A Christmas Hit: Crustless Pumpkin Pie!

Due to the popularity of last week's Blueberry Crisp recipe, I have decided to one-up myself with the help of my sleuthing friend Deb, who has located a fantastic, even lower calorie dessert recipe for us. Thanks go to the Hungry Girl for this invention!

Ingredients:
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
3/4 cup Splenda (granulated)
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly.

Place mixture in an 8" x 8" baking dish sprayed lightly with nonstick spray, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. (It will remain a little soft, like pie filling.)

Once ready to serve (it's delicious eaten hot or cold), cut into 9 pieces.

Makes 9 servings. Per serving: only 65 calories!

Tip: I made this for my better half last night, and his feeling was that a 4 tbsp puff of light whipped cream on the top was worth the extra 30 calories to make this dessert a little richer tasting. The total for this delicious treat still comes in just under 100 calories. I'll let you decide!!

Happy Holidays to All!!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2010 drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Blueberry Crisp Yuletide Dessert!

The wonderful holiday season is upon us!! It's a joyous time to spend time with friends and loved ones, with much hosting done from home. Large, filling, high calorie meals are the norm during the holidays, and dessert can often double the total calorie intake of the meal. Here is a suggestion for a fabulous dessert that is not calorie free by any means, but is at least reasonable at 256 calories per serving. My suggestion is to scale down to a half portion for only 128 calories! Eating a half portion also scales down the carbohydrate count (attenntion, diabetics!) to a very reasonable 24 grams.

This recipe comes from my favorite Canadian chefs Janet and Greta Podleski, from their fabulous cookbook, Eat, Shrink, and Be Merry!

Blueberry Crisp (aka Rhapsody in Blueberry)

Filling:

• 6 cups blueberries (best if fresh)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest

Topping:

• 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted
• 2 tbsp apple juice or orange juice
  

1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add blueberries. Sprinkle bueberries with granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix well and set aside.

2. To make topping, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add melted margarine and juice. Using a fork, stir until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over coated blueberries.

3. Bake for 30 minutes, until blueberries are bubbling around edge of pan and crumb topping is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

4. Serve with a dollop of low fat vanilla yogurt, if desired.


Makes 8 servings. Per serving:

• 256 calories
• 6.9g fat
• 3g protein
• 48g carbohydrate

Divide the above numbers by 2 for half servings (recommended!).

To further cut calories, I'd be interested to see how this recipe turns out with Splenda as a substitute for granulated sugar, and/or Brown Sugar Splenda as a substitution for brown sugar. Try it out, and leave a comment to let our readers know how it turns out!

Happy Holidays!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2010 drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Lemon Parmesan Broccoli!

Here is a great way to shake up your broccoli! Broccoli on its own is a Free Veg, meaning that you can eat it in large amounts without taking in many calories (it's only 30 cal per cup!). It is not quite free with the addition of a little bit of Lite Parmesan... but it's pretty darn close!

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups of broccoli (about 4 heads)
  
• 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp light powdered Parmesan cheese
  

Cut your broccoli into florets. The broccoli needs to be dry - if you wash it, be sure to dry it thouroughly. Arrange in a 9x13" baking dish.

Zest your lemon and finely chop the pile of zest you get. Chop your lemon in half.

Spray broccoli briefly with an aerosol sprayer such as Pam (a great alternative to oil!). Add a bit of salt & pepper to taste, and squeeze the juice of one half of your lemon on the broccoli. Put your dish of broccoli in a preheated oven at 400C for 20-25 mins. The goal is for the tips of the broccoli to be a little crispy, but not burned.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with the lemon zest, squeeze the juice from your other half of lemon all over the broccoli and top with the parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for 1-2 mins until the parmesan melts, then serve!

Makes 6 servings. Per serving:

• 50 cal
• only 1g fat!

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2010 drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Bean Salad with a Hint of Lime!

Thanks go out to my best friend Deb for staking out this recipe! Give it a try and let us know what you think. From 'Full of Beans' cookbook by Violet Currie and Kay Spicier - thanks for the inspiration! A great way to enjoy the 'hint of lime' flavor fad.

COMBINE IN A BOWL:

• 1 cup rinsed canned black beans
• 1 cup rinsed canned kidney beans
• 1 cup corn ( canned, thawed frozen or ideally cut right off the cob if it is in season(this is best!))

WHISK TOGETHER:

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 small clove minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Toss over the bean mixture and refrigerate for a couple hours. Just before serving, add:

• 1 tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 small cucumber, diced
• 1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

Toss well and serve!

Makes 8 servings. Per serving:

• 106 cal
• 0g fat
• 5g protein
• 22g carb
• 243 mg sodium

Keeps really well in the fridge and makes great leftovers. It's also really easy to tweak to your own liking...different types of beans, different proportions of beans to corn, extra bell peppers.. however you like it. Add a little extra lime juice to up the ante on the flavor scale!

