The Healthier Pie, Tips to Reduce Calories in Pies

YES - you really can have your Diet Pie and eat it too!

Here are a few Foodnotes to assist in making healthier pie choices:

Fruit pies tend to be lighter in calories and fat grams than cream pies and nut-based pies. There are a couple of exceptions: raisin pies and mincemeat pies which can contain 500+ calories per thin slice.

The type of pie crust used influences calorie content as well as fat content greatly. In many fruit pies, the pie crust can contain more calories than the filling. IX-nay on double-crusted pies as double crust equals double the pie crust calories.

Try rolling homemade pie crusts as thin as possible. Most commercially prepared pie crusts can be rolled out to produce two very thin crusts - so if you're planning on preparing a double-crusted pie, this is another great method for keeping calories and fat grams in check.

One cup of sugar contains close to 800 calories and many pies contain a good amount of sugar. Opting for a sugar substitute can assist in saving a plethora of empty sugar calories. And consider this.....if a pie contains one cup of sugar and serves eight, almost 100 calories of the slice of pie will be derived from sugar.

Opt for fresh fruit in your pie recipes, or unsweetened fruit OR lightly sweetened fruit.

When milk is used in the recipe, opt for skim milk, fat free milk or 1% milk over whole milk. Using egg substitute over eggs can also assist in saving calories and cholesterol content.

A pie topping mix of brown sugar, raw oats and a spoon of light margarine contains less calories and more nutritional values than a thick pie crust topping. This is also a great method for smashing calories as well as unwanted fat grams.

Don't forget about crapes, flour tortillas and kangaroo pockets as pie filling holders. Try experimenting with these lower calorie pie recipes:

Use your favorite pie crust and fill with the following: 2 cups of your favorite fruit; in this recipe we're going to use fresh, sliced strawberries. We'll also need 1 cup of low fat strawberry yogurt OR 2 single serving containers of 'THICK STRAWBERRY YOGURT'.

Yoplait makes a delicious low fat Thick & Creamy strawberry yogurt, so that's what we'll opt for in this recipe. We'll also need 1 small container of fat free Cool Whip and 1 small box of sugar free strawberry gelatin.

Begin by preparing the gelatin as directed on the package then add the strawberries when mixture comes to room temperature. Next, add the cold yogurt and stir until dissolved; carefully add the whipped topping. Transfer filling to pie and place in the fridge for several hours before serving. Top pie with additional whipped topping if desired.

Drain the juice from 1 cup of sliced or diced peaches packed in light or unsweetened juice and set aside. We'll use the juice as a thickener after we warm the peaches in the microwave.

Add 1 teaspoon of corn starch to the reserved juice and stir until combined. Sprinkle in about 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon + a bit of Splenda if more sweetener is desired.

Warm the juice in the microwave, stirring every thirty seconds until mixture has thickened. Pour over peaches; stir, then use as a pie filling for your favorite crape, flour tortilla or kangaroo pocket. Be sure to warm the bread first; you can also spray just a mist of water on the shell, then dust with powdered sugar. You'll have a treat fit for a Diet King!

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