Ways to make holiday pies lower in sugar, calories, and fat

Gettyimages.com/Grandmother, mother and daughter making an apple pie — Image by � Beau Lark/Corbis

Pies are a traditional part of most American holiday meals. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, you’ll see quite a few of these round desserts. They’re usually fruit-based and they’re just so innocent looking—how bad could they really be for your waistline? Well, pretty bad, depending on which ones you’re eating. While an apple pie may just look like apple slices in a crust, it’s probably made with a gooey filling that is all butter and sugar. Then there’s the crust, which is usually made with white flour—an enemy of your blood sugar. But, at the end of the day, you want to feel like you got to partake in the holiday festivities so you grab a slice of the apple pie, then the pumpkin pie, and let’s not forget the berry crumble. It may be time to learn to make these sweet circular treats healthier. Here are ways to make holiday pies lower in sugar, calories, and fat.

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Make your own whole wheat crust

Your filling is so sweet and delicious that you don’t even taste the crust. So give yourself some fiber points by making a whole wheat crust. You can even mix in a little bran for berry pies.

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Don’t add a top crust

While traditional pies contain a top crust, that’s just a lot of extra dough that you don’t need. Plus, the top crust takes away from your delicious filling so make a topless pie.

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Use coconut toppings

If you love having your whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top of pie (who doesn’t?) opt for coconut milk-based toppings. These are lower in sugar, fat, and calories than dairy toppings.

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Grind fiber cereal into your graham crust

If you love graham cracker crust, swap out half of the graham crackers for your favorite high fiber cereal. Just blend the cereal up with the graham crackers when making your crust.

Add flax seed to your crust

Crush up flax seeds and blend them into your crust. You’ll get some healthy fats and fiber points.

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Add spices instead of sugar

Play with spices to see if you can cut back on sugar. Nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger will all add a burst of flavor to your filling without adding sugar.

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Swap Greek yogurt for butter

Swap out a portion of your butter in your crust for Greek yogurt. It’s just as creamy, but it’s lower in calories and can give your pie a protein boost.

Bigstockphoto.com/Nuts mix in a wooden plate

Add crushed walnuts to your crust

You probably already put nuts in some of your pies, so incorporate them into your crust. You can even use your beloved white flour if you swap out about a quarter of it and replace it with blended up walnuts or pecans.

Spray your pan with coconut oil

Instead of spraying or coating your pie pan with butter, coat it with coconut oil. You can even coat it with heart healthy olive oil for nutty pies (it will blend with the savory taste well).

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Use soft tofu for creampies

If you love creampies—from chocolate pudding to banana cream—then you need all the help you can get in cutting calories. Substitute some of your pudding or cream mix with soft tofu. It is flavorless so it won’t take away from the taste of your pie.

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Try quinoa flour

Quinoa flour gives you fiber and protein points in your crust. It has a light flavor that makes it a good introductory flour when moving away from traditional white flour.

Bigstockphoto.com/Fruit and berry crumble cake with oat and wholemeal topping

Go entirely crustless

You can skip the crust altogether and have a carb-free pie. Or, you can make a crumble with a topping that’s a mixture of crushed flax seeds, nuts, and high fiber cereal.

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Choose high fiber fruits

Go for high fiber fruits like raspberries, blueberries, rubarb, and blackberries. A little will go a long way with these in filling you up.

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Make flatter pies

People decide the size of their pie slice based on width not depth. If you make a pie that is four inches thick or one that is one inch thick, you’ll cut the same width of slice either way. So make thinner pies and trick your eye.