This salad is so tasty that you may have to share... consider protecting yourself:



Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2010 drsuetalks@gmail.com Read more...

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Deb's Stuffed Peppers!

Mmmm..... right from the kitchen of my best friend comes a deliciously healthy, high protein meal! The caloric price tag is low at under 250.

Ingredients:

• 6 bell peppers - 2 red, 2 Yellow, 2 Orange
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 can (19.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 cups cooked long-grain brown rice
• shredded low fat cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Cut tops off peppers; remove seeds and membranes. Rinse the peppers under cold water. Place peppers and tops in a large pot; cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.(you may have to do this in 2 batches if your peppers are bigger than your pot.) Drain peppers and set aside. Dice the celery and the onion.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Sauté the crushed garlic, chopped onion, and chopped celery for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, half of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg white with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Gently stir to blend; add ground beef, cooked rice, and approx 3/4 of the tomato mixture you just made. Mix well. Place the peppers in a cassorole dish standing up and stuff the peppers with meat mixture until 1/2 way full. Then add a tablespoon of your shredded cheese and fill the rest of the pepper full with the meat mixture. Use the 1/4 remaining tomato mixture and divide it 6 ways to spoon some on top of each pepper. Put pepper tops on the peppers. Bake at 350° for 65 minutes. Top each stuffed pepper (under the cap) with a little of your shredded cheese a couple minutes before the peppers are done and bake until the cheese is melted.

Serve!

Makes 6 servings.

Nutritional Info per serving:
Calories: 243 Fat: 7.3g Sat Fat: 2.2g carbs: 21.1g Fibre: 3.3g Protein: 23.1g

Dr. Sue © 2010 www.drsue.ca drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Healthy Chocolate Banana Bran Muffins!

MMMmmmmm.... have a craving for some delicious chocolate banana muffins, but not sure how to do them up in a healthy way? Here is a great recipe from my friend Brenda's kitchen - who just happens to be a very talented dietician as well! With a good dose of fiber and protein, they are satisfying while being nicely portion controlled as well!

Makes 16 muffins.

Wet Ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 1 “kid size” container apple sauce (100 ml)
• ¾ cup of 1% milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1egg white

Combine wet ingredients and mix on low speed.

Dry Ingredients:

• 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup oat bran
• ¼ cup chocolate chips
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add wet ingredients top dry and mix until just mixed (do not over mix… about 25 strokes).

Spoon batter into muffin pans and bake for approximately 18 mins at 350 F.

Nutrition Info:

Calories per muffin: 210 kcal

Carbohydrates 35 g

Protein : 6 g

Fat : 7 g

Fiber: 4 g

If you don't find them sweet enough, you can try adding a few packs (1g each) of Splenda to the batter.

Dr. Sue © 2010 www.drsue.ca drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Deliciously Calorie Wise Spaghetti!

Yes, even spaghetti can be done in a healthy way. Oil free, with extra lean ground beef and a portion of multigrain noodles, and you're off to the races!! I was inspired by my friends in Calgary and Switzerland to produce this delicious recipe. The trick to making this taste fabulous are to use fresh basil and garlic. A small portion of red wine (50 calories' worth, to be exact) makes it taste totally gourmet.

Sauce Ingredients:

• 700g extra lean ground beef
  
• Sone large can of diced tomato (28 oz)
• one can tomato paste, sugar free (5.5 oz)
• 1/4 cup red wine
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• one handful fresh basil, chopped
• dried oregano, 1 tbsp or to taste
• one small zucchini, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 red, orange, or yellow pepper, chopped
• 4-5 packs Splenda (1g each), to taste
• ground pepper to taste

Noodles: Catelli Healthy Harvest Multigrain Spaghetti (375g box)

1. Cook ground beef with onion and garlic in a medium pot, until the beef is completely cooked through and brown. Add tomato and tomato paste and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 15-20 minutes, to allow flavors to mix. If you like crispier veggies, try adding them in later - eg 10 minutes before simmering is complete.

2. For 2 people, cook 1/4 of the box of noodles according to package directions while the sauce is a simmerin'!


The sauce as above provides SIX servings (Who doesn't love leftovers? I made two family members happy with this one on different nights this week!) PER serving: 220 cal, 23g protein

One serving of noodles, as above (1/8 box or 42g dry): 150 cal, 5g protein, 4.5g fiber

Kraft Lite Parmesan (grated): add one tbsp on top for taste - 22 cal, 2.5g protein

TOTAL: If you ladle one serving of sauce over the portion of noodles above, with 1 tbsp of parmesan: just under 400 calories, and 30g of protein!!

Bon Appetit!

Dr. Sue © 2010 www.drsue.ca drsuetalks@gmail.com

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