Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Are you looking for some new lighter dessert recipes? Certified nutritionist, personal trainer and exercise physiologist, Franci Cohen, shares with us some healthy recipes to celebrate this holiday season!
The first one reminds me a bit of a crumb cake I use to make - but I didn’t use sweet potatoes in mine.
Sweet potato and pumpkin crumb cake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup oat bran
- 2/3 cup agave
-2 tsp. baking soda
-2 tsp. baking powder
-2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
-1/2 tsp. salt
-2 cup oven roasted, mashed sweet potatoes
-1 cup canned pumpkin purée
-1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
-4 eggs
-1 1/4 cup buttermilk
-2 T. oil
-1 cup pitted chopped dates
For crumb topping:
-1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
-3/4 cup pecans, or almonds, chopped
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
-1 tsp ground cinnamon
-5 tablespoons earth balance butter substitute
(Mix all ingredients together to form coarse crumbs)
Directions:
-preheat oven to 350 degrees
-combine all the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
-In a separate large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients.
-Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until combined.
-add in the dates
-pour into cake pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray
-sprinkle crumb topping over cake
-bake for about 35-40 minutes or until toothpick placed in center comes out clean.
The second recipe uses apples and cranberries - I bet this one taste great!
Apple cranberry rosettes
Ingredients:
-4 honey crisp apples
-1/2 cup fresh cranberries
-1 lemon juice and zest
-1 T sugar
-dash of cinnamon
-2-4 T water
-low fat oat flour pie crust (can be purchased in health food stores)
Directions:
-core and thinly slice apples
-sauté cranberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest, cinnamon, and water in a saucepan until cranberries break open
-purée cranberry mixture in blender
-return to pan and add Apple slices
-cook on low heat until apples become soft and pliable (approximately 5-7 minutes)
-cut pie dough into strips (8″X1.5″)
-remove apples from saucepan
-lay apples 1 by 1 on strip of dough, with skins of apples all facing the same direction
-roll up jelly roll style and place in cupcake liner in cupcake pan
-drizzle a bit of remaining cranberry purée on each apple rosette
-bake on 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until rosettes appear slightly brown/caramelized on top
Do you have any healthy holiday desserts? I would love it if you shared them with me.
