Just because the holidays are over, it doesn't mean you have to go back to a Spartan lifestyle devoid of treats. But - you'll want to start the year off on a note of good health too. This recipe takes the classic lemon square and shaves off both calories and saturated fats for a light, luscious way to perk up your taste buds and feel good about it too.

Ingredients:

 

Crust

• 1 cup white whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened

Filling

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• Lemon zest for garnish
• Confectioners' sugar for garnish

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350�F.
• Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with foil and generously coat it with cooking spray.

To prepare crust: 

• Combine flour, confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
• Add oil and butter; using your fingertips, blend into the flour mixture until evenly combined. The mixture will be a little crumbly.
• Firmly press the dough into the prepared pan.
• Bake the crust until just barely beginning to brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.

To prepare filling: 

• Whisk granulated sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until well combined.
• Whisk in eggs.
• Stir in water and lemon juice.
• Pour the filling over the crust.
• Bake until just set, 18 to 20 minutes. (The center should still be a little jiggly-it will firm up as it cools.)
• Let cool to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Gently lift out of the pan all in one piece using the edges of the foil.
• Cut into 9 squares. Garnish with lemon zest and dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired, just before serving.

Bethany Duffield - Lima

Bethany Duffield is a consultant at Story Consulting: Innovations in Global Public Health, and is based in Peru. She has been working in the field of public health for the past ten years, seven of which were spent in East and Southern Africa, two in the Middle East and one in South America. During this time her work has focused particularly on community nutrition, food security, gender roles and health education within primary healthcare. As a consultant for Story Consulting, Bethany has gained expertise in quantitative and qualitative research and contributed towards the creation of a new non-profit organization with her vision and management skills, laying the foundation for a new voice advocating for global access to primary healthcare and health education. Inspirational and thought provoking narratives exist and can be found by visiting www.storyconsulting.org.

Christine Palumbo - Chicago

Christine Palumbo is an award-winning Chicago-area registered dietitian, nutritionist and nationally known nutrition and health expert who partners with organizations to develop and promote balanced nutrition and active lifestyle messages. Her down-to-earth advice from the latest evidence-based research has been featured in hundreds of TV and radio programs, as well as magazine, newspaper and web site articles. Passionate about making healthy eating achievable, Christine shows how to make nutritious food simply, frugally, easily, and tasty. Christine is a columnist for Chicago Parent and a contributing editor for Environmental Nutrition. She's also an adjunct faculty member of Benedictine University. She's a lemon enthusiast. Her grandfather immigrated from Greece and he raised Christine's mother, who in turn, raised Christine on all sorts of Greek comfort foods with lemon sauce such as braised lamb with avgolemono sauce. Her Italian grandparents were also lemon lovers. Christine says she raised her three children on lemons and two of them are new parents themselves and believes the tradition will surely continue. Christine's informative website is www.christinepalumbo.com.

Corinne Dobbas - San Francisco

San Francisco based Corinne Dobbas is a wellness coach, speaker, and registered dietitian with a masters in Nutrition. Specializing in weight loss and wellness coaching, Corinne empowers people to make the healthy lifestyle changes they've wanted to make for years (but haven't). She's a regular contributor to various health and wellness publications, and her weight loss advice, recipes, and healthy living tips have been featured in numerous media outlets. Corinne helps her clients create a healthy lifestyle (they love) using a holistic, life-encompassing approach. Her website www.corinnedobbas.com includes excellent weight loss tips, wellness advice, healthy-living motivation and a free newsletter loaded with great information. Her mission is to help her clients feel good in their skin.

Jocelyn Black - Toronto

Jocelyn Black is a health coach based in Toronto, Canada, where she specializes in holistic nutrition. Motivating others to be happy and healthy is her passion. Having struggled with eating disorders herself, Jocelyn brings a sensitive touch to change management, and she approaches health and wellness with compassion, understanding and a sense of humor. She believes that to live holistically means creating a love affair with one's life, choosing whole foods that promote optimal health and working to achieve balance between body and mind. More information can be found by visiting Jocelyn's comprehensive website: www.aholisticaffair.com.

