WAISTLINE FRIENDLY HOLIDAY RECIPES December 15, 2004 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

If April showers bring May flowers, what do Christmas holidays bring? Mean, nasty, ugly unwanted pounds. Many of us overindulge in Christmas goodies and our waistlines pay the price.

To help deflate that spare tire around your middle, check out the following recipes which are reduced in fat and/or sugar. The recipes come from a "healthy" cooking class I recently taught with dietitians from the Robeson County Health Department and Southeastern Regional Medical Center. Several of the recipes take advantage of "reduced" products on the market.

The Cranberry Muffins use the new blend of half sugar and half artificial sweetener. More than one manufacturer makes this product, so you may want to experiment with the different brands available to see if you can detect a difference in flavor.

These blends give us the best of both worlds. In addition to sweetening baked goods, sugar tenderizes, promotes browning, and adds volume. Artificial sweeteners lend sweetness without calories, but baked goods will be chewy, pale, and flat. Using a blended product produces "proper" baked goods with significantly fewer calories.

The cheese spread and layered dip use reduced-fat cream cheese and/or sour cream to reduce fat and calories. But just as sugar has a structural purpose in baking, fat also adds structure or firmness to foods.

That's why I call this cheese dish a spread. You may recognize the recipe as a favorite cheese ball recipe in our area. However, when you use reduced-fat cream cheese, the resulting product is soft and cannot be rolled into a ball. But it tastes great with fewer calories, so break out of the round rut and go horizontal with spreads.

The reason reduced-fat cream cheese and sour cream have less fat is that they contain more water than their full fat counterparts. Thus, if you were to substitute reduced-fat sour cream for real sour cream in your favorite pound cake recipe, you might not get cake. It is generally better to use recipes developed specifically for these products.

The veggie fajitas use (canned) fat-free refried beans. If you like to prepare Mexican food, give these a try. I think you will be pleased with the product.

I wish you happy, healthy holidays. We'll meet here in "the Healthy Kitchen" next year.

Preheat oven to 375°. For muffins, combine flour, Equal® Sugar Lite, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Stir in buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla just till combined. Fold in cranberries and orange peel till blended. For topping, combine ingredients. Place paper muffin cups in 12 compartments of muffin pan. Fill each about 2/3s full of batter. Sprinkle each muffin with some of the topping mixture. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 19-22 minutes or till a wooden pick inserted near center of muffin comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields 12 muffins.

Recipe from www.equal.com

Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, water, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon stick; bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Discard cinnamon stick. Combine sugar mixture and potato wedges in large bowl; toss well to coat wedges. Arrange wedges on a large jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or till tender, stirring after 20 minutes.

Yields 12 (2/3-cup) servings.

Mix all ingredients together. Serve as a spread with crackers.

Preheat oven to 450°. Place first 4 ingredients in large zip-top plastic bag. Add soup mix and oil to bag; seal and shake to coat vegetables. Remove vegetable mixture from bag and place in 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or till crisp tender, stirring once. Heat tortillas and beans according to package directions. Spread 3 tablespoons beans over each tortilla and top with 1/2 cup vegetable mixture and 1/4 cup lettuce. Sprinkle each tortilla with 2 tablespoons cheese, 2 tablespoons tomato, and 1 tablespoon salsa. Fold tortilla over filling.

Yields 8 servings.

Cream together Miracle Whip, sour cream, and cream cheese. Spread on round dish. Sprinkle shrimp over cream cheese layer. Spread seafood sauce over shrimp. Sprinkle vegetable mixture over sauce. Top with shredded cheese. Serve with low-fat crackers or baked tortilla chips.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 12/17/04