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Special Diet Recipes

recipe: looking for low-fat pie crust

20 years ago

Or maybe better said, heart-healthy pie crust. My doctor put me on a heart healthy diet, so most desserts are gone, if I could find a heart healthy pie crust though I could have lemon meringue pie. Went to make one tonight and the recipe called for 2/3 cup of crisco just for the crust. Yikes!

TIA

-a

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Comment (1)

grainlady_ks
20 years ago
You might want to try a little trick I use. I take Sprouted-Grain Cereal (they are wholegrain nuggets similar to Grape-nuts) and make a crumb crust with it much like making a graham cracker crust (which would be another option for you). It only takes a little bit of butter (about 1 T. melted) to make a whole lot of taste and it will be more satisfying than completely fat-free. Add a little honey for sweetener and to help it stick together and just press it in your pie pan and bake until it is set and browned a bit. I don't have a recipe, I just guess at the amounts and I use tart pans and make a small pie for two people. I make 2-servings of homemade chocolate pudding, or blueberry filling with frozen berries and thicken it a bit and add a sweetener to taste, using this "crust" for our little "tart pies".

You can also pulse the cereal in a food processor if you don't like the "crunch". You could also make your lemon pie filling, fill the pie pan, add the meringue and go entirely crust-free.

Here's my version of Apple Pie and hubby has never missed the crust. I serve it in a tulip-shaped ice cream dish with a little of the cereal sprinkled on the top and it's not bad with a bit of ice cream on the top, either.

Orange Sauced Apples

3 T. brown sugar (I use agave nectar - a low-glycemic sweetener)
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 c. orange juice
2-3 medium cooking apples, thinly sliced

In medium skillet (or pan), combine brown sugar, cornstarch, nutmeg and orange juice; blend well. Stir in apple slices. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil stirring occasionally. reduce heat. Cover; simmer 5-10 minutes or until apples are tender and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve warm. Yields: Four (1/2-cup) servings. (We like the leftovers cold, the next day.)

Note: I sometimes toss in some raisins, craisins, dried blueberries, or dried cherries to change it up a bit.

Here's another favorite that is adapted from a recipe for Apricot Chutney. Once again, make a crumb crust, or just serve it with some of the cereal sprinkled over the top for that added crunch.

1/3 c. apricot spreadable fruit (or orange marmalade)
1 cup chopped apple (or just a whole apple or two)
1 T. raisins (this adds a "buttery" taste without adding fat)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. allspice (or applepie spice mix or cinnamon)
1 T. cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 12-15 minutes.

I'm getting to be an expert at making non-crusted pies and we don't miss the crust AT ALL!

Grainlady
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My hunch, if it was central VA and a BBQ place, was that it wasn't a pate sucree or something similar. It was probably an "American" pie crust. You can make a great flaky crust in about four minutes with butter, flour, and a little ice cold water. Can add a pinch of salt if you want. Leave some pretty large chunks of butter and make sure you do the fraisage. Like always, let it sit for an hour or so or even a day before rolling it out. Most likely based on cost and region, they probably used shortening, but don't. It tastes bad and makes your crust have a bad mouthfeel. Just use butter. Bake it well, maybe weighing it down, and make sure you bake it very close to the time you are going to use it. In other words, don't bake it today for use tomorrow or the next day. It's never as crisp as it is the first day. Let it cool, fill and serve immediately. The water from the filling will start to soften it right away, so you don't want to let that sit if you want to maintain the crispiness. This post was edited by rosesinny on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 17:57
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Oops, I messed up, the oyster crackers have 40 mg of sodium... Sorry about that. Salt free salting crumbs? Never heard of them... Or could you mean the Saltine crackers without the salt on top... Those have more sodium ( 95 mg for the same amount, I think ) than the cheap oyster crackers... As for bread crumbs, well, one slice of store bought bread has 135 mg of sodium and 1 g of fat... I've done my homework... lol The highest percentage of the sodium in this recipe comes from the Phyllo sheets... I figure about 262 mg of sodium and 16 g of fat for the whole pie so 1/4 of the pie ( one serving ) would come to about 65 mg of sodium and 4 g of fat... Guess I didn't do too badly making up this recipe... Rita
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I really like Cooking Light. There are some really good recipes. I just decrease my "fat" called for or mainly I use lots of fresh herbs to help with the flavor. Here is a google search on Low Fat Recipe Websites. Also think about quinoa. It is great. Some of the wonderful reasons to eat it, i.e. it taste good, is healthy for you, is gluten free, is high in protein, is a versatile grain for many dishes, is relatively inexpensive, etc. Here is a webpage with some Quinoa Recipes.
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Go to any used bookstore, yard sales or even half.com. I am always buying cookbooks but need to use them more :) Dottie's weight loss zone on the internet has recipes too for Weight Watchers but they are usually low fat. Same with Bootcamp buddies. Another tip - did you know some ground beef is lower in calories than ground turkey? Unless you use ground turkey breast (it specifically says that) you are getting higher fat dark meat and anything else they might put in there. Good luck and just remember because it is low fat does not mean it is low calorie! Kathy_PA
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