Navigate the Holidays: Pie Makeover

I love pie…especially pumpkin.  But, we need every calorie cut over the holiday to minimize weight gain but still enjoy the holiday food.  Here is South Beach’s healthy makeover on holiday pies.  The link is below.

For the crust: Replace refined white flour with whole-wheat flour, white whole-wheat flour, or nut flour (made from ground almonds, pecans, and/or walnuts, for example). Feel free to combine some old-fashioned rolled oats with the flour to give the crust more texture. You can also use whole-wheat phyllo dough for a lighter crust. Be sure to limit any pie you make to one crust though. 

For the filling: Take advantage of the fall season’s freshest produce and fill your pie with apples, pears, quince, or pumpkin, or use canned pumpkin purée or frozen fruits of your choice. For other pie-filling ideas, enjoy no-sugar-added natural peanut butter, nonfat or low-fat artificially sweetened flavored yogurt (such as raspberry or strawberry), or sugar-free pudding. Be sure to use granular sugar substitute (or agave nectar for a natural sweetener) and use fat-free half-and-half instead of heavy cream and trans-fat-free margarine (vegetable-oil spread) or canola oil rather than butter. You can also use no-sugar-added chocolate powder and unsweetened cocoa powder, but remember to count them toward your daily Sweet Treat allowance of 75 to 100 calories. Among the traditional pie flavorings, we recommend pure vanilla or almond extract, ground cinnamon, allspice, ground ginger, freshly grated nutmeg, and ground cloves.

For the topping: Rather than using a second crust, there are many delicious ways to top your cooked pie. Here are a few suggestions:

• Lemon or lime zest
• Dark-chocolate shavings
• Sugar-free maple or chocolate syrup
• Bittersweet dark or semisweet dark chocolate chips
• Pecans, slivered almonds, or walnuts
• Light or fat-free whipped topping

Link: http://www.southbeachdiet.com/sbd/publicsite/healthy-holiday-pie-makeovers.aspx?xid=nl_TheSouthBeachDietTMNewsletter_20101119

November 19, 2010. Tags: blog, breakfast, build muscle, burn fat, calories, cardio, clean eating, cravings, Diet, eat clean, eat clean diet, Exercise, fat, fat burning, fat loss, fatloss, fitness, fitness plan, food, food diary, health, high protein, hunger, interval training, lose 10 pounds, lose 10lbs, lose fat, lose weight, low carb, metabolism, motivation, muscle, muscle building, myth, myths, nutrition, overeat, overeating, pie, pies, protein, recipe, Recipes, routine, running, skinny, sleep, snacks, south beach, south beach diet, study, tips, tone up, weight, weight gain, Weight Loss Tips, weight routine, weight training, weight-loss, weightloss, weights, whole foods, work out. Diet, Navigate the Holidays, Recipes, Weight Loss Tips. 2 comments.