# Low fat-Low Cholesterol dessert recipes



## Sunflower (Nov 26, 2005)

I have two requests -

Anybody has recipes for low fat-low cholesterol desserts?  I love baking but want to cut down on fat and cholesterol because of family history of high cholesterol.

I also need recipes for low fat salad dressings.

thanks


P.S - I love this forum and I am now a regular reader.


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## Piccolina (Nov 27, 2005)

Hi Sunflower (& welcome to DC),

A few ideas for low-fat & low-cholesterol  desserts....

-Homemade frozen yogurt using low-fat yogurt (I make mine with about 300 grams of fruit to 500ml-550ml of thick [usually organic] plain yogurt). I just prep and then freeze the fruit, put it into the food processor with the yogurt and blitz until combined. If it needs a little more sweetness than the natural fruit alone I add a tad of honey. You can eat this right away or put it in a freezer safe container with a lid and store it for at least a week in the freezer. 

-Meringues can be made with very little sugar and have less cholesterol than desserts with whole eggs. They are lovely with fresh or stewed fruit, or made with a bit of chocolate and then crumbled (once cooked and cooled) into a bowl of low fat whip cream (made with light cream)

-Angel food cake is another choice that is quite light and easy to whip up, and you can top it in a zillion different ways (I love to make a raspberry or blackberry puree and drizzle it over the finished cake)

-Things like sherbet/sorbets and Italian granitas (aka, Italian ice) are often low in fat and certainly low in cholesterol. 

-One of my favourite simple desserts (when I am lucky enought o chance upon them in Ireland) is fresh figs (the best I've had have come from Italy). Truly sweet fresh figs need nothing to inhance their beautiful taste, but I like just a little drizzle of good quality honey over mine - yum!

-If you're looking for a chocolate taste both carob and cocoa are lower in cholesterole and saturated fat than chocolate sqaures/bars (I think )

Just a few thoughts to help you out with, I bet lots of other people here have tons of great ideas and tips too! Way to go with trying to change your diet, I wish you lots of success


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## Sunflower (Nov 27, 2005)

Thanks Piccolina.  I've got some frozen berries, I'll try the yogurt & berries for dessert tomorrow night (we're going out tonight).  

Are all angel food cakes low fat?  How do you make a raspberry puree?

I still have to discover the tast of figs.  Never had them before.  Are they available in super markets?

What's carob?  Do you have any recipes?   

Hope you don't mind all these questions... i am totally new to the world of cooking   but LOVING it.


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## purrfectlydevine (Nov 27, 2005)

I made a crustless pumpkin pie using the recipe on the Libby's pumpkin puree can, but egg substitute for the eggs, Splenda for the sugar, and fat fee evaporated milk instead of regular.  It was pretty good, but next time I need to lower the oven 25* because of using a glass pie plate.


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## Sunflower (Nov 27, 2005)

this is good news! I love pumpkin pie and made one following the recipe on Libby's but didn't do any fat free modifications, but now I know. I didn't know I can make crustless pies either!!!! 





 , purrfectlydevine




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## Piccolina (Nov 28, 2005)

Sunflower said:
			
		

> Thanks Piccolina. I've got some frozen berries, I'll try the yogurt & berries for dessert tomorrow night (we're going out tonight).
> 
> Are all angel food cakes low fat?  How do you make a raspberry puree?
> 
> ...


 Hi Sunflower, you're very welcome. I (we!) don't mind questions at all, that's what this forum is here for  Let us know how your frozen yogurt turns out. Ever since I wrote out the frozen yogurt recipe I've been craving it big time, so I think I'll whip up a batch this week too. (If you have any frozen peaches by chance, those are so awesome as a FY flavour!)

 I don't think that all angel food cakes are lowfat, but most of them are lower in fat than many types of cakes that use lots of whole eggs, oil and potentially "fatty" things like nuts and chocolate. 

 This is my TNT raspberry coulis (a pureed sauce without seeds) recipe (you can use it with any berry that has seeds). 

*  Fresh Raspberry Coulis*

 2 cups fresh or thawed frozen rasberries

 1/2 cup granulated (caster) sugar, or to taste

In a mixing bowl puree the raspberries and sugar together until they are as smooth as possible. You can do this by hand with a mixing spoon or even in a food processor if you like.
Next place a large, fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and spoon some of the raspberry puree onto the sieve. Press the fruit through the sieve with mixing spoon. This will leave the seeds behind and the raspeberry juice and flesh will fall into the bowl. 
Transer the seedless coulis to a sauce boat or other pouring container and discard the seeds. (If you like you can heat the mixture up at this point, over medium-low heat in a heavy bottomed sauce pan for a couple of minutes, stirring often.) Serve over anything you like! Extras will keep in the fridge for seveal days or you can freeze the finished coulis for months.

