Ingredients:

*1 1/2 lbs chopped fresh asparagus, washed and tough ends removed
*Nonfat cooking spray
*1/2 cup onion, chopped
*1 cup leeks (white part only), washed and chopped
*1/2 cup celery, chopped
*1 small potato, peeled and cubed
*3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
*1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
*Salt and pepper to taste (Nutrition facts calculated without added salt)

Directions:
1. Spray a skillet with nonfat cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add asparagus, onions, leeks, celery and potato, then cover and cook for 20 minutes or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.

2. Place vegetables in a food processor and puree until smooth.

3. In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Add vegetable mixture and stir well. Stir in sour cream and mix until well incorporated.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste (optional)

To turn it into a dinner dish, reduce the sugar to 1/3 c. or the maple syrup to 1/4 c.

Prep time: 10 min; Total time: 65 min

Ingredients

* 1 pie crust
* 1 15 oz can pumpkin
* 1 tbsp cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp ground ginger
* 1/4 tsp cloves
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 c sugar or Grade B maple syrup
* 2 tbsp black strap molasses
* 12 oz soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk
* 1/2 c. firm tofu (not silken)

How to make
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Press your crust into a pie pan. Mix all ingredients together and pour into the crust. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 F and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool on the counter top for 30-60 minutes and then refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.

**Serves 8

Tips
You can make this without a crust if you wish. Then it will make more of a pudding than a pie, but it still tastes great!

Make this simple vegetarian recipe Sunday night and then you will have a nutritious treat to enjoy all week. Pumpkin is low calorie and high fiber and full of antioxidents. This recipe also provides soy protein, iron, and calcium.

Blackstrap molasses are an excellent source of iron, calcium, and other nutrients. However, if you don’t have it on hand then you can increase the sugar to 3/4 cup or the increase maple syrup to 2/3 cup.

Maple syrup is more nutritious and sweeter than sugar. When possible, it is a great substitute.

Try adding small amounts (1/4 tsp) of other spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice.

Make your own whipped cream. In a mixing bowl, mix heavy whipping cream with 1 tsp. vanilla extract and powdered sugar to taste. Continue to mix until thickened. Use an electric mixer if you have one or a whisk if you don’t.

* 1-1/4 cup unbleached flour
* 1 tablespoon unbleached flour
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar – packed
* 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
* 1 cup mashed bananas – mashed
* 1/4 cup skim milk
* 3 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
* 1 egg white, whipped

How to make:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Prepare six muffin pans with cooking spray and flour; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice.
In another mixing bowl, combine bananas, milk, sour cream, and egg white.
Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients just until moistened.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake 20 minutes, or until light brown.
Recipe makes six servings.

Nutrition Information:

* Calories: 150
* Total Fat: 1g
* Protein: 4g
* Cholesterol: 1mg
* Carbohydrate: 35g
* Sodium: 143

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3/4 cup mashed, cooked acorn squash
1 egg
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Low-fat cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Cream sugar and margarine at medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add mashed squash and egg; beat well.
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Then add dry ingredients to the squash mixture, mixing well.
5. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets sprayed with cooking spray.
6. Bake at 350º for 15-18 minutes. Makes 20-25 cake-like cookies.

Low calorie Chocolate-Banana Trifle

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 00 minutes

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated fat free milk
3 T. unsweetened cocoa
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 C. Kahlua (coffee flavored liqueur)
2 cups sliced bananas, divided
2 T. lemon juice
16 ounce angel food cake, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (1.4 ounce) English Toffee candy bars, chopped (such as Heath or Skor bars)
3 C. skim milk
3 (3.4 ounce) pkgs. vanilla instant pudding mix (not sugar free)
12 ounce container reduced calorie whipped topping, thawed and divided

Preparation:

Combine cornstarch, evaporated milk, sugar, cocoa and in saucepan and boil. Cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick (about 3 minutes) stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in Kahlua and cool. Combine sliced bananas with lemon juice and set aside. Mix chocolate mixture and cake in a large bowl; stir in chopped candy bars, reserving 1 T. for topping and set aside. Beat 3 cups milk and pudding mix at medium speed until well blended. Stir in cake mixture. Cover; chill 15 minutes. Spoon half of cake mixture into trifle dish or bowl. Arrange 1 cup of bananas evenly over cake mixture; top with half of whipped topping. Repeat layers; ending with whipped topping. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tab. chopped candy bars. Chill on hour.

Irish Coffee Meringues

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder (not granules)
1¼ cups whipped cream (or non-dairy whipped topping)
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey
Chocolate-covered coffee beans, optional
Draw 2 x 7 inch circles onto a sheet of parchment paper

Preparation:

Put the egg whites into a spotlessly clean and dry bowl. Add all but 2 tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar. Whisk until the mixture stands in firm dry peaks. It may take 10-15 minutes. Sieve the coffee with the remaining icing sugar together and fold in carefully.

