Did you know that many recipes can be made low fat by adding applesauce, pearsauce or prune puree in place of the oil or butter? It's true! Taking out the fat does affect the texture in most cases, and not every recipe can be adapted, but you still retain the moistness that oil or butter imparts.

The recipe below is one that I adapted from a recipe my Grandmother gave me years ago. If you want to make the original recipe, replace the applesauce with margarine, and use whole milk instead of the non-fat.

Old Fashioned Low Fat Berry Cobbler

2 cups Flour

1/2 cup Applesauce or Pearsauce (I like to use home made unsweetened, plain)

1 tsp. Salt

1 cup Non-Fat Milk

2 cups sugar

2 cups Boiling Water

2 tsp. Baking Powder

2 cups Berries, fresh or frozen thawed, any one or combination Blueberry, Blackberry, Marion Berry, Logan Berry or Raspberry

Cream 1 cup of the sugar with the applsauce. Add flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Pour into 9x13 baking dish lightly coated with low fat non stick cooking spray. Sprinkle berries over top of batter, sprinkle with remaining sugar. Pour on boiling water all at once. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.

Try replacing the oil in packaged mixes for muffins and cakes with applesauce, pear sauce or prune puree. Because the oil helps bind the flour, be prepared for a loose, crumbly texture that is very moist. I don't suggest doing this if you need it to hold it's shape.