Food Orgy

Saturday we are having some friends over, so I've been thinking about what kind of meal to make. Planning food for an occasion normally isn't a traumatic experience, but that was before THE DIET. I used to skim through cookbooks, the recipe box, and cooking magazines with a general idea of what I was looking for. I'd pick out the recipes I wanted, make a grocery list, and that was that. But now things are a little different...
Instead of flipping through the pages of Taste of Home, I turn them s-l-o-w-l-y, taking in the full-color photos of all the bad, naughty foods. First I see Fiesta Lasagna. The thick, melted cheese is sensuously drenching three layers of noodles, meat, sauce, cottage cheese, and the secret ingredients: salsa and taco seasoning. A crispy slab of golden garlic bread, soaked in butter, accompanies the pasta centerfold. Now I'm sweating.
Next I slide my finger across the glaze on the Chocolate Party Cake, imagining the taste of that sweet icing on my tongue. I savor the list of ingredients with passionate longing: Devil's food cake mix...chocolate pudding mix...milk chocolate chips...It feels like the chocolate is melting beneath my hand. Oh no. I drooled a little.
Turning the soggy page, I find Caramel Apple Bread Pudding--a sweet, filling, comfort food. Gloomily I consider the ingredients: unsweetened applesauce, chopped apple, day-old bread, fat-free whipped topping, fat-free caramel ice cream topping...Hey, I can eat this! The nutrition info is provided, and the dessert is 187 calories per serving. It's a treat that won't make me feel guilty about cheating on my diet. After all, I promised to be faithful till fat do us part.
I'm still no closer to knowing what I'll serve Saturday, but I know I can find some healthy, tasty options that won't cause me to overeat or feel deprived. Here is the recipe for Caramel Apple Bread Pudding: 1 c. unsweetened applesauce; 1 c. skim milk; 1/2 c. packed brown sugar; 1/2 c. egg substitute; 1 tsp. vanilla; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 5 c. cubed day-old bread; 1/2 c. chopped, peeled apple; 1/2 c. fat-free whipped topping; 1/2 c. fat-free caramel ice cream topping

In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, milk, brown sugar, egg substitute, vanilla, and cinnamon. Fold in bread cubes and apple. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped topping and caramel topping. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 8 servings.
Sara, (a reader in Montana, :) also sent me a recipe for Black Bean Brownies that sounds really yummy. Today I bought the stuff to make them--after taking a circuitous route through the grocery store to avoid the bakery. Let me know if you'd like the recipe. And be good--those magazines have more than just pictures in them, you know. Read the articles instead.