"Baked" Pears with Honey and Cinnamon

While reading the November/December issue of Weight Watchers Magazine, I stumbled upon an article written about the different types of pears and ideas on how to use them.  Of course the easiest recipe stuck out to me and I had to give it a try!  The article recommended using Bosc pears due to their spicy honey taste.  I had Bartlett pears on hand, so I just went with that. 

I cut a pear in half, cored it, poked a few holes in it, and wrapped it in some parchment paper.  I put it on a microwave-safe plate and heated it for 2 and a half minutes.  I then put it in a bowl, drizzled some honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  It was so delicious!

I've tried a couple variations over the next few nights.  I tried just wrapping the pear in parchment paper and microwaving it.  But a lot of juices leaked out and got all over my microwave, so I recommend putting it on a plate before microwaving.  I tried leaving the pear on the plate to eat it, but it scooted all over the plate every time I tried to cut a bite with my spoon, so I determined that a bowl is the best vessel for eating this treat.  I  sprinkled pumpkin pie spice on the pear one time, but I like the taste of cinnamon on the pear the best.  These taste so good that I'm tempted to "bake" the second half of the pear, but I do restrain myself.  One half of the pear is really an adequate snack.

For those who are eating low-carb foods, fresh fruit is an excellent choice.  Four ounces of fresh fruit is about 15 grams of carb.  A nutritionist at Children's Hospital told us that a tennis-ball sized piece of fresh fruit is about 4 ounces.  Even with this helpful hint, I was still too nervous to try serving fresh fruit to Michael at his meals without measuring it out.  Therefore, recently, we used a gift card at Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase a food scale.  This makes measuring fresh fruit so easy!  The food scale we chose is simple to use (a must-have for me!) and sleek in its design (so it's not clunky on my counter top).  I weighed half a pear as I was preparing this treat the other night.  It weighs in at just under 4 ounces, making it a good snack choice. 

And if you'd like to omit the honey, I promise you won't be missing anything!  The honey adds a nice touch, but it's definitely not needed.  The pears I picked out were ripe and sweet enough on their own.  More of the juices were released when microwaved, which makes the pears taste sweeter.  This would be a great snack option, with or without honey.

I hope you'll give these a try.  I know I'll be buying more pears on sale at the grocery store this week. Michael is in a fresh fruit mood these days, and although his first preference is an orange, he always asks for a bite of my pear. I'm toying with the idea of serving him a "baked" pear without honey as part of his dinner.

Thanks for checking in and I hope you enjoy the pears if you choose to give them a try!

Much love,  Reba