Guest blogger Andy Schreiber: As anyone who has ever tried to lose weight can tell you, "the holidays" are the hardest time of the year. It seems like every week there's some event that you have to attend where there will be all manner of delicious holiday foods that you just can't resist. To some extent, this is unavoidable, and in fact you should give yourself a little leeway to enjoy the festive offerings. Still, with a little creativity and forethought, you can make some simple substitutions that will not leave you feeling remotely deprived, but will not do nearly the damage to your waistline.

This week is the beginning of Chanukah (or Hanukkah, or any of the myriad other ways people spell it). Ever since childhood, one of the things I most closely associate with this holiday is latkes, or potato pancakes. Every Jewish kid thinks that his mother makes the best latkes, but in my case I happen to be right. The biggest problem with a good latke, when you're watching your weight, is that they are fried in a fair amount of oil. The second problem is that potatoes are nutritionally fairly empty, and can really pack on the pounds. My offering, therefore, is an attempt to solve both of these problems, and still come out with a product that is delicious enough to get the oohs and aahs that good latkes invariably do at a Chanukah party. Made with sweet potatoes or yams instead of potatoes, and baked instead of fried, they are a different but wonderful take on this holiday classic. Here's how to do it. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes or yams (I prefer yams, but either will work)
1/3 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup pulverized oatmeal (pulverize in a food processor to fine consistency)
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and grate them into a large mixing bowl. Don't grate them too finely, or you'll wind up with a mush pancake. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and mix through thoroughly. (I find that doing this with your hands works best.) Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray, and form the potato mixture into pancakes about three inches around, spacing them out on the cookie sheet so they don't touch each other. LIGHTLY spray the tops of the pancakes with more cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip them over, spray the tops again, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. The finished pancakes should be golden brown on both sides. Serve with nonfat sour cream and unsweetened applesauce. Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.

via VinnieBlog