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Posted on Tue, Nov. 18, 2008

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Yam recipe gets lightened for healthier holidays

Donna Louderback's family insists on eating her praline yams every Thanksgiving. The Arkansas City woman won a contest with that dish after plucking it out of her favorite cookbook, "America's Best Recipes."

Here's the catch: Just half a cup of her yams contains 387 calories and 16 fat grams.

So when she sent the recipe to me, I couldn't resist trying to lighten it up while keeping the taste her family loves.

I started by halving the amount of pecans and toasting the nuts to intensify their flavor. Adding a little extra vanilla allowed me to slash some of the sugar in this dish. I also used egg substitute and trimmed the amount of butter and flour.

My slimmed-down version of this recipe cut the calories by 50 percent and reduced the fat by 54 percent.

You can have a half-cup of my praline yams for 193 calories and 7.3 fat grams.

Reach Kathy Manweiler at 316-268-6266 or kmanweiler@wichitaeagle.com. For more Don't Say Diet recipes, visit the Alive & Well Web site at www.wichitaaliveandwell.com.

We'll slim it down for you

Do you have a favorite food or popular recipe that you'd like to see made healthier? Send your ideas and recipes, along with a daytime phone number, to me at kmanweiler@wichitaeagle.com or:

Don't Say Diet

c/o The Wichita Eagle

P.O. Box 820

Wichita, KS 67201

KATHY'S PRALINE YAMS

½ cup pecans

3 cups cooked, mashed yams

2 tablespoons sugar

½cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs, beaten)

¼cup fat-free milk

½teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

Cooking spray

Put pecans on a baking sheet and toast them in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes. After the pecans have cooled, chop them into smaller pieces.

Put the mashed yams, sugar, egg substitute, milk, salt and vanilla in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on low to medium speed, beat the mixture until smooth. Spoon the mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans, flour and butter and sprinkle the mixture over the yams. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the yams are thoroughly heated.

Makes 8 servings.

Per serving (about ½ cup): 193 calories, 7.3 fat grams, 197mg sodium, 29 carb grams, 2.5 fiber grams, 3 protein grams, 8mg cholesterol

The Wichita Eagle