What are some low-cholesterol desserts?

The trick is to find great-tasting desserts allowing substitutions for lower cholesterol, fat or sugar and that use more natural sugars and fruits.

One of the simplest recipes is fresh fruit salad using a variety of common and tropical fruit (whatever is available at the supermarket), add honey to your taste, chill, and serve with nonfat whipped topping.

The marketplace today has a generous selection of ingredients that can work into your favorite recipes. Substitute whole wheat flour, oatmeal, or whole wheat pastry flour for a dry ingredient.

Replace shortening and butter with unsweetened applesauce, canola oil, apple juice concentrate, yogurt or plum puree. Plum puree combines 11/3 cup (8 ounces), pitted dry plums and 6 tablespoons hot water. Chop finely in blender until smooth and refrigerate. It will keep up to two months.

Instead of milk products, try powdered milk, nonfat cottage cheese, nonfat evaporated milk, skim milk or fat-free sweetened condensed milk. To add richness to desserts use fat-free cheeses, neufchatel cheese, yogurt cheese and nonfat cream cheese. Replace chocolate squares with cocoa powder plus canola oil.

I love traditional pumpkin pie, and it is a good example of using milk and egg substitutes.

Mix pumpkin, fat-free sweetened condensed milk, four egg whites in place of whole eggs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt, and pour in 9-inch unbaked pie shell.

Here's a healthy recipe for Coconut Macaroons.

3 egg whites

½ cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup shredded coconut

2 tablespoons nonfat condensed milk

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar and lemon juice and beat until blended. Stir in the coconut and milk. Spoon the dough by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Let the dough stand several hours to dry out.
Bake macaroons at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 48 cookies.

The Internet is a great source for free low-cholesterol recipes, but try experimenting with your own recipes.