Lighter, Healthier Dessert Alternatives for Christmas

The holiday season is no time to count calories - after all, this is supposed to be a celebration - but Christmas dinner or other festive holiday "spreads" don't leave much room for desserts. Of course, there is nothing wrong with waiting a while to tackle a helping of pie, cake, or cookies later but there are also lighter dessert alternatives for Christmas guaranteed to please a "sweet tooth." Here are a few which don't even require recipes but can be tailored to "taste" and individual nutritional needs:

Instead of Apple Pie, fill glass dessert or sherbet dishes with warm, chunky home-made apple sauce, top with light whipped cream or vanilla frozen yogurt and a dash of cinnamon.

Instead of Pumpkin Pie, prepare filling as you would for a pie but don't bother with the crusts. Just pour filling into lightly greased ramekins or individual glass Pyrex "custard" dishes and bake at 350 degrees until done. (Baking times will vary depending on type of oven and dish used.) Cool and top with light whipped cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.

Combine "light" commercial egg nog with crushed ice and use blender to make Egg Nog Smoothies.
Garnish with an extra dash of nutmeg if desired.

Instead of vanilla ice cream, blend 2% milk with a bit of sugar (or sugar substitute) and vanilla to taste, along with crushed ice to make Vanilla Smoothies.

Cut oranges in half, scoop out pulp and juice, then stuff orange "shells" with a scoop of orange sorbet and return to freezer until time to serve.

Use the orange pulp and juice resulting from making the dessert above to create a "winter fresh fruit cocktail" - orange, sliced bananas, and crushed pineapple (juice pack) - which doesn't need extra sugar at all.

There is always room for festive flavors of Jell-O topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

For informal pizza gatherings, such as Trim the Tree or gift-wrapping parties, just break out a few packages of frozen fruit bars and pass them around to your hard-working guests.