Flan Week: Delicious Low Fat Flan {Recipe}

Editor’s note: This is the sixth post in our Flan Week celebration in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

I grew up in a Cuban household where food, familia, and fiesta were the main ingredients.  My father loved to cook and was frankly great at it. Being that I enjoyed and devoured every meal he created, traditional and non, I blamed the curves that were developing to the home cooking.  It wasn’t until later on in life that I realized I suffered from my own body image issues and did much in my power to erase those curves.  Today I am proud to say I am older and wiser and have made it my life’s mission to find the balance between health & fitness without losing the culture.  Like I often say, lose the fat never the culture.

When my dad passed away almost 8 yrs ago in my own desperation to feel closer to him I hit the kitchen. I never liked to cook and stayed as far away from the stove as I could due to fear that I would never cook as well as he did.  Although I would trade the kitchen to have him back just for one more day, I connect with him through cooking and ask him for tips on what to throw into a dish. I truly believe he guides me.  Today I must admit, I have developed a love to cook that I never imagined would.

The recipes found in my book “….Barbara por Atras” A Latin Woman’s Guide to Fitness are only a few of my favorite Latino dishes transformed to adopt a healthier life.  I like to keep true to my roots by implementing natural herbs and spices, cutting down on the fat, and thinking outside the box. It is with my greatest pleasure that I share with you my rendition of one of our cultures favorite: The Flan. I can assure you, not you nor your guests will ever think it low fat! Buen Aprovecho y Gracias Papi…..

Barbara’s Low Fat Flan

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1⁄2 bar of fat free cream cheese
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 can evaporated fat free or 2% milk
• 1 can fat free condensed milk

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat add sugar stirring occasionally until it caramelizes. Transfer the caramelized sugar onto a 10-inch baking pan and evenly spread throughout the bottom of the pan.
3. Place it aside to cool off.
4. Blend remaining ingredients in a blender until well mixed.
5. Once sugar is cool add blended mixture into the baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil, place in a “Baño Maria”* and bake for 1 hour or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once baked remove from oven and  ”Bano Maria”, set aside and let cool.
6. Place in refrigerator overnight.
7. The following day remove it from the baking pan by gently removing it from the edges with a knife, place your serving dish on top covering the baking pan and flip.
8. It’s ready to serve!  A perfect ending to a great meal!

*Baño Maria is when you place one dish into another with water in it. In this case you will fill a pan 1/3 its way with water and place the baking dish inside making sure the water does not spill into it. You are cooking with the heated water and oven.  Don’t ask, I have NO idea who Maria is and what this technique has to do with her bath. Leave it to us Latinos…..

With an approach centered on empowerment and self-acceptance, Barbara Trujillo-Gomez 
is one of the country’s most well loved fitness and wellness experts. Her message is simple: healthy is the ultimate standard of beauty. A fitness, yoga, nutrition and cardiovascular guru; the founder of her own fitness brand – B&B Fit; the author of the exceedingly popular “…Barbara por Atras” – A Latin Woman’s Guide to Fitness; and a leading expert on multicultural health and wellness issues.