Fat Free Ricotta & Ricotta - Pumpkin Treat

Before I get to the Ricotta-Pumpkin dessert recipe, I wanted to first talk briefly about fat free ricotta cheese. If you've never tried ricotta cheese - you should totally check it out. It is great as a topping on pasta, in omelets, in quesadillas, fajitas, various desserts, as well as on some Indian dishes. The consistency is somewhere between cottage cheese (it is chunky) and regular cheese (it is kind of bland, so you wouldn't eat it on its own). My favorite fat-free ricotta cheese is made by a company called Calabro and it can be bought at Whole Foods. A quarter of a cup (62 grams) of the Calabro fat free ricotta cheese is 30 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 6 grams of protein (so 1 weight watchers point per serving, or 0 weight watchers points per half serving).

So, there are tons of ways to dress up ricotta cheese into a dessert on its own (I've heard of people adding sugar, cocoa, vanilla extract, etc. etc. to make pretty interesting desserts). I thought today in honor of the holidays I'd post a recipe for ricotta-pumpkin pudding. Pumpkin is another great low calorie food (a 1/2 cup serving is 50 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein -- so 0 weight watchers points), and if you like it you will surely like this recipe (and if you don't like pumpkin, you should pass on this recipe and play around with just the ricotta cheese, since the pudding is thick and has a strong pumpkin flavor).

Ricotta-Pumpkin Treat
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese (or 1/2 cup if you desire)
- 1 tbsp agave nectar (or your favorite sweetener -- honey would be delicious as well!)
- cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste

Combine all the ingredients except the cinnamon and nutmeg in a microwave safe bowl. Stir until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Put mixture in microwave for ~45 seconds (or until hot). Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

This recipe has 140 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, and 7 grams of protein -- so it is a very filling, rich, 2 weight watchers points.


Enjoy!