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Fast & Easy Dinner: Low-Fat Fettuccine Alfredo

partysugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:11:39 -0700

I love everything about creamy, decadent pasta sauces. However, I know they're incredibly unhealthy. That's why I enjoy making lighter versions like this low-fat fettuccine Alfredo. The recipe calls for skim milk and tons of crunchy, green broccoli. A small amount of good quality parmesan cheese adds depth and flavor. To recreate this classic pasta dish in a more healthful manner, read more.

Low-Fat Fettuccine Alfredo
From Real Simple magazine

Ingredients

12 ounces fettuccine
1 head of broccoli
1 1/2 cups cups skim milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Cook fettuccine according to the package directions; drain.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook broccoli (cut into florets, stalks peeled and sliced), 3 minutes; drain.
Heat skim milk and butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Slowly whisk in flour.
Simmer until slightly thickened, whisking constantly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan and salt.
Add the pasta and broccoli and stir over low heat until heated through. Top each serving with Parmesan shavings.

Serves 4.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 445(0% from fat); FAT 9g (sat 5g); PROTEIN 22mg; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 312mg; SODIUM 568mg; FIBER 4g; CARBOHYDRATE 72g; IRON 3mg

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Low-Fat Red & White Dessert For the 4th

partysugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:43:18 -0700

Sorbet is a great alternative to ice cream. It's perfect for those who are lactose intolerant, refreshingly fruity, and way lower in fat. While it's great served alone in a delicate little bowl, it's more festive as part of a super simple frozen dessert. This dessert is so simple, the only thing you need is time for it to freeze. Purchase groceries today, assemble tomorrow night, and serve on Wednesday. Serve on a white plate, garnished with blueberries, for a patriotic splash.

I know lots of you will love this recipe, so get it now, just read more

Low-Fat Raspberry Sorbet Dessert
From Kraft Foods

1 pt. (2 cups) raspberry sorbet, softened
1 cup cold fat free milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) vanilla flavored instant pudding & pie filling (recommended: Jello's fat free, sugar free, reduced calorie version)
8 oz whipped topping, thawed (such as Cool Whip)
1 cup raspberries

Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil. Spoon sorbet into pan; freeze 10 min.
Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping; spread evenly over sorbet in pan.
Freeze 3 hours or overnight.
To unmold, invert pan onto plate; remove foil. Let stand 10 to 15 min. to soften slightly before cutting into 12 slices to serve.
Place one slice on each of 12 dessert plates. Top evenly with raspberries. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

Serves 12.

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Dessert Without The Guilt: Low Fat Banana Mousse

partysugar — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:01:31 -0700

I know I'm guilty of posting far too many delicious, drool worthy desserts that are full of fat, butter, cream, chocolate, and everything else bad for us. To make up for all of the fattening recipes, and to please my dear friend FitSugar, I recommend that we make a creamy dessert that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium! The smooth mousse takes its full balanced flavor from real ripe bananas and makes a nice finish to a heavy grilled meal, a crisp filling salad, or a cheesy sandwich. Go ahead, have dessert without the guilt. Get the recipe, just read more

Banana Mousse
From Medicine Net

2 tablespoons low fat (1%) milk
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium banana, cut in quarters
1 cup plain low fat yogurt
8 1/4-inch banana slices

Place milk, sugar, vanilla, and banana in blender. Process 15 seconds at high speed until smooth.
Pour mixture into a small bowl; fold in yogurt.
Chill.
Spoon into 4 dessert dishes; garnish each with 2 banana slices just before serving..

Serves 4.

Calories: 94 Total fat: 1 g Saturated fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 4 mg Sodium: 47 mg

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Chocolate Dessert Without the Guilt

YumSugar — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 14:30:16 -0800

To round out my celebration of National Chocolate Day (really, who does make these things up?), I've decided to share with you a great, light chocolate treat. I found this in a book I picked up at a garage sale called 365 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes. Now, I'm usually not one to count my calories (I've decided if it tastes good I'll eat it, now if I could only learn moderation...), but this recipe is so simple and tasty, that you won't even realize it's low-fat. To learn how to make yummy Chocolate Ice, read more.

Chocolate Ice
From 365 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups water

Put 9-inch square metal pan into freezer to chill.
In medium saucepan combine sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon.
Gradually add water, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until syrup comes to a boil (about 5 minutes).
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes).
Remove pan from freezer (it should be chilled by now) and pour mixture into it.
Freeze until ice crystals form around edges (about 30 minutes).
Stir crystals into center of mixture. Return pan to freezer and stir every 30 minutes until mixture is firm (2-4 hours).
Break up chocolate ice with a wooden spoon.
Scrape with a fork (if possible) and scoop into chilled parfait glasses or wine goblets. Note: If scraping is not possible, place in food processor and pulse several times until smooth.

