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Recipes

Heart-Smart Cooking for the Holidays

(NAPSA)-The indulgent holiday season doesn't have to be challenging for people with diabetes, who are at increased risk for heart disease. While traditional recipes are often high in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, there are tasty culinary alternatives.

Rather than preparing special portions of food for people with dietary restrictions, you can revise the entire menu with festive, nutritious dishes. A heart-smart diet is important year-round, not just for people with diabetes, but for everyone to maintain wellness and prevent heart disease.

With "The Heart-Smart Diabetes Kitchen: Fresh, Fast, and Flavorful Recipes Made with Canola Oil" from the American Diabetes Association and CanolaInfo, decadence doesn't have to mean sacrificing health. All 151 recipes in the cookbook are diabetes-friendly and made with heart-healthy canola oil. This year, give a gift for the heart. For example, harvest the colors and flavors of the holiday season with this pretty side dish. It is a great replacement for heavier dishes such as green bean or sweet potato casseroles.

Baked Acorn Squash With Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Canola oil cooking spray
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large acorn squash (about 11/2 lbs), quartered lengthwise, seeded and skin pierced with a fork in several places
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar substitute
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Lightly coat a 9-inch, deep-dish pie pan or baking dish with canola oil cooking spray. In the pan, stir together cranberries, zest, juice and canola oil. Place squash cut side down on top of cranberry mixture. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes or until tender crisp when pierced with a fork. Turn each piece to other cut side down; bake uncovered 15 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove squash and place on a serving plate. Add brown sugar substitute, salt and vanilla to cranberry mixture; spoon equal amounts of mixture on each piece of squash.

Yield: 4 servings. Serving size: 1 squash quarter.

Exchanges: 1 starch; 1/2 fruit; 1/2 fat. Calories, 130; Calories from fat, 35; Total fat, 4.0g; Saturated fat, 0.3g; Trans fat, 0.0g. Cholesterol, 0 mg; Sodium, 80mg; Total carbohydrate, 25g; Dietary fiber, 5g; Sugars, 14g; Protein, 1g

To order "The Heart-Smart Diabetes Kitchen," go to http:// store.diabetes.org or call (800) 232-6733. All proceeds from the purchase of this cookbook go to further ADA's mission to improve the lives of people with diabetes. For more information, visit heartsmartdiabetes.org.