Spread the meringue carefully with a palette knife onto the circles on the silicone paper. Bake in a very low oven 300 degrees for approx. 1 hour or until crisp. The discs should peel easily from the paper. Allow to get quite cold.

Add the whiskey to the whipped cream. Sandwich the meringue discs together with Irish whiskey flavored cream. Pipe 5 rosettes of cream on top. Decorate with chocolate coffee beans if available.

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons light or regular mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fat free sour cream
3 tablespoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs (panko crumbs can be substituted)
3 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 can (6 1/2 ounces) crabmeat (or 1 cup fresh crabmeat), rinsed and drained well
Dash or two Tabasco
Black pepper to taste
18 medium sized mushrooms, stems removed

Preparation:

1.Preheat slow cooker to high heat.
2.Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine fat free sour cream, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and garlic. Fold in the crabmeat. Add Tabasco and black pepper to taste.
3.Spoon heaping teaspoons full of crab filling into mushroom caps.
4.Arrange mushroom caps (crab side up) in the bottom of the preheated slow cooker. Add cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours. Reduce heat to LOW and serve the crab-stuffed mushrooms from the slow cooker if desired.

Yield:

Makes 9 servings (2 mushrooms per serving)

Cheese Fondue

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon no-trans-fat margarine (with 8 grams of fat per tablespoon)
2 tablespoons fat-free or light sour cream
2 1/2 tablespoons Wondra quick-mixing flour
3/4 cup fat-free half-and-half
3/4 cup low-fat milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch ground nutmeg or cayenne red pepper
3/4 cup shredded light Jarlsberg cheese (or reduced-fat Swiss)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Preparation:

1.Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat; blend in the sour cream and flour to make a paste. Whisk in the milk and half-and-half and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to simmer, stir in salt, pepper, and cayenne, and stir frequently until the sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Whisk in an additional tablespoon of Wondra flour, if needed, for desired thickness.

2.Remove from heat, stir in shredded cheeses and stir well. Pour cheese into slow cooker or fondue pot and set on HIGH. Serve with cubes of sourdough or French bread, or lightly cooked vegetables (broccoli or cauliflower florets work well).

Yield:

4-6 servings

Low Calorie Muffins
Low calorie bran muffins

Stir together and set aside:

1 1/4 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. Sugar

Stir and let stand 1 or 2 minutes:

2 1/2 c. bran flakes cereal
1 1/4 c. skim milk or water

Add to bran mixture and beat well:

1 egg
2 tbsp. Oil

Add to flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Add desired fruit such as dates, raisins, apple, banana, etc.

Turn into greased muffin tins. Bake at 375°F for about 25 minutes (depends upon size of muffins) or until a cake tester inserted in center of a muffin (or a toothpick) comes out clean.

Low calorie banana muffins

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c. bran or wheat germ
1/2 c. apple sauce
1/4-1/2 c. sugar (depending on ripeness of bananas)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional

Combine sugar and mashed bananas then add eggs and apple sauce. Blend until smooth; add vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine cinnamon, salt, flour, bran and baking powder. Gradually add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until batter is uniformly moist. Add nuts, if desired.

Bake in a 12-cup muffin tin sprayed with non-stick spray at 400°F for 25-30 minutes.
Cool muffins on rack for 10 minutes.

12 Servings.

Low-calorie sponge cake

1/2 c. reconstituted nonfat dry milk
1 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Dash salt
3 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel

1.Heat milk in small saucepan, until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat; set aside.

2.Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift flour with salt and baking powder and set aside.

3.Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored in small bowl of electric mixer, at high speed,.

4. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is smooth and well blended, about 5 minutes.

5.Blend in flour mixture at low speed just until smooth. Add warm milk and peel, beating just until combined.

6.Immediately pour batter into ungreased 9 inch angel food pan. Bake 30 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Invert pan over neck of bottle; let cool completely. Serve plain.

Makes 10 servings; 90 calories each.

Sift before measuring.

Low calorie banana split cake

8 whole graham crackers
2 tbsp. diet butter
2 med. bananas
1 (3 1/2 oz.) pkg. sugar free vanilla pudding
2 c. skim milk
1 (8 oz.) can sugar free crushed pineapple, drained
2 c. lite whipped topping
1 1/2 c. strawberries

Crumble graham crackers in processor. Add butter. Mix until crumbly. Pack in bottom of 9″x13″ pan. Slice bananas over crust. Mix skim milk with vanilla pudding mix (may use instant or cooked mix). Pour on top of bananas. Spread pineapple over pudding. Spread whipped topping over pineapple. Top with strawberries. Chill several hours. Makes 8 servings.