Yep, I’m using whipping cream here.  All foods fit into a healthy lifestyle, but moderation is key.  Of course you shouldn’t eat whipped cream regularly, but if you’re making it while having a few people over for dinner, it’s okay to have a small dollop with some sweet, juicy strawberries.  And enjoy it.  To reduce the fat here, you just can’t whip up half-and-half or whole milk – it won’t achieve “whipped cream-like” consistency.  Unless you’d like to make your whipped cream out of lemon juice, water, and nonfat dry milk, as I’ve seen in other recipes.  For me, it’s just easier this way.

You can buy non-fat whipped topping as a substitute, but you should beware of pre-packaged foods touting claims such as “fat-free” or “sugar-free.” If something’s fat-free, it may be high in sugar.  If it’s sugar-free, it’s probably high in fat, or even worse, trans fat.  Just look at the product labels.  If the ingredients have hydrogenated vegetable oils, it may contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, even though the nutrition facts label states there’s 0 grams.  So just because it says “0″ doesn’t mean it’s not there!

So I’m just sticking with the basics here.  Fresh strawberries, dressed up with a little dollop of lightly sweetened, almond whipped cream.  You really only need a little to add some decadence to your berries!  Easy to make ahead for a party with no fuss, and beautiful if you use an assortment of fresh fruits.

Strawberries with Almond Whipped Cream

serves 16

1 cup cold whipping cream (or heavy cream)

4 Tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract

Fresh strawberries, hulled

1.  Place your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer for about 5 minutes or until very cold.  Place your mixer with the beater back in the stand-up mixer and beat the whipping cream until doubled in size and peaks form.  Add the powdered sugar and almond extract, and beat to combine, until stiff peaks form.  Do not overbeat, or your whipped cream can curdle.

Nutrition Facts per serving (1 serving = 2 Tbsp): 59 calories, 5.5 grams fat (3.4 grams saturated fat, 0.2 grams polyunsaturated fat, 1.6 grams monounsaturated fat), 2.3 grams carbohydrates, 0.3 grams protein.