By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, September 30, 1998

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
A trio of local treats get a low-fat makeover. From left,
gelatin and haupia, haupia pudding and almond float.

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Just desserts

Healthier eating doesn't mean
having to give up sweets

ELAINE Kam wants to lighten up her family's desserts, so she was looking for recipes for low-fat, local-style treats. She particularly wanted formulas for almond float and for desserts with coconut.

And cheesecake.

"They like rich things, but as we get older I'd like to get a little more health-conscious," she said.

Almond float is naturally low in fat, but coconut can be a problem, and cheesecake? Well, cheesecake is pretty much synonymous with fat.

But, there are ways. What follows are two recipes from the Maui Extension service's venerable local cookbook, one for almond float and the other for a haupia /gelatin dessert. Then, from the HawaiiDiet Cookbook, a low-fat haupia. And finally, a cheesecake that is practically fat-free.

A few notes: The Rice Dream in the haupia recipe is a milk substitute made of rice and water (Dr. Terry Shintani, creator of the HawaiiDiet, tries to minimize the use of animal products). It can be found in supermarkets near the powdered or canned milk. This recipe uses extract instead of coconut milk and cornstarch instead of gelatin (an animal product) as a thickener. I found it didn't harden nearly enough to cut into the usual haupia cube but it makes a nice pudding, not too sweet, yet coconutty.

Almond float

"Still Many More of Our Favorite Recipes,"
Maui Extension Homemakers' Council, 1974

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
Mixed canned or fresh fruit such as grapes, mandarin oranges, pineapple, lichee, etc.

Dissolve gelatin in water. Heat milk and sugar, add gelatin. Stir until sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved. Cool and add extract.

Pour into a mold and refrigerate until set. Unmold into a deep dish and cover with chilled fruits. Include syrup if using canned fruit. Or cut the gelatin into cubes and serve with fruit.

Note: Fresh pineapple will keep this recipe from geling, but canned pineapple works fine Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 260 calories, 0.5 g total fat, no saturated fat, less than 5 mg cholesterol, 60 mg sodium*

Gelatin and haupia

"Still Many More of Our Favorite Recipes,"
Maui Extension Homemakers' Council, 1974

1 package gelatin
2-3/4 cup water, divided use
1 3-ounce package flavored gelatin (any flavor)
1/6 cup sugar
2 packages instant haupia

Combine gelatin, 1/2 cup water and gelatin. Boil another 1/2 cup water and the sugar until sugar dissolves. Add gelatin mixture. Pour into an 8-by-8-inch pan and chill until it hardens, 15-20 minutes.

Prepare haupia according to package directions, except use only the remaining 1-3/4 cup water.

When haupia is lukewarm, pour on top of lime gelatin. Chill until haupia is set.

Optional: Add a third layer made with another flavor of gelatin, prepared in the same manner as the first. Serves 16 (2x2 squares)

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving, one layer of gelatin: 70 kcalories, 1 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 20 mg sodium. With additional layer of gelatin: 105 calories, 1.5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 35 mg sodium*

Haupia

"HawaiiDiet Cookbook," by Dr. Terry Shintani,
Health Foundation Press, 1997, $15.

2-1/4 cups Rice Dream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut milk
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Combine 1-1/2 cups Rice Dream and syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a small boil. Add coconut milk.

Mix the remaining Rice Dream and cornstarch. Add to mixture in saucepan, together with extract, mixing constantly until thickened and mixture boils.

Pour into square pan or individual serving glasses. Cool and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate. Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 75 calories, 1.5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 20 mg sodium*

Virtuous cheesecake

"Cook It Light Desserts," by Jeanne Jones, Macmillan, 1994, $24

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 8-ounce packages nonfat cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sliced strawberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick vegetable spray. Add the cracker crumbs and shake the plate to coat the surface. Set aside.

Combine cream cheese, sugar and flour. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in sour cream, egg whites and vanilla. Pour into the cracker-lined pie plate. Bake in the center of the oven 40 minutes.

Cool on a rack, then refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. The top will crack; cracks may be covered with the strawberries. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 142 calories, negligible fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 391 mg sodium.*

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.