02 September 2008

Healthy Tuesday

Yes, After a Week off..I'm Back...Hope Everyone had a Great Labor Day, Now Onto the Good Stuff...

5 Ways to Make Dessert Good for You

In a diet-focused culture, desserts often get a bad reputation. But some can actually be beneficial. Desserts made with fruit, nature's natural sweetener, are ideal after-dinner treats. The trick is to reduce the sugar and fat in desserts to make them more healthy, but not too much so they still taste good, according to the Mayo Clinic Health Letter.

1. Grill fruit slicesCut fresh apples, pineapple, pears or peaches into chunks. Brush them lightly with canola oil and sprinkle with cinnamon. Grill the fruit on skewers or wrap in foil and grill over a low heat for three to five minutes.

2. Make a fruit dipMix together 1/2 cup of low-fat sugar-free lemon yogurt, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lime zest. Serve cold as a dip for fruits such as grapes, sliced strawberries, kiwi or bananas.

3. Add a dollop: Add a dollop of fat-free plain or vanilla yogurt to frozen or canned fruit. Opt for fruit without syrup.

4. Slim down baked goods: Favorite recipes can be made with much less sugar and fat. Reducing sugar by one-third to one-half works in many recipes. To enhance the sweetness, increase the amount of vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg. Applesauce, mashed banana, prune puree or commercial fat substitute can replace up to half the butter, shortening or oil in many recipes.

5. Use reduced-fat or fat-free ingredients instead of high-fat productsFat-free, 1 percent or 2 percent milk can be used instead of whole milk. Evaporated fat-free milk can replace regular evaporated milk. Fat-free plain yogurt or low-fat sour creams can be substituted for sour cream. Light cream cheese or low-fat cottage cheese often substitutes nicely for cream cheese.(Source: Mayo Clinic Health Letter)

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