Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

LIVING WELL

REPLACE FAT WITH FRUIT

Fat-free baked goods have been available commercially for several years. Here's how to make this substitution in home-baked products.

A prune puree can be made in a food processor by mixing six ounces (one cup) of pitted prunes with six tablespoons of hot water, process until smooth. This paste can be substituted for all or part of the fat in a recipe.

Please note, however, that all recipes are not suitable for this type of fat substitution. The milder the expected flavor of the baked good, the less suitable the recipe will be for substituting prune puree. In 100% substitutions, the prune flavor will be noticeable. In a 75% fat substitution in a carrot cake, the product was found to be moist and pleasantly spicy with no noticeable prune flavor.

The fruit puree works because fat is a tenderizer of gluten and a moisturizer in baked goods. Fat also provides a pleasant flavor. The pectin in the fruit substitutes as a tenderizer, while the fruit adds moisture and flavor.

Applesauce can be used, but it isn't as flavorful as the prune puree. Puree can be made from fresh fruit such as peaches, nectarines, plums, etc.

Combined with other fat-reduct- ing methods, such as substituting two egg whites for one whole egg and using skim milk or low-fat milk products, high quality baked pro- ducts can be made at home that are significantly lower in fat than the original fat-containing recipe.

EXERCISE REDUCES RISK

A study of 13,000 people at the Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas found that regular, moderate physical exercise lowered the death rate by 60% for men and 48% for women. It suggested that being fit lowers the risk not only of heart disease but also for cancer.

You don't have to run marathons to greatly reduce your risks, but you do need to sweat a little. If you've been inactive, you may add years to your life just by taking brisk walks.

In the Dallas study, moderate physical exercise, such as a 30- to 60-minute daily walk, would use 2,000 or more calories weekly.

Researchers have found that exercise:

M helps improve appetite and food intake while decreasing body fat stores;

M can reduce fat stores and pre- vent some loss of lean muscle mass; and

M can slow the rate of bone loss.

When combined with good nutri- tion, including a lower-fat diet, exercise:

M Improves carbohydrate and fat metabolism. (This translates into improved glucose tolerance for diabetics (perhaps helping prevent diabetes) and improved serum cholestrol levels.

M Can improve recovery from ill- ness or surgery, as well as resistance to illness.

TRY THIS:

It's the season to enjoy the harvest of sweet potatoes. Highly nutritious and low in cost.

Sweet Potato Breakfast Loaf

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tea- spoon ground cloves; 2 teaspoon salt; 3 teaspoon ground nutmeg;

2 eggs; 1 cup packed brown sugar; 2 cup vegetable oil; 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato; and 2 cup currants.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x5-inch or 82x42-inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, salt and nutmeg; whisk lightly to blend.

In a medium mixing bowl beat together eggs, brown sugar and oil on medium speed until creamy. Beat in sweet potato until just combined.

Add sweet potato mixture to dry ingredients in two batches, beat- ing on low speed for about one minute after each addition. Mix just until blended. Fold in currants.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for about one hour, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn onto rack to finish cooling.