Healthy Plate: Frozen fruit becomes quick, cool summer treat

Frozen desserts are a great way to beat the summer heat, but the fat in ice cream makes it more suitable for an occasional treat than a daily cooler.

Icy fruit sorbets, on the other hand, rarely have any fat and are loaded with healthy nutrients, so there's no reason to feel guilty. Plus with a food processor you can easily make them yourself in just a few minutes.

The basic recipe is simple: Place about 3 cups of frozen fruit and a cup of juice (or a blend of frozen juice concentrate and water) in a food processor, then process until smooth. Serve it right away or transfer to a plastic container and freeze to enjoy later.

If you have fresh fruit, such as berries, rinse and freeze on trays until they are frozen solid. Larger fruits should be peeled, cut into smaller pieces, then frozen so your food processor can easily puree them.

Usually the fruit juice is enough to sweeten the sorbet, but you can also add a little powdered sugar or honey.

For a creamy treat, instead of using juice, you can freeze a cup of low-fat yogurt, then process it into the sorbet. Chunks of frozen banana also are good for adding a fat-free, creamy texture to any frozen-fruit blend.

The texture of canned fruits, frozen in their syrup, makes them an excellent choice for processing into sorbet. Fruits in heavy syrup work best, but light syrups work, too.

This strawberry-pomegranate sorbet is served with a splash of heavy cream, which adds a luxurious finish. The cream adds only a little fat, but if you want to skip it, it's just as delicious without.

Strawberry-Pomegrante Sorbet with cream

3 cups unsweetened frozen strawberries

1 cup pomegranate juice

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Place 6 small dessert dishes in the freezer to chill.

In a food processor, combine the frozen berries and the pomegranate juice. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Serve drizzled with cream in the chilled dishes.

If the sorbet has been stored longer and has become hard, let is soften briefly in the refrigerator before serving. If it has become granular, reprocess it briefly.

Servings ? 6

Nutrition information per serving: 95 calories; 45 calories from fat; 5 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 18 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 2 g fiber; 12 mg sodium.