The availability of frsh figs really seems to depend on where you are located (big town VS small town, which country, etc). Figs tend to come into season in the early summer and then again from Septemeber to Novemeber (though I've heard that if you're lucky you can sometimes find South American figs in the winter). But some large super markets and produce shops may stock them year round. If you happen to see them, I really suggest that you pick up a couple and try them (they are best whenthey are soft and ripe).

Carob is a chocolate alternative that is dervived and created from the seed pods of the carob tree. The seeds are ground and can be used (often) instead of cocoa powder or chocolate. Both the colour and taste are very similar to cocoa, but carob does not have any caffeine, and is naturally a bit sweet, which means that you can use less sugar in your recipes. You can find carob in chips (like chocolate chips), bars, and powder at most health food stores and some bigger grocery stores. I've found that it does not melt quite as well as chocolate (it tends to get grainy), but otherwise it's a great chocolate alternative for things like brownies and hot cocoa. Here is a link to a bunch of carob recipes. http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,carob,FF.html

 Have fun and experiment with these types of desserts


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## Sunflower (Nov 29, 2005)

Thanks tons for all the info!  Wow, I am jumping with joy about Carob.  I can still have brownies and fudges without an overload of calories and fats. 

 

Can't wait to try out the coulis either.  Thanks again!


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## buckytom (Nov 29, 2005)

many dessert recipes can use egg whites instead of whole eggs, and apple sauce instead of oil to reduce calories, fat, and cholesterol. ok, so it's not as good as the real stuff, but it's close.

i've found this works especially well with things like brownies.

for the eggs, use 2 egg whites to replace 1 whole egg in a recipe.

substitute 1/2 of the fat, like oil, in a recipe with apple sauce.


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## Constance (Nov 29, 2005)

Here's one a friend gave me...you'll want to substitute eggbeaters for the whole eggs.

Bern's Low Cal Cheese Cake

Cheesecake: 
2 spring form pans, one small, one medium.
OR, cupcake tins with paper liners to same volume.
2 lbs part skim ricotta cheese
6 large eggs separated,
1/2 c flour
1-1/6 c Splenda
4 tbsp lemon juice [or 1/4 c]
1 to 2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp coriander, powdered
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt.
1 c golden raisins, plumped with hot water, drained
1 tsp rum added to crushed graham crackers 

process:
Lightly oil spring form pans or muffin cups.
Cream the cheese, lemon juice, rind, egg yolks, Splenda,salt and spices
spices, Add flour. Fold in raisins. Whip egg whites stiff and fold in.
Ladle into springforms or cupcake papers.
Set oven at 350'F Bake for ten minutes, set temp back to 300'F and bake
for 50 minutes [ten minutes less for cupcakes]. Turn off heat, leave in
oven with door closed for one more hour.


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## Piccolina (Nov 29, 2005)

buckytom said:
			
		

> many dessert recipes can use egg whites instead of whole eggs, and apple sauce instead of oil to reduce calories, fat, and cholesterol. ok, so it's not as good as the real stuff, but it's close.
> 
> i've found this works especially well with things like brownies.
> 
> ...


 I do the egg white thing a lot too, it's amazing how many recipes are fine with just egg whites. Another thing I've found to be a great replacer for fattier ingredients is olive oil. It works like a charm in muffins and a lot of cakes


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## jennyema (Nov 29, 2005)

Here is a recipe that is always a hit and could not be simpler!

*Chocolate Silk Pie*

*1 container silken tofu or low fat silken tofu* _(usually 15 ounces, I think)_
*12 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted* _(sub carob if you want)_
*1/4 cup sugar or more/less to taste* _(sub Splenda if you want)_
*1t vanilla extract*
*1 pie crust* _(i usually use a graham cracker one but you could do a low fat/cholesterol sub or probably omit the pie crust altogether, as the pie is very firm after being chilled)_

Dump tofu into a food processor and process for about 15 seconds.  Dump in melted chocolate, sugar and vanilla.  Process in pulses of about 5-10 seconds, stopping to scrape the bowl down until all ingredients are fully and smoothly incorporated.  Taste to see if it needs more sugar.  Then whirl in the food processor for another 30 seconds to incorporate air into the mixture.

Pour into pie shell (or directly into pie plate -- but I have not tried this myself) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Better if left overnight.


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## Sunflower (Dec 2, 2005)

Hey Piccolina, I found some figs in our local supermarket.  It's california calimyrna figs (Sunmaid brand).  They're good!!  I am going to make the frozen yogurt for breakfast tomorrow morning.  I was out of yogurt so went and bought some of that too.  Will let you know how it turned out.


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## Piccolina (Dec 3, 2005)

Hi Sunflower, I'm happy to hear that you were able to get ahold of some figs, they are such a special treat! I almost envy those folks who are lucky enough to live in an area where they are grown...They (figs) are so versitile too, you can eat them "as is", poach them, caramelize them, even cook them with meat dishes (pork and figs are lovely together). Looking forward to hearing how you like the frozen yogurt


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## Sunflower (Dec 4, 2005)

I tried the yogurt with frozen mixed fruits instead of just berries.  It was really good.  My husband liked it a lot too.  I am going to make some more.


