Baking a pumpkin pie has become a fall
tradition - and a healthy tradition at that.
"We encourage
children and adults to add pumpkin to their diet as an excellent
source of vitamin A, which also is found in carrots and other bright
orange or yellow vegetables," says Allison Morrow, a registered
dietitian at Children's Medical Center Dallas. Pumpkins also are a
great source of fiber, potassium and iron. You can eat them
year-round, using canned if you can't find fresh because it's still high in
nutrients.
Baking lets you bond with your child and has
added benefits. Children can learn lessons in the kitchen from
reading to math and vocabulary, and it's fun. "When children join
parents in cooking meals and in growing or picking produce," Morrow
says, "they become a part of the process and may be more likely to
eat these goodies." Here's a healthy pumpkin pie recipe to
try:
Sugar-free pie crust
1/3 cup
butter-flavored Crisco
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons ice water
Put
flour and shortening into a small bowl. With two knives (or a
pastry blender), cut shortening into flour until thoroughly mixed. This
is the time to work on the crust, not after adding
water.
Add water and use a fork to toss quickly. Handle as little as
possible. It can be a little crumbly when you put it onto plastic
wrap.
Form a ball as you wrap it tightly and refrigerate for
30 minutes. When ready to make the crust, sprinkle a little flour
on a large piece of plastic wrap. Put dough on the floured wrap.
Turn once to get flour on both sides. Cover with a second piece of
plastic wrap.
Use a rolling pin to roll crust to fit a
nine-inch pie pan. A quiche pan with a fluted edge works
well.
Pumpkin filling
1 15-ounce can
pumpkin
1/2 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon
cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon
ground cloves
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
Preheat oven
to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk pumpkin with egg
substitute, sugar and spices. Add evaporated milk and stir thoroughly.
Pour mixture into pie shell.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15
minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and keep baking for 30 minutes
longer or until tester inserted in center of pie comes out clean. The
center will get firmer as it cools.
Makes 8 servings. Each
serving contains about 273 calories, 8 grams protein, 9 grams
fat, 40 grams carbohydrate.
