Gotta Have Faith

I’ve been having a little bit too much fun with my Ellie Krieger cookbook the last few days. I’ve eaten moderately and well within my allotted calories, and I haven’t gone overboard on junk, but I’ve been slacking off a bit with vegetables and whole grains and I’ve been eating a little bit too much sugar and white flour. I don’t have any regrets, but I need to return my focus to really clean eating for the next few days.

However, during my “feasting,” I discovered some really tasty, husband-approved healthy recipes that I thought I would share with you. The recipes are light, but don’t taste like health food.

My first discovery was a delicious pumpkin flan. This is definitely not an everyday food, but I know that sometimes I want to treat myself, but don’t necessarily want to flood my body with saturated fat or sugar or chemicals. I rarely eat dessert (other than fruit or a little dark chocolate), but I still like having the option of giving myself a nice moderate treat every now and then. This is only about 100 calories per serving, and the pumpkin gives you a good dose of fiber and nutrients. It’s sweet, but not too sweet (one of my main complaints about standard desserts), and the eggs make it rich and filling.

First, spray four 4 oz. ramekins with nonstick spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, make the caramel by melting three tbsp brown sugar and 2 tbsp water in a small sauce pan. Stir the whole time as it thickens. Once it is a nice syrupy consistency, spoon it into the ramekins. Work fast, because the stuff will harden quickly. Set those aside.

Next, mix together 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp pumpkin puree, 1 egg yolk, 1 whole egg, 2 more tbsp brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

For the next step, the recipe called for a mix of whole milk and evaporated milk. I had neither of those things, so I just added nonfat milk to a saucepan and reduced it until I had about 3/4 cup of nice thickened milk. (I would guess I started with about 1 cup…maybe a bit more). Whatever you are using, heat it up in a saucepan and reduce it slightly, then add to the pumpkin mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the ramekins, then place the ramekins in a big baking dish. Fill the baking dish about halfway with boiling water…this will keep the edges from burning and will make it easier to remove the flans from the ramekins. Then, place the baking dish in the oven for about 35 minutes or until the custards are set.

You can eat these hot, but I much prefer them thoroughly chilled. Regardless, when you are ready to eat, run a sharp knife around the edge of the ramekin to loosen the flan, then invert onto a dessert plate. The caramel should run down all around the pumpkiny custard. Yummy!