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## Piccolina (Dec 4, 2005)

That's cool Sunflower, what mixed fruits did you use? I recently made a batch with frozen raspberries, it was utterly awesome!


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## Sunflower (Dec 4, 2005)

I had a package of peaches, melons, grapes and pineapple in the freezer and then I added some strawberries.  I wanted to save my berries for the coulis.    

Oh, and we had our yoghurt laced with fiber one cereal on top. It was yum!  I didn't have any granola.  I would like to try it with granola next time.


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## buckytom (Dec 5, 2005)

sunflower, try flax, saffron, or roasted sunflower seeds on top of your fruit yogurt. it's good for you, adds crunch, and not as fattening as granola.


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## Sunflower (Dec 5, 2005)

Thanks, buckytom. I love sunflower seeds, I'll try that today.


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## Piccolina (Dec 7, 2005)

buckytom said:
			
		

> sunflower, try flax, saffron, or roasted sunflower seeds on top of your fruit yogurt. it's good for you, adds crunch, and not as fattening as granola.


 Yum, I love seeds, I've really gotten into using pumpkin seeds too. They are good in everything from muffins to salads, pine nuts are another that I've been using more and more too (but I'm not sure how they taste over frozen yogurt  ).


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## buckytom (Dec 7, 2005)

i was introduced to seeds atop my yogurt when i was in westport, co. mayo a few years ago piccolina. i stayed in the high street b&b run by a very nice couple who served an awesome breakfast. eggs, toast, white puddings, a tomato baked with the house special herb viniagrette on it, fruit, and delicious yougurt with flax seeds. 
umm, flax and yogurt is particularly good for, well, the flow of things...


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## Piccolina (Dec 7, 2005)

buckytom said:
			
		

> i was introduced to seeds atop my yogurt when i was in westport, co. mayo a few years ago piccolina. i stayed in the high street b&b run by a very nice couple who served an awesome breakfast. eggs, toast, white puddings, a tomato baked with the house special herb viniagrette on it, fruit, and delicious yougurt with flax seeds.
> umm, flax and yogurt is particularly good for, well, the flow of things...



How intersting that you picked that up in Ireland Bucky, the meal you had sounds wonderful! (Minus the white pudding, not my cup of tea.) I like to add flax to lots of things, you can toss some in so many dishes (stews, salads, baking, etc) and it is really great for your body (Omega oils!).


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## Sunflower (Dec 7, 2005)

I like nuts and seeds a lot.  I add pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds in most of my sauteed veggies and stir fries alos.  I haven't tried flax or pumpkin seeds yet.  I'll have to add that to my shopping list.


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## Sunflower (Dec 7, 2005)

Hey there,

Another query - I read at about.com today that oatmeal lowers cholesterol.  I have tried so much to love oatmeal as cereal for breakfast but I couldn't.  I even tried adding berries - didn't help.   Anybody has any idea how else I can use oatmeal in my diet? 

Sunflower


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## Piccolina (Dec 8, 2005)

Sunflower said:
			
		

> Hey there,
> 
> Another query - I read at about.com today that oatmeal lowers cholesterol. I have tried so much to love oatmeal as cereal for breakfast but I couldn't. I even tried adding berries - didn't help. Anybody has any idea how else I can use oatmeal in my diet?


What is it about oatmeal that you don't enjoy too much? What type of oatmeal are you using? There are many types, and even varieties from other countries can taste a little different. I love oatmeal so much, especially in baking where it makes killer cookies and crumble/crisp toppings. You can also do things with it like throwing some into a meatloaf, or even using it in place of bread crumbs on a casserole. 

Personally I love oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup, dried tropical fruit and ginger, berries and a little milk, cinnamon and apples, and peaches and milk with a tad of cinnamon


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## Sunflower (Dec 8, 2005)

Piccolina said:
			
		

> Personally I love oatmeal with raisins and maple syrup, dried tropical fruit and ginger, berries and a little milk, cinnamon and apples, and peaches and milk with a tad of cinnamon


 
Do you cook oatmeal in raisins and maple syrup (in milk?).  

I used Quaker quick cooking oats for breakfast last week with milk and it ended up being very sticky and bland.  And I never tried making it again!


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## Piccolina (Dec 8, 2005)

Hi sunflower, 

I usually make plain quick cooking (aka "instant") oatmeal in the microwave with water. If I am making it with raisins, dried fruits, spices I add those before putting it in the nuker, and then add things like the syrup, milk, berries once it is cooked. But you could certainly add them before hand if you liked. Another thing I remember doing a while back was stiring some yogurt through the oatmeal instead of milk, I should do that again it was really good, especially blueberry flavoured yogurt.


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