Red cabbage with apples

This recipe combines two nutritious colorful fall favorites, apples and red cabbage (often available year-round). Who says you can’t add a bit of sweetness to make it more fun? The holidays are all about color and flavor. This combination is super-crunchy, sweet and refreshing. You can even serve it warm, if desired.

Ingredients
2 cups apple juice or cider
2 TB apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp allspice
3 cups red cabbage, shredded
1 cup grated fresh apple (red or pink-hued of your choice)
pinch of salt

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the juice or cider, vinegar and allspice to a boil. Add other ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Nutrition Facts (per 1/4 recipe)
96 calories
<1 g fat
24 grams carbohydrate
1 g protein
3 g dietary fiber
85 mg sodium

Rich Chocolate Mousse make-over

Rich chocolate mousse is an ideal holiday dessert – especially for company when you are looking to impress. Conventional recipes, made with heavy whipping cream as a base, in addition to semi-sweet chocolate, egg yolks, butter and sugar puts you at about 330 calories and 25 g of fat (mostly saturated) per serving.

Simple swaps – instead of heavy whipping cream, try silken tofu (puree well in a food processor until smooth and creamy). Use half high quality, extra-dark (bittersweet) chocolate and half cocoa (combine and melted in a double boiler) to mix into the pureed silken tofu (along with superfine sugar). Vanilla extract and a tbsp of brandy (or espresso powder if you don’t want the alcohol), enhances flavor further. The result? This simple trade-offs do not sacrifice flavor or texture but, per serving (same size), you are looking at about 250 calories and 10 g of fat – a big difference – even with a spoonful of real whipping cream on top.