“Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat.” That’s a fun quote from Jim Davis, creator of the comic strip “Garfield.” And while I agree with Jim that we are what we eat, I don’t agree that “being” fruity and nutty is a bad thing.

The USDA says that we should consume roughly 2 cups of fruit per day as part of a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet and many of us do that by grabbing a banana for the car ride, throwing some raisins in a salad or munching on an apple as a snack.

These are all great ways to have fruit in your diet, but how about adding fruit to “the best” part of dining — dessert!

Dessert is a great place to add fruit to your diet and there are ways to do it without breaking the caloric bank. These yummy recipes fit well into a busy life while adding a bit of pizzazz to a healthy diet. So there’s no need to skip dessert when you have fruity ones like these!

And here’s a chef’s tip before you start baking: These low-fat recipes require a very exact flour measurement to avoid producing dry and/or yucky baked products. If you dip your measuring cup in a flour canister you can over-measure by as much as a quarter cup of flour.

So the trick is to stir the flour in the canister or bag with a fork to loosen and release any settling, then spoon the flour into the measuring cup using a large spoon until it is overflowing the measuring cup. Then use a knife or straight edged spatula to level off the flour.

Here are some fruity desserts to try:

Orange Pound Cake Loaf
Serves 16

Per serving: 126 Calories, 3.6 g fat (0.6 g sat fat), 88 mg sodium

Cooking spray

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 ¾ c all-purpose flour

¾ c sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated orange rind

2/3 c fresh orange juice

¼ c vegetable or canola oil

4 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat bottom of an 8.5-inch by 4.5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with 1 teaspoon flour.

In a large bowl combine 1¾ cup of flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl mix the orange rind, orange juice and oil; add to the flour mixture and beat with a hand mixer at medium speed until smooth. The batter will be thick!

In another bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form; gently add the egg whites to the batter, being careful to not stir too much.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.


Cinnamon-Crusted Baked Apples
Serves 8

Per serving: 127 Calories, 2.3 g fat (0.3 g sat fat), 30 mg sodium

Butter flavored cooking spray

1/3 c water

5 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch wedges

1/3 c firmly packed brown sugar

¼ c all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons chilled stick reduced- calorie margarine cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat an 11-inch-by-7-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add water to dish. Arrange apples in prepared baking dish and lightly coat apples with cooking spray.

Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in margarine with 2 knives until mixture is like a coarse meal. Sprinkle mixture over apples evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.


Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Serves 10

Per serving: 182 Calories, 4.6 g fat (0.7 g sat fat), 177 mg sodium

1 small pineapple, peeled and cored

6 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon stick margarine

¼ c pineapple juice

2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts

¼ c egg substitute

½ c sugar

2 tablespoons stick margarine, melted

1 ½ c sifted cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ c skim milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut pineapple crossways into four rings, each half-inch thick. If using a large pineapple and there is any extra pineapple is left, save for another use. Cut three of the rings in half and leave the fourth ring whole.

Combine brown sugar and 1 tablespoon margarine in an 8-inch iron skillet, cook over medium heat 1 minute. Add pineapple juice, and cook another minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat, sprinkle chopped walnuts over brown sugar mixture. Place whole pineapple ring in center of skillet, arrange halved pineapple rings around center ring and set aside.

Beat egg substitute with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add ½ c sugar and melted margarine and beat mixture well. Combine sifted cake flour, baking powder, and salt and stir well. Alternate adding flour mixture and skim milk to egg substitute mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Still in vanilla extract and pour batter over pineapple slices in skillet. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in skillet for 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Kathy Patrick is a personal and entertainment chef in Rome who writes The Healthy Gourmet column for Health Quest.