Low fat low cholesterol recipes – desserts

What you eat is a powerful key to health. Your body wants to be well, but often your eating habits create problems that could be avoided. This is because some substances in food are changed by the body’s chemistry into other substances which have undesirable effects.

Fat is one of those substances. It can be transformed into excess cholesterol. Too much cholesterol in the blood can narrow and block arteries, leading to heart disease. The amount of cholesterol you produce depends on several factors, but mostly on the type of fat you eat. Cholesterol levels vary from one person to another. It is all very complex and not yet fully understood.

3 MAJOR HEALTH RISKS

A raised level of cholesterol in the blood, along with high blood pressure and tobacco smoking, make up a major risk factors for heart disease. As your blood cholesterol increases, your chances of dying from heart disease go up accordingly.

With heart disease accounting for half the deaths in Australia, it would seem sensible to try to lower your risk. The National Heart Foundation of Australia recommends that all adults should know their cholesterol level.

A measurement of less than 5.5 millimoles (mmol) per litre of blood is desirable. (A millimole is the international unit of measurement for blood cholesterol.) A simple test in your doctor’s surgery will reveal your cholesterol level.

The terms cholesterol, saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and mono unsaturated fats are often confusing.

CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol has different sources. We all produce cholesterol naturally in our bodies; it is a white, fatty, waxy substance essential to life and is used, among other things, to make cell walls and hormones. lt is also found in all foods of animal origin such as meat, milk, butter, cheese, cream and eggs. It is believed that dietary cholesterol is less important than total fat intake in determining blood cholesterol levels.

SATURATED FAT

These are found mainly in animal foods such as butter, cream, milk, cheese, egg yolks, offal and meat. They are also found in cakes, chocolates, biscuits, crisps, ice-cream, chips and meat pies. Vegetable sources of saturated fat are coconut oil and palm oil in certain products made containing them. Check the labels.

Basically, when you eat these foods containing saturated fats, the body uses the fat to make cholesterol. Some people make more cholesterol than others. ln our typical diet, we eat too much fat, particularly these saturated fats, which can result in raised blood cholesterol levels. Approximately half of us have a blood cholesterol level above 5.5mmol/litre.

POLYUNSATURATED FAT/strong>

These are found mostly in vegetable foods and polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, maize or corn, soy bean and grape seed, and polyunsaturated margarine. These can’t be eaten with abandon but can largely replace saturated fat. Walnuts and fish also contain
polyunsaturated fat.

MONO-UNSATURATED FATS

These are found in foods including avocados, olives and peanuts, olive oil and peanut oil. They do not raise your cholesterol level but are high in kilojoules and should also be limited.

YOUR DAILY FAT INTAKE

According to the Heart Foundation, a reasonable total fat limit is approximately 90g daily for the average man, and 68g daily for the average woman, unless your doctor advises otherwise.

The average diet consists of around 40% fat. If you follow our guidelines, you will be reducing that intake by a quarter; that is, your fat grams down to 30% of your diet. You can, of course, reduce it to a lot less than that with your doctor’s guidance.

The Heart Foundation suggests a limit of 150g lean meat per serve. Meat should be trimmed of all visible fat, and allowance has been made for the varying percentage of fat which remains after trimming.

3 recipes for low fat delicious desserts

Low fat Apple and pear strudel

1 apple, sliced
1 pear, sliced
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind
pinch ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
3 sheets fillo pastry

CUSTARD SAUCE
2 teaspoons custard powder
3 teaspoons castor sugar
3/4 cup skim milk

Combine apple, pear, sugar, rind cinnamon and water in pan, cook until fruit is soft; cool. Layer pastry sheets together, fold in half, spoon fruit mixture along centre of pastry, fold ends, fold sides over fruit.

Place strudel, with folded edge down, onto baking paper-covered oven tray, bake in hot oven for 7 minutes, turn strudel over, bake further 7 minutes or until well browned. Serve with sauce.

Custard Sauce: Combine custard powder and sugar in pan, gradually stir in milk. Stir over heat until sauce boils and thickens.
Total fat: Negligible.

Low fat MINI ECLAIRS WITH APRICOT CREAM

You will need about 2 passionfruit for this recipe. Recipe is best made on day of serving.

CHOUX PASTRY
1 teaspoon polyunsaturated margarine
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup self-raising flour
2 egg whites

APRICOT CREAM
1 teaspoon gelatine
2 teaspoons water
200ml carton low-fat apricot yogurt

PASSIONFRUIT SAUCE
2 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
2 teaspoons castor sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
2 tablespoons water

Choux Pastry: Combine margarine and water in pan, bring to boil. Add sifted flour all at once, stirring vigorously for about 30 seconds or until smooth. Transfer mixture to small bowl of electric mixer, gradually add egg whites, beating well between each addition. Mixture will separate, but will come together with further beating.

Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1cm fluted tube. Pipe 6 x 7cm lengths of mixture onto non-stick oven tray. Bake in hot oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to moderate, bake further 15 minutes or until well browned; cool.

When éclairs are cold, cut in half, scoop out any uncooked mixture; discard. Fill éclairs with apricot cream, dust with a little sifted icing sugar, if desired. Serve with sauce.

Apricot Cream: Sprinkle gelatine over water in cup, stand in small pan of simmering water; stir until dissolved. Combine yogurt and gelatine mixture in bowl, refrigerate until set.

Passionfrult Sauce: Combine passionfruit and sugar with blended cornflour and water in pan, stir over heat until sauce boils and thickens; cool.

Fat per éclair: Negligible.

Low fat RASPBERRY APPLE TERRINE WITH ORANGE SAUCE

2 ¼ cups water
2 x 100g packets raspberry jelly crystals
½ cup framboise
1 teaspoon gelatine
1 tablespoon water, extra
250g punnet raspberries

APPLE JELLY
1 tablespoon gelatine
2 tablespoons water
2 cups clear apple juice

ORANGE SAUCE
20g margarine
¼ cup castor sugar
1 ½ cups orange juice
3 teaspoons cornflour
1 tablespoon water

Wet 11cm x 25cm loaf dish (6 cup capacity) with water, shake out excess water. Place strip of greaseproof paper into dish to cover base and extend over sides. Heat 1 cup of the water in pan, add
jelly, stir until dissolved. Stir in remaining water and liqueur. Sprinkle gelatine over extra water in cup, stand in small pan of simmering water, stir until dissolved; stir into jelly mixture.

Pour mixture into jug, pour 1 cup mixture into prepared dish, refrigerate until set. Pour in ¼ cup apple jelly mixture, arrange half the raspberries over jelly, carefully pour ¾ cup apple jelly mixture over raspberry layer; refrigerate until set.

Continue layering and refrigerating with liqueur jelly, raspberries and apple jelly. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight until set. Unmould terrine onto plate, remove paper, serve sliced with orange sauce.

Fat per serve:2.3g

Desserts with Bill & Sheila

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