By Becki Sanders
FoodConnect San Francisco
becki.sanders@foodconnect.com

Low-Fat Thanksgiving Desserts

When I was in college, I used to cook for a woman a few nights a week. She was very particular about her food, had a big sweet tooth and was trying to lose weight. Of course she wanted some kind of dessert with all of her dinners so it was my job to satisfy her sweet tooth while nixing some of the calories. So what was my solution?

Fruit, fruit and more fruit.

I’m not big on artificial sweeteners when fruit provides all the sugar anyone could possibly need and more. She was amazed that not only did she enjoy my desserts but she also felt satisfied afterward. Fruit desserts can be made with fresh fruit with a twist and sometimes baked.

Since Thanksgiving is around the corner – every dieter’s nightmare holiday – I am posting some healthy, low-fat fruit dishes that can be made easily in substitution for the caloric pies and puddings.

Maple-Baked Apples

Ingredients
• 6 large baking apples
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup dark seedless raisins or currants
• 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup low-sugar maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash well and core from stem end, careful not to go through the bottom end of apples. Peel apples 1/3 of the way down or leave unpeeled. Place apples, peeled end up, in 13 x 9 baking dish. In small bowl, combine applesauce, raisins or currants, walnuts, and cinnamon. Spoon some of this mixture into the cored center of each apple. Pour maple syrup over and around apples, and bake 50 minutes or until very tender, basting with syrup from the baking dish every 15-20 minutes. Serve hot or cover and refrigerate for later. Serves 6.

Pear-Cranberry Strudel

Ingredients
• 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 6 sheets 9-inch by 14-inch phyllo dough, thawed
• Butter-flavored cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place chopped pears in a medium bowl with lemon juice, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir well.

Place one phyllo sheet on cookie tray and spray with butter-flavored cooking spray. Repeat with next four sheets. Lay final sheet on top. Spoon filling along length of dough sheets, leaving a border of at least 1 inch from the edges. Tuck in the short ends and roll the strudel. Bake seam side down for 25 minutes or until golden. Serves 4.