Holiday Dessert Swap

It's that time of year of year again where everywhere you go it's "pumpkin" this, "cranberry" that, and "peppermint" something else. I am back at home and attended an annual Holiday Party at my old piano teacher's house. My eyes were immediately drawn to a magnificent looking peppermint pie! After taking a bite of the ultra rich cream pie, I thought to myself, there's absolutely NO way that this can be good for you.. But oh, it could be deceiving! Indeed, there's something inherently tricky about minty desserts. They seem light. It's like the mintiness sends a message straight to the brain, triggering the response, "This can't be THAT bad for me!" I quickly found the maker of the delicious pie and she informed me of the ingredients. Sugar, heavy whipping cream, oreo cookies.. Ahhh.. This was definitely not a dessert to be taken lightly.

After some quick research on the internet, I found an awesome recipe that subs out the heavy cream for fat free cool whip, which naturally sweetens without the use of oreo cookies and other sugars. Even better, there's ZERO baking involved, just some quick and easy mixing of ingredients.. and after 10 minutes of prep time, all that's left is some time for the pie to chill and harden, and voila! A minty, chocolatey healthier cream pie! Check it out!

Less than 5 grams of fat per slice? Dig in!

Ingredients:
Purchase a pre-made chocolate graham cracker crust
Filling

• 1/2 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 1 small (4-serving) box Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant pudding mix
• 3 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 3 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 standard-sized peppermint candy canes, lightly crushed, divided
• Optional topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:

To make the filling, combine condensed milk, milk, and pudding mix in a large bowl. Mix well. Fold in Cool Whip until smooth. Gently stir in chocolate chips and about 3/4 of the candy cane pieces. Once crust has cooled completely, evenly pour filling into the pan. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 2 hours. (Overnight is best.) Sprinkle pie with remaining candy cane pieces. If you want, top with Reddi-wip just before serving. Dig in!

Here's the BEST part:

• Serving Size: 1 slice (1/8th of pie) 
• Calories: 202
• Fat: 4.5g 
• Sodium: 250mg 
• Carbs: 37g 
• Fiber: 0.25g 
• Sugars: 24g 
• Protein: 2.5g 

So, when you're thinking of a healthier option to take to the next Holiday Party, give this recipe a try! It took all of 10 minutes to whip together! So, it's super quick, easy, and it tastes delicious! Enjoy!