Before I get to the Ricotta-Pumpkin dessert recipe, I wanted to first talk briefly about fat free ricotta cheese. If you've never tried ricotta cheese - you should totally check it out. It is great as a topping on pasta, in omelets, in quesadillas, fajitas, various desserts, as well as on some Indian dishes. The consistency is somewhere between cottage cheese (it is chunky) and regular cheese (it is kind of bland, so you wouldn't eat it on its own). My favorite fat-free ricotta cheese is made by a company called Calabro and it can be bought at Whole Foods. A quarter of a cup (62 grams) of the Calabro fat free ricotta cheese is 30 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein (so 1 weight watchers point per serving, or 0 weight watchers points per half serving).So, there are tons of ways to dress up ricotta cheese into a dessert on its own (I've heard of people adding sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract, etc. etc. to make pretty interesting desserts). I thought today in honor of the holidays I'd post a recipe for ricotta-pumpkin pudding. Pumpkin is another great low calorie food (a 1/2 cup serving is 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein -- so 0 weight watchers points), and if you like it you will surely like this recipe (and if you don't like pumpkin, you should pass on this recipe and play around with just the ricotta cheese, since the pudding is thick and has a strong pumpkin flavor).
Ricotta-Pumpkin Treat
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese (or 1/2 cup if you desire)
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (or your favorite sweetener -- honey would be delicious as well!)
- cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste
Combine all the ingredients except the cinnamon and nutmeg in a microwave safe bowl. Stir until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Put mixture in microwave for ~45 seconds (or until hot). Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
This recipe has 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein -- so it is a very filling, rich, 2 weight watchers points.
Enjoy!
Juliet
I love ricotta's texture!! Great idea to combine ricotta and pumpkin!
ReplyDeleteAnother good combination is ricotta with apples!~ try it next time ^_^
YUM - i have some fat free ricotta in the fridge and I want to cook my pumpkin - maybe tonight!
ReplyDeleteWow, this looks great! I don't eat ricotta cheese very often, but when I do try it I always love it!
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
ReplyDeleteYum, I would eat this over pancakes!
ReplyDeleteWhen my roommate was on South Beach she would eat ricotta and splenda - this looks much more delish!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for your sweet comment on the "about me" of my blog!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like it's the perfect sweet tooth craving.
ReplyDeleteMmm ... this sounds like a great combination! I will have to give it a try soon! :)
ReplyDeleteI always forget about ricotta - I normally associate it with pasta dishes. It really can be very versatile!
hmmmm...Sounds delicious! Im gonna try this one out. thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeletei have had a can of pumpkin since October waiting to figure out what to do with it! This site is so awesome!
ReplyDeleteWow!!..., It sounds Delicious and Healthy...., and I'm going to give it a try....
ReplyDeleteOMG! I am in love with this recipe. i put a little bit of splenda in it w/ cinamon, microwave for 30 seconds, and voila! my favorite recipe right now n__n thank ou SO much! i love this blog by the way! :)
ReplyDelete