Nut Free

This hefty snack cake gives you a double dose of carrots—such a scrumptious way to eat your vegetables!

Beautiful in color, this soup is creamy without using dairy products. The crunchy pumpkin seeds provide a nice texture contrast. Serve the soup hot in the winter and chilled in the summer.

Adding fresh apple gives this gingerbread a deep sweetness.

You’ll know the holidays have arrived when the spicy aroma of gingerbread cookies fills your home!

Pair this smooth, cumin-rich soup with unsalted baked corn tortilla strips and a deep green salad for a simple, hearty meal.

A rustic whole-wheat biscuit topping complements the lightly sweetened fruit of this homey dessert.

For a flavor change, replace beef or chicken broth with this tasty, so-easy-to-make broth. If you have extra broth, see the Cook’s Tip on Freezing Broth (page 51).

Beef broth is good “as is” and for adding flavor to many dishes. Roasting the bones adds both flavor and color to the broth. Keep some broth in the freezer so you’ll have it whenever you need it (see Cook’s Tip on Freezing Broth, page 51).

With this big batch of broth, you’ll have plenty to serve as a first course and to freeze for later use in a variety of recipes. Save the cooked chicken for Chicken Salad (page 91) or Chicken, Barley, and Spinach Casserole (page 160).

Spoon sliced peaches or nectarines and caramel topping over these extra-creamy flans for a special treat.

Attractive, fragrant, and so tasty, these kebabs are a great way to fit more servings of fruit into your diet.

When berries are at their peak, use them to make a gorgeous dessert fit for an emperor—or your family! The crisp wonton wrappers are a low-fat stand-in for the puff pastry typically used to make napoleons.

Lower in sodium than commercially baked chips, these crunchy snacks are very easy to make, especially if you have a mandolin or a food processor to slice the veggies quickly and uniformly.

Terrific all by itself, this lemon cream is even more delicious with a double dose of raspberries, plus gingersnaps and lemon zest.

By roasting bell peppers instead of using the bottled roasted variety, you will cut a lot of sodium from these crostini, or “little toasts.” For an attractive presentation, arrange the hors d’oeuvres in a pinwheel design on a serving platter.

Sautéed mixed mushrooms become delectable appetizers when you combine them with garlic, feta, and horseradish sauce, then use the filling in flaky mini phyllo shells.

Bananas are a good source of potassium, which is an important nutrient for lowering blood pressure. These bananas, enhanced with brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, crown brown rice pudding, which is served barely warm.

You will need to make this colorful dessert at least 8 hours in advance. If you want to stretch it to serve 12, spoon a half-cup of fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt into each bowl and top each serving with a half-cup of Spiced Fruit.

Easy enough for weeknights and special enough for guests, this dessert pairs cool and creamy ricotta cheese with liqueur-soaked fruits. You can substitute two cups of almost any other fruit you like, and you may want to try other flavors of liqueur as well.

This spicy mixture is delicious on cucumber rounds or unsalted baked corn tortillas.