Your Newspaper - Your Health - Life is Short, Eat Dessert First

Posted on: December 30, 2009

Life is Short, Eat Dessert First - and Second

'tis the season to eat sweets - the healthy way

By Bev Bennett
CTW Features

Do you find that you're breaking a few of your personal rules to get dinner on the table?

Maybe you're dropping the salad with every meal requirement; or maybe a big salad is the main event. Vegetables make their appearance in a skillet dinner, not as a separate dish.

You're being practical, while staying within your food budget. But don't worry.

The menu cops aren't lurking in the refrigerator.

It's OK to eat last night's pizza for breakfast. Reheat a few slices for your children. You'll be amazed at how fast they can get to the kitchen.

That brings to mind another habit worth breaking: dessert after dinner.

The point of postponing a sweet is to save your appetite for the main course, even though you're really salivating for what comes afterwards.

How about replacing the entrée with the dish you've really been waiting for?

Of course, this will be an occasional break from sensible eating and not a routine that you're instituting. And you'll want the dessert to have some nutritional merit.

Fruit crisp is the delicious solution.

Serve this satisfying dish of fruit, sugar, oats and nuts Sunday night when you've had a late brunch or lunch and don't have the appetite for a full dinner.

Apple and Pear Crisp

2 medium apples (Fuji or Jonathan), cored, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

2 medium ripe pears, cored, peeled or not, and cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine apples and pears in large bowl. Add flour and toss with fruit. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Stir well. Spoon fruit into a deep 10-inch baking dish.

Combine the rolled oats, remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, walnuts, dried cranberries and brown sugar. Stir well. Cut butter into small pieces. Sprinkle over the oat mixture. Cut butter into mixture with a knife or pastry blender. Sprinkle the oat mixture over the fruit. Bake for 35 minutes or until the fruit layer is bubbly and the topping is brown.

Remove from oven. Spoon into bowls. If desired, sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over each serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"