Per Serving:
Calories: 95 - Total Fat: Less than 1g - Saturated Fat: 0g

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Reader Recipe: Black Bean Tortilla Soup

Yum Community — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:50:10 -0800

This story was written by member SweetPeasMom and comes from the Kitchen Goddess group in the YumSugar Community. The soup looks like it would make a wonderful cold-weather dinner. It's quick, simple, and perfect for busy weeknights. Check out her recipe when you read more

Sir Mix a Lot

partysugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:15:59 -0700

My younger sister is one of those people who absolutely adores breakfast foods – she finds herself eating them all day long. So I was shocked when she said she was swearing off one of her a.m. staples: granola. Always health-conscious, she discovered how high in fat and calories a serving could be. I suggested she try the granola from MixMyGranola, a website that allows you to customize the fixings in your granola and check the fat and calorie content of each serving before ordering. Find out how it works after the jump

Custom Blends: Frozen Yogurt's Newest Trend?

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:00:04 -0700

If the new pomegranate flavors from Pinkberry and Red Mango don't do it for you, consider this: what if you had an endless number of flavors to choose from?

High-tech blending processes may be the next big wave in the frozen-yogurt trend. That's what I discovered when I visited the San Francisco outpost of Yogen Früz, a fro-yo chain with a high-tech yogurt concept. First, I chose from single-serving packages of a base yogurt in various flavors (low-fat vanilla, nonfat vanilla, or low-fat chocolate) with probiotic cultures.

Then I chose two toppings out of a large selection that included frozen fruits (strawberries, cherries, mangoes, lychees, blueberries, etc.) and dry toppings (Cap'n Crunch, almonds, coconut flakes, granola, and the like). Together they went into a proprietary machine. Twenty seconds later, I was enjoying my lychee mango vanilla creation, which was whipped, creamy, and studded with icy chunks of mango and lychee.

Yogen Früz may have pioneered the idea, but - with specially designed yogurt-blending machines available on the web, other boutique yogurt bars have caught on. Have you tried this type of yogurt? Now that the fancy frozen yogurt trend is waning, do you think custom blended fro-yo could be the next big thing?

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Evaporated vs. Condensed Milk: What's the Difference?

YumSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:00:26 -0700

Evaporated and condensed milk are both shelf-stable, concentrated forms of milk that have been cooked at a high heat to remove about 60 percent of their water content. Although, they have oddly similar names, the two products are not the same.

Condensed milk is made up of approximately 40 to 45 percent sugar, cooked down and mixed with whole milk until it becomes a gooey, sweet substance with a caramelized flavor and a light brown color. It's frequently used to make desserts such as flan and dulce de leche.Evaporated milk is condensed milk without the added sugar with the water content cooked off until it has a consistency that is similar to cream. Available in whole, low-fat, and fat-free varieties, evaporated milk is used in lieu of regular milk to add body and richness to a recipe.

Evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk cannot be used interchangeably in cooking, because one product contains much more sugar than the other. Since sugar in sweetened condensed milk is cooked down and caramelized, merely adding sugar to evaporated milk would be an insufficient substitute.

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Why Do Some Cheeses Melt Better Than Others?

YumSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:50:40 -0700

Ah, the joys of melted cheese. There are few things in life that are so pleasurable. Yet why do certain cheeses melt uniformly, while others don't? How come a few won't melt at all?

Several factors play a part in the melting process. One is fat content: the more fat a cheese contains, the more a cheese's casein molecules are able to separate, and the better it will melt. For this reason, lowfat and fat-free cheeses tend to melt into a rubbery consistency. The water level in a cheese also determines how it will melt. A cheese such as Parmesan is hard due to its low moisture level. Its dense molecular makeup means its molecules, even when melted, have relatively little room to flow - which is why Parmesan, unlike brie, will never get runny when it's melted.

A handful of cheeses - among them, fresh goat cheese, paneer, queso blanco, and ricotta - will never melt at all. Unlike most cheeses, which are curdled with rennet, these are curdled with acid. Cheese made with rennet retains a malleable structure, while acid alters cheese proteins by causing them to clump together.

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Fast & Easy Dinner: Spicy Pork Salad and Buttermilk Dressing

partysugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:30:29 -0700

Normally when one thinks of a Southwestern-style salad, chicken or beef comes to mind. However, this creative recipe features the juicy deliciousness of pork tenderloin.

It's rubbed with chipotle chile powder before being broiled in the oven. The chopped salad includes chunks of pepper Jack cheese, tomatoes, and corn. A quick, creamy dressing is a simple combination of low-fat buttermilk and mayonnaise.

To enjoy this crunchy, filling dinner salad, read more.

Spicy Pork Salad and Buttermilk Dressing
From Everyday Food

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 scallions, whites minced and greens thinly sliced, separated
1 garlic clove, crushed through a press
1 head romaine lettuce (1 1/4 pounds), trimmed and chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed and patted dry
2 ounces pepper Jack cheese, cubed

Directions

Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, combine chile powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place pork on prepared baking sheet; rub with spice mixture.
Broil pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 145 degrees, 14 to 16 minutes, turning twice during cooking. Let pork rest 10 minutes, then cut into bite-size chunks.
Meanwhile, make dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, scallion whites, and garlic; season with salt and pepper.
Add romaine, tomatoes, corn, cheese, scallion greens, and pork to the bowl. Toss to combine, and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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