Southeast Asian desserts often lean on coconut, which is high in fat. This skips it. Peeled apple gets poached in a clear syrup scented with lemongrass and ginger, both kind to digestion. A soft, fragrant, fat-free dessert that feels light after a savoury meal. (I’d have reached for pear here, but pear sits heavy on my stomach, so peeled apple does the job and stays P1.)
Ginger turns up a lot in my kitchen, dessert included. It earns its place.
Serves 4. No fat to speak of, about 140 kcal per serving.
Phase & care: Peeled apple, honey, ginger and lime are all P1 for me, which is why I swapped out the pear (P2 and heavy for me). Lemongrass isn’t on my list but it’s a mild aromatic; leave it out if you’re unsure.
Prep 10 min · Cook 25 min · Total 35 min
Ingredients
- 4 firm apples, peeled, halved and cored
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
- A thumb of ginger, sliced
- 700ml water
- 3 tbsp honey
- A strip of lime peel
Method
- Warm the water, honey, lemongrass, ginger and lime peel until the honey dissolves.
- Add the apples, cover, and poach gently for 12-18 minutes until tender to a knife tip.
- Lift the apples out. Reduce the liquid by half into a light, fragrant syrup.
- Serve the apples warm or chilled with a little syrup spooned over.
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Pick firm apples and keep an eye on them. Poach too long and they collapse into sauce.
Stepan’s rule: Ginger and lemongrass do double duty: they flavour a dessert and they sit easy on the gut. When a sweet course needs aromatics, reach for the gentle ones.
The fat budget behind every number here, with 75 tested low-fat recipes sorted by phase, is in the book. Get PancreasZen: the patient’s manual.
Not medical advice. This recipe reflects one patient’s low-fat approach grounded in published guidance. Fat tolerance is individual. Check with your own healthcare team before changing your diet.