Fall is coming, and so are autumn favorite dishes - cookies, pies, casseroles, and stews. While these traditional foods are festive and delicious, they can also be full of calories, fat, and sugar. Also, with more and more food allergies and intolerances present among friends and family, many traditional recipes cannot be eaten by everyone. By revamping your fall favorites, you can still indulge in all of the fall flavors without the worry or guilt! 

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is a fall staple and a holiday favorite. Why not try pumpkin custard as a great substitute to traditional pumpkin pie? All the pumpkin flavor without the crust! Pumpkin custard is gluten- free, dairy-free, and nut-free making it an allergy friendly choice for holiday parties. It is also much lower in calories, fat, cholesterol, and sugar than traditional pumpkin pie. 

Pumpkin Custard

INGREDIENTS

• 14 oz canned or fresh pumpkin puree 
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/3 cup oat flour (or any all-purpose gluten-free flour)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400F and grease a 10-inch round pan. In a large mixing bowl, combine first 7 ingredients and stir very well. In a separate bowl, combine all liquid ingredients with the ground flax (or chia seed) and whisk together. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir to combine, and then pour into the pan and bake 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before transferring uncovered to the fridge to "set" for at least 6 hours before trying to slice. Makes 6 servings.

Traditional pumpkin pie (1 slice): 325 Calories, 13g total fat, 2.6g saturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 25g sugar.

Revamped pumpkin custard (1 slice): 85 Calories, 2g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g cholesterol, 8g sugar.

Apple Pie

Apple picking is a great fall tradition that is fun for the whole family and a great way to stay active. Fresh picked apples are delicious when enjoyed on their own, made into applesauce, or baked into apple pies. Unfortunately, one slice of traditional apple pie would require A LOT of apple picking in order to burn off the calories. Instead, enjoy a healthier serving of apple crisp after a fun day of fall activities. This apple crisp is also allergy-friendly (gluten, dairy, and nut-free).

Apple Crisp

INGREDIENTS

• 5 cups diced apples* (1/2-inch cubes), optionally peeled
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or any dairy-free margarine ex. MELT organic spread)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

*Best baking apples: McIntosh, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F. Place the diced apples in 9x13-inch baking dish, or similar. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon, and toss to coat the apples. Spread the apple layer evenly in the dish. Place the oats in a food processor and pulse 4-6 times. You should end up with a mixture of ground and whole oats. In a mixing bowl, combine the oats with the brown sugar and salt. Add the coconut oil (or margarine) and mix together until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the apple layer in the baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, depending how crispy you like it. Makes 10 servings.

Traditional apple pie (1 slice): 340 Calories, 16g total fat, 6g saturated fat, 30g cholesterol, 20g sugar.

Revamped apple crisp (1 serving): 135 Calories, 6g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 0g cholesterol, 12g sugar.

Leigh is a Buffalo native and graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BS in Biomedical Sciences. She is currently studying for her Master's in Nutrition and Dietetics at D'Youville College. She has always had a passion for good, healthy food and enjoys eating at locally-owned restaurants. In her spare time, Leigh likes to do yoga and experiment with baking healthy desserts.