Pumpkin Banana Spiced Custard

As Hallowe'en is soon upon us, many of our houses are undoubtedly filled with tempting treats to hand out to the kids on Monday night.  Here's a tasty dessert alternative from the Heart & Stroke Foundation, perfect for fall!   I'd be interested to know how you think it compares to the Crustless Pumpkin Pie recipe from Hungry Girl that I suggested previously.



INGREDIENTS:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup (250 mL) canned pure pumpkin
• 1/3 cup (80 mL) mashed banana - about 1 medium
• 1 cup (250 mL) evaporated skim milk
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) allspice
• 6 walnut halves

*editorial comment: I would personally use a little extra cinnamon and allspice for a stronger taste - I often find myself doubling these spices in pumpkin recipes



DIRECTIONS:


1.  Preheat oven to 325F (160C).


2.  Place 6, 1 cup (250 mL) ramekin bowls (also known as bouillion bowls) in a glass 13 x 9 inch (3.5L) baking dish.


3.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the walnuts.  Pour into the ramekins.  Pour boiling water around the ramekins in the aking dish to a depth of 1 inch (2.5 cm).   Place 1 walnut half in the centre of each custard.


4.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Serve warm.   Consider sprinkling some extra cinnamon and allspice on top!





Makes 6 custards.  Each custard contains:

• 111 calories
• 6g protein
• 20g carbohydrate 
• 1g fat
• 83mg sodium
• 1g fiber

Enjoy! Thanks to my friend Patti for the heads' up on this great recipe.




Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2011 drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Berry Sorbet Lemon Cups!

Here is a fantastically healthy dessert recipe that is aesthetically pleasing, low calorie, and diabetic friendly!   Perfect for summer.  I've seen different variations of this on many websites; I think it tastes wonderful with blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries. You decide which is best!

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 lemons
• 2 cups frozen blueberries or blackberries (or both!)
• 1/2 cup Danone Silhouette 0-Plus berry flavored yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 packet of Splenda sweetener

Cut a slice from the stem end of each lemon about 1/5 of the size of the entire lemon. Cut a sliver of peel from the opposite end so the lemon has a base to stand on. Carefully scoop out the flesh from inside the lemons, keeping the peel intact. Put the shells in a resealable freezer bag and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Just before serving, put the frozen berries directly into a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, and Splenda, and process until smooth.

Spoon the sorbet into the lemon shells and serve immediately!

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: only 40 calories, and 9g of carbohydrate!


Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2011 drsuetalks@gmail.com

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115 Calorie Chocolate Espresso Brownies as a Holiday Treat!

It's holiday weekend!  Families and friends are gathering to celebrate the occasion, often with heaping trays of food, snacks, and desserts in tow.  The sweets enjoyed at the end of the meal are a significant contributor to the total caloric intake of a meal, and can easily provide as many or more calories as the meal itself.  


As such, I would like to share with you one of my very favorite recipes.   These chocolate espresso brownies are absolutely delicious - they are moist and satisfying, and you'd never guess that they contain only 115 calories per square!  The secret that makes this recipe low calorie yet very flavorful is that cocoa powder is used instead of chocolate.   And no, the brownies are not microscopic - they are appropriately portion controlled at 1/16 of an 8x8" pan.  


For diabetics, please note that the carbohydrate content is about 17 grams per square.  This is not a lot of carbohydrate, but they are simple carbs (sugar and flour), making this a high glycemic index food (a deviation from the recommendations of choosing complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index).  Therefore, these squares may cause blood sugars to rise a little more than a complex carb food would.  Having said that, one square as a special Easter dessert would be a much better choice than many other desserts, which can easily contain several fold higher carbohydrate and calories.



Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour (or try whole wheat flour for a more complex carb)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 tbsp instant espresso powder (I like to use a Starbucks Via!)
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 tbsp coffee flavored liquor
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350F.  
Whisk together cocoa, flour and baking powder. 
In a separate bowl, stir together canola oil and sugars. 
In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are foamy. 

In a small cup, dissolve the espresso powder in 1 tbsp hot water.  Stir coffee, coffee liquer and vanilla extract into the canola/sugar mixture, along with the egg whites.  Gradually stir this into the cocoa mixture, until well blended.

Pour the batter into an 8x8 inch baking pan lined with foil and coated with cooking spray. Bake 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.   Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 16 brownies.
 
Per brownie:
115 cal, 2g protein, 17g CHO, 5g fat, 1g fiber.

Note that these brownies don't have any icing - they don't need it, as they are so rich on their own.  For decoration, consider adding one dark chocolate chip to the top of each one while they are still warm (for an additional 2.5 calories!).

It can be a challenge to maintain a healthy dietary pattern on weekends like this!  Remember to practice portion control at all aspects of the meal as well, and to make healthy food choices wherever possible!


Dr. Sue © 2011   www.drsue.ca     drsuetalks@gmail.com

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Iced Pumpkin Fiber Muffins!

Pumpkin is a fantastic ingredient to consider for use in your baking.  It weighs in as a low calorie food at only 30 calories per cup, and it lends a fantastic moisture to your baking that makes it easy to bake without oil or butter.  I have scoured the internet to find a good, healthy, pumpkin muffin recipe, and here it is:  The Hungry Girl does it again! 


These muffins are delightful!  They are made with one of my favorite sources of fiber, that being Fiber One Cereal (All Bran is my other favorite source).  They taste great with or without icing.  Should you choose the 'with icing' alternative, consider sprinkling a little cinnamon (and maybe just a little extra Splenda) on top.



Ingredients:
Muffins
1 cup Fiber One Original bran cereal
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
1 cup club soda
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/4 cup sugar-free pancake syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins, chopped

Icing
1/4 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
3 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Using a blender or food processor, grind cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Transfer crumbs to a large bowl.
 Add flour, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In another bowl, combine pumpkin, soda, egg substitute, syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly. Add mixture to the large bowl and stir until blended to form the batter.

Slowly sprinkle and stir chopped raisins into the batter. Evenly distribute batter among the 10 prepared cups of your muffin pan. (Batter may be piled high... This is OK!)

Bake in the oven until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out mostly clean, about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine all icing ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl. Mix until smooth and blended. (Refrigerate icing if you don't plan to serve muffins right away.)

Remove cooled muffins from the pan. Just before serving, warm icing in the microwave for a few seconds and drizzle it onto the muffins (or simply spread it on evenly). Enjoy!

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 iced muffin

APPROXIMATE: 

Calories: 150
Carbs: 30g
Fiber: 4g

Dr Sue Pedersen www.drsue.ca © 2011 drsuetalks@gmail.com

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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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