Tasty Tuesday

With Thanksgiving next week, I thought I'd give you a couple recipe swaps to try this year to save on some calories and fat!  Even just swapping out one of these for the regular version will help!

Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes with Vanilla

 

Can't decide between mashed potatoes and candied yams? You don't have to. No, you don’t need both. This low-fat recipe, using a single tablespoon of butter, healthfully marries the two traditional thanksgiving dishes in what we think is a match made in tuber heaven.

 

3 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into approximately 3" chunks
1 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 C fat-free milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Put potatoes and broth in large pot with tight-fitting lid and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 25 minutes.

2. Add cinnamon, milk, and butter.

3. Mash in food processor or with handheld masher until smooth. Add vanilla extract and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

TIPS: You can make these up to 5 days ahead, and they reheat beautifully. If they're a bit dry, just stir in water.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 125.1 calories, 1.7 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 24.9 g carbs, 8.8 g sugar, 3.4 g fiber, 3 g protein

Fast and Fancy Green Beans

Fast and Fancy Green BeansSkip the crunchy onion-topped calorie-laden casserole classic for this low-fat recipe that dresses the beans in olive oil and cider vinegar. Basil and almonds add unexpected flavor that will trick your taste buds into not missing the extra fat.

1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1/4 C water
24 oz petite (or regular) frozen green beans
20 lg fresh basil leaves, gently torn
1/3 C blanched slivered almonds, toasted
1 tsp cider vinegar

1. Put garlic and 1 teaspoon of the oil in large pot and cook over medium heat until just beginning to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. 2.Add water and beans, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 10 minutes.
3. Place 1 cup of the beans in small food processor along with basil, almonds, and vinegar. Pulse until mixture is thoroughly chopped and sticks together. Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon oil.
4. Stir pureed mixture into remaining beans to coat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
TIPS: Prepare the pesto-like pureed bean sauce up to 3 days ahead, if you like. Cook the rest of the beans and combine them with the sauce a couple of hours before serving. This lush veggie tastes as good at room temperature as warm—a boon when you're trying to get everything on the table at once.
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 73.1 calories, 4.2 g fat, .4 g sat fat, 7.7 g carbs, .2 g sugar, 2.9 g fiber, 2.8 g protein

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling:
2	(8 oz) packages 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup	Low fat cottage cheese
3/4 cup	Egg beaters (or 1 egg and 4 egg whites)
1/2 cup + 2 tbs	Baking stevia OR 1 1/4 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
1 cup	Pumpkin
1/2 tsp	Cinnamon
1/2 tsp	Pumpkin pie spice (more or less to taste)
Gingersnap Crust:
11/2 cup	Gingersnap cookies
2 tbs	Baking stevia OR 1/4 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar
3 tbs	Light butter

Method

The estimated time to make this recipe is 4 Hours or overnight.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. To make the crust, place cookies, sweetener, and melted butter in a food processor, and pulse until cookies are broken down into a very fine crumb. Press crust down into prepared springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes and remove from oven. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

 

2. Meanwhile, to make the filling, place the first five ingredients into a blender, (the cream cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, sweetener, and vanilla extract). Blend until the mixture is smooth.

 

3. Pour a little more than half of the filling over the gingerbread crust. Pour the remaining cheesecake filling into a bowl, and mix in the pumpkin puree and spices. Carefully pour the pumpkin cheesecake filling over the first cheesecake filling layer. (I used a spatula to gently smooth out the filling out once I poured it over the first layer).

 

4. Bake cheesecake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. (Note: The center will almost be set, but it will appear a bit ‘jiggly’…Don’t worry, it will continue to set up in the fridge!) Allow cheesecake to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight. Serve with whipped topping if desired! Enjoy!

 

Breakdown

12	Servings (slices)
185	Calories Per Serving
9 g	Fat
15 g	Carbohydrate
1 g	Fiber
6 g	Sugar
7 g	Protein

*All calories are per serving