minutes, until center is set. Serve warm or chilled. Serves 6. Each 1/2 cup serving: 69 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 118 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 1.5 g fiber.By Cheryl Sullivan, MA, RD.