Monday, January 31, 2011

Dessert Options

After making a batch of horrendously unhealthy Special K bars (not part of the Special K diet plan!) and having hypoglycemic attacks in the middle of the night, I decided I needed an alternative dessert on the healthier side. I found a can of pumpkin in my pantry, cobbled together a few recipes (including a diabetic one), and then just added some of my own stuff to create a pumpkin pie that turned out to be light, creamy, moist, and flavorful. Little Ben is wild for it. Every night he asks for pumpkin pie and gets a slice. Honestly, I consider it a vegetable, and it's the only way I can get any citrus into him. Now if I could just find a way to make myself forget there are choco-PB bars in the house as well....

My Pumpkin Pie

Make a basic 9-inch pie crust and put it in the pie plate. I actually made one out of wheat flour, which is fine, but I'll go back to white flour next time because I prefer its texture.

15 oz can of pumpkin
1/3 c granulated sugar
2 Tbsp real maple syrup
1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger)
2 beaten eggs (I reserved about a tsp of this for brushing on the crust's edge.)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c skim milk
zest of one tangerine or orange
1/4 c tangerine or orange juice

Mix it all together well and pour it into the pie crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 until center is set (45 minutes to an hour).

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