A dear friend of mine is coming for our annual roasted duck dinner on Saturday. (That is, IF I actually manage to find a frozen duck in a store ... they seem to have disappeared over Christmas). It is not exactly an on-plan dinner (roasted duck, cabbage and dumplings) but this has become our tradition and how can I make something else when she says I make the best roasted duck in the entire world?
Anyway, I need to make some light dessert .... something really light that would be fitting after such a heavy meal. In addition to that, I need to make only 2 servings because I don't want to have any dessert left in the house.
So if you can suggest something, I would muchly appreciate it.
You could get those sponge cake dessert cups (I think 1 package comes with 6 cups), slice some strawberries or other fruit, and top with some whipped cream. It should be pretty light, and even if you have extra whipped cream or sponge cakes left over they are very low in calories.
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BUTTER MINT MOUSSE
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring
1 tablespoon sugar free instant vanilla or white chocolate pudding mix
Pour the cream into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Beat on high speed until thick and fluffy. Chill well before serving.
Other ideas would be a nice rice pudding (I've made them with arborio rice, fat free half and half, spices, a little orange zest, and maybe some dried fruit) - you can adjust the amount of rice you cook to any number of servings you'd like.
You could also do a crepe and fill with a lighter mix of a sweetened yogurt/cream cheese/ricotta/etc. blend and some berries. Cooking Light has a good crepe recipe. You can also fill with something like sauteed pears or apples with brown sugar and spices and top with some whipped cream or a little ice cream (and you can buy single-serving or 1-cup containers of ice cream in a lot of stores, so you don't have to keep a big old carton around...you could even go to a local ice cream parlor, get two scoops, take home and store in the freezer).
I've made all 3 at home, and they're spectacular. You could un-veganize the tarts pretty easily, I'd think, and they taste like really yummy key lime pie for a fraction of the calories.
Also, poaching pears in red wine is really tasty, or strawberries with balsamic vinegar topped with a bit of yogurt.
Oooh, oooh, forgot my signature dessert/side dish/delicious pile of awesome:
Source - Me!
Roasted Cinnamon Vanilla Pineapple
This pineapple is almost too good to be true - decadent and caramelized, but with no more calories than the fruit itself. The foil packet can also be cooked on the grill, making this great for summer cookouts. Served warm or cold, it’s great with ice cream, with cheeses, or as an unusual component to a fruit salad. As an added bonus, the leftover vanilla beans pieces can be placed in a small jar of sugar, and in a few weeks, you’ll get vanilla-pineapple flavored sugar.
1 large pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 vanilla bean, split (if you don’t have vanilla beans, use 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
Heat oven to 425 degrees
Place the pineapple chunks on a piece of foil, large enough to create a packet that will completely enclose the fruit. Scrape the seeds from inside the vanilla bean and toss well with the pineapple chunks, making sure the specks are evenly distributed. Scatter the cinnamon stick pieces and vanilla bean pod pieces over the pineapple and toss.
Seal the foil packet tightly (you may want to add another layer of foil to keep the packet from leaking into your oven). Place the packet on a baking sheet and in the preheated oven.
Roast for 40-45 minutes, or until the pineapple smells caramelized. Allow packet to sit at least 10 minutes, then open the packet and serve, or allow to cool and chill.