Megan Roosevelt - Portland

Based in Portland, Oregon, Megan Roosevelt is a nutrition expert and a fun-loving foodie that appears regularly on TV and radio as well as in print and on-line. She's also a registered and licensed dietitian known as the Healthy Grocery Girl�. She and her team offer nutrition services, education, inspiration and products that fuel and equip busy individuals to achieve their health, freeing them to enjoy and live a real life, rooted in their life's purpose and passions. Megan promotes a whole foods, plant-based approach to nutrition. Her recipes and nutrition tips are realistic and fun. She is on a mission to help people live their best life in full health, energy and passion. Her style, great ideas and passion for health are clearly evident by visiting www.healthygrocerygirl.com.

Minsoo Go - Seoul

Minsoo Go is a fitness specialist based in Seoul, Korea. She has written for HiDoc, one of the largest medical source web pages, and Monsterzym, one of Korea's most popular fitness forum sites. She notes that as a young girl, the only expectation of her was to study and says that young people in Korea are not taught that physical activity helps keep one's mind healthy. Minsoo has been sharing her personal story with others to raise awareness that it's important to lead a healthy and balanced life. She began getting serious about fitness when she was in college studying at the University of Texas at Arlington (she went on to obtain her MBA from Texas State University). She became a fitness instructor and began teaching various group exercise classes such as Zumba, yoga, kickboxing and weight training. She has also competed in fitness modeling competitions and has been very successful (www.linkedin.com/in/minsoogo).

Dr. Roger Adams - Dallas/Houston

Dr. Adams is a weight loss and fitness expert as well as a doctor of nutrition and is based in Houston, Texas. He is the founder and owner of eatrightfitness�, an evidence-based private counseling practice focusing on: weight loss, disease prevention/management, and sports performance nutrition. Dr. Adams believes no one has the same nutritional needs. Therefore, he customizes nutrition programs to fit the individual needs of his clientele. Dr. Adams works one-on-one with clients as they strive to meet their personal nutrition and fitness goals. In addition to direct nutrition counseling, Dr. Adams holds group nutrition education sessions and classes. He speaks at business seminars, health fairs, and non-profit organizations about the ever-changing field of nutrition.

Susan Dopart - Los Angeles

Susan B. Dopart, MS, RD, CDE, is a nutrition and fitness consultant who has been in private practice for more than twenty years. She specializes in child and adult medical nutrition-related issues. Before establishing her own practice, Susan worked at UCLA as both a medical and kidney dietitian. As a consultant, Susan has worked for UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Extension, the Beverly Hills Country Club, Sebastian International and Procter & Gamble. She has written and contributed to multiple publications, including The Huffington Post, SELF Magazine, UCLA Medicine, Best Life, Men's Health, and Diabetes Health. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics from UC Berkeley, Susan earned a master of science degree in Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine from California State University, Hayward. She is a certified diabetes educator (CDE). Susan is the author of "A Recipe for Life by the Doctor's Dietitian," a nutrition guidebook, resource, and teaching tool with cutting-edge nutrition information, and "Healthy You, Healthy Baby: A Mother's Guide to Gestational Diabetes." Her mission and passion are helping her clients find lifestyle solutions for optimal health and well-being.

Vilasi Venkatachalam - New York

Vilasi Venkatachalam is a Greater New York based registered dietitian. She has extensive experience mining fascinating nuggets about cuisines, cultures and cures from markets, bazaars, souks, roadside stalls and backyards and weaves them into "An Inspired Palette" (the name of one of her vitality and wellness programs) of personal cuisine and transformation tools. A popular speaker, Vilasi also designs dietary portfolios and menus for populations celebrating their cultures. The message in her methods is to do old things in new ways, new things in old ways, and become your own guru. Vilasi is a lemon fiend and says that in India, season for making lemon preserves, pickles and other delights is just around the corner. A treasure trove of inspiration can be found by visiting www.ancientwisdom-modernsolutions.com.

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