John Cullen
Yet another reason to embrace the cupcake trend: instant gratification and portion control! Single servings (or anything pint-sized) can save you big in the calorie-counting game, especially when you consider a small chocolate cupcake can contain as little as 200 calories and 7 g of fat, while a slice of cake can add up to 800 calories and 40 g of fat. That’s equivalent to a whole meal!
Get the recipe for this velvety beet cupcake with raspberry icing.
Fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries and strawberries can be delicious good-for-you treats. Plus they’re high in fibre and packed with antioxidants, which can help ward off cancer and other illnesses.
Try it: Spoon 1/2 cup of plain or vanilla-flavoured Greekstyle yogurt (it’s creamier than the regular stuff and has more protein) into a small bowl, then top with 1/2 cup of berries and 2 crumbled low-fat graham crackers.
Make it a habit: Stash frozen berries in your freezer all year — you’ll never run out!
Whenever you make desserts from scratch, add some extra goodness with these easy substitutions: Just be sure you opt for a nutritious one like low-fat oatmeal, which is packed with soluble fibre and slow-burn carbs that’ll feel more satisfying — and keep you from reaching for seconds.
Stir in stewed prunes: Replace half the butter in your recipe with this fruit fix — yes, if it calls for 1 cup of butter, you can use 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of prunes — and you’ll slash the fat by 39 g (1/2 cup of prunes contains only about 0.6 g of fat). Since prunes are sweet, you can also experiment with reducing the sugar by up to half.
Sneak in some veggies: Add puréed squash, beets or grated zucchini for a fibre and vitamin boost. Experiment with small quantities at first (around 1/4 cup), keeping in mind you may need to cut back on liquids like milk, water and oil to prevent cake from becoming too moist.
Just be sure you opt for a nutritious one like low-fat oatmeal, which is packed with soluble fibre and slow-burn carbs that’ll feel more satisfying — and keep you from reaching for seconds.
iStockphotoCottage cheese with cranberry sauce: Spoon 1/2 cup of plain low-fat cottage cheese — a superb source of bone-building calcium — into a bowl. Top with 1 tbsp of cranberry sauce, which contains less sugar than jam.
Canned fruit: For a tasty twist, use canned mandarin oranges instead of the cranberry sauce.
Chocolate soy milk: One cup packs 30 percent of your recommended daily dose of calcium and vitamin D, plus a serving of lean protein.
Natural almonds with dried berries: Pair a handful of almonds with dried blueberries and cranberries for a sweet fibre-plus-protein hit.
Enjoy the odd treat on the go, but know fat and calories can vary a lot. Arm yourself to make smart choices by viewing nutrition info before standing in front of a display case.
McDonald’s
Red light: Cinnamon melts
460 cal, 20 g fat
Green light: McDonaldland cookies (fun size)
40 cal, 1.5 g fat
Tim Hortons
Red light: Chocolate chip muffin
410 cal, 15 g fat
Green light: Chocolate glazed timbits (2)
140 cal, 5 g fat
Starbucks
Red light: Iced lemon pound cake
490 cal, 23 g fat
Green light: Lemon sweet square
120 cal, 6 g fat
Impress guests at your next dinner party with these healthy upgrades to everyone’s favourite classic recipes.
Banana chocolate-chip “ice cream”
Prep 10 min
Total 10 min
Plus 2 hours freezing time
Ingredients:
4 large ripe bananas
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Fry’s
1 tbsp icing sugar
56 g dark chocolate, 2 squares, melted and cooled
Directions:
1. Peel and slice bananas in half crosswise, then lengthwise. Place banana quarters, cut-side up, on a baking sheet in one layer. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours.
2. Break frozen bananas into chunks and place in a food processor. Whirl until just creamy. Add cocoa, icing sugar and cooled melted chocolate. Whirl until mixture is smooth, with bits of chocolate throughout. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.
Per serving: 146 calories, 2 g protein, 30 g carbs, 4 g fat, 4 g fibre, 10 mg sodium.
Healthy upgrade for ice-cream sundaes: Low-calorie, high-fibre, loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants
Prep 5 min
Total 1 hour 20 min
Ingredients:
1/2 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla
1 cup uncooked short-grain rice, preferably arborio
3 1/2 cups almond or rice milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional) zest of one lemon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Split vanilla bean in half and scrape out seeds. Stir rice with milk, vanilla seeds, sugar and raisins in an 8 ×8-in. baking dish.
2. Bake in centre of oven, stirring halfway through, until rice is tender, about 65 min. Remove rice pudding to a rack and stir in lemon zest. Let stand for 10 min. Mixture will look runny, but it will thicken as it stands. Serve warm or chill in refrigerator and serve cold.
Serves 8.
Per serving: 169 calories, 2 g protein,37 g carbs, 1 g fat, 1 g fibre, 53 mg sodium.
Healthy upgrade for rice pudding: Low-calorie, low-sugar, low-fat, dairy-free
Prep 20 min
Total 30 min
Ingredients:
1/3 cup quinoa flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Granny Smith apple,
peeled and sliced
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coarsely chopped
walnuts
1/2 cup low-fat vanilla
Greek-style yogurt
Directions:
1. Stir flour with 1/2 tsp
cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
and salt in a medium bowl.
Whisk eggs with milk,
1 tbsp maple syrup and
vanilla in a small bowl.
Whisk into flour mixture
until smooth.
2. Heat a medium non-stick
frying pan over medium-low.
When hot, spray
lightly with oil. Add a scant
1/4 cup of crepe batter to
pan and move pan around
in a circular motion to
evenly coat bottom.
3. Cook until underside
is lightly golden, about 1
min. Flip crepe and cook
for another 30 sec. Fold
crepe into quarters, then
transfer to plate. Repeat
with remaining batter,
lightly spraying with oil if
needed. Wipe pan clean.
4. Add apples, 1/4 cup maple
syrup, 1/4 tsp cinnamon
and 1/4 cup water to same
pan. Set over medium-high
and cook until apples
soften and liquid reduces,
3 to 5 min. Add walnuts
and cook for 1 more min.
Spoon maple mixture over
crepes and top each crepe
with 2 tbsp yogurt.
Kitchen Tip: The first
crepe usually doesn’t
work. The recipe is
designed to allow
for one bad crepe.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 231 calories,
8 g protein, 32 g carbs,
8 g fat, 2 g fi bre,
112 mg sodium.
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