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What might you have in common with Truman Capote and Liza Minelli? Dessert. And Barbara Schmidt, MS, RD. Several years ago she modified Truman and Liza's menus in the dining room of Cornell Medical Center in order to make their desserts more healthful. And she's still doing so today, in Fairfield County, for those of use who are not necessarily celebrities.
"Everyone loves to eat dessert," says Barbara, a 20 year resident of New Canaan who is the nutrition lifestyle program specialist at Norwalk Hospital, and who created its "Transformations" weight loss program. She also has a private practice in New Canaan. "In addition to the ongoing work I do with clients, I also help people learn how to adapt traditional dessert recipes into ones that are less caloric, lower fat and all-around healthier," a particularly hot topic this time of year.
And with the holiday season poised to declare war on waistlines, Barbara is ready to help you defend your personal boundaries. She will be giving a talk and demonstration, along with Norwalk Hospital's executive chef Jeff Schack (who also teaches the hospital's Healthy Cooking Class), about how to adapt holiday desserts, those insidiously delicious confections from sugar cookies to pecan pies and everything in between.
Barbara will address general modifications that are easy to make to desserts, such as cutting fat and lowering sugar and calorie content. And she'll provide tips on how to limit after-meal intake. Jeff will bring life to her suggestions by creating some delicious dessert treats that are calorie and health-conscious.
But perhaps the best moment of all will be when the desserts emerge from the oven, warm and fragrant, and the event's participants can dive in fork-first for a tasting. But don't worry: Barbara will keep the angel in your foodcake.
You can make some healthful dessert choices at Norwalk Hospital, at "Low Calorie Desserts for the Holidays," Monday, November 15 at 12 p.m. in the Richard S. Perkin Auditorium. For registration and more information, call Cindy Allen, at (203) 855-3547 ("Option 1"), or email nutrition@norwalkhealth.org.
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