Heart-healthy Trifle

Last summer, my slender, healthy-eating father had to undergo quadruple bypass surgery. In spite of all he's always done to keep healthy, genetics caught up with him. In the aftermath, we've all adjusted our eating to be more heart health -- less sodium and less fat.

This dessert is one I tried for Christmas and it was a huge success -- no one missed a single bit of fat from this concoction. I suggest preparing it at least 24 hours in advance so all the flavors can really meld, and it can be made as much as 48 hours in advance as well.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of low fat pound-cake (or if you want to be SUPER healthy, get a ring of angel-food cake)
If berries are fresh and in season, get 16 ounces of strawberries, 1 pint of blueberries, 1/2 pint of raspberries and 1/2 pint of blackberries.
If berries are NOT in season, get 2 large bags of frozen mixed berries
3 -4 bananas, cut into thin slices
1/3 cup of sugar or splenda
2 boxes of fat free vanilla pudding mix (can also get fat free/sugar free if you so desire) -- make them according to the directions with either skim or 1% milk
1 can of fat-free whipped cream

Put all the berries and the sugar or splenda into a sauce pot and turn the heat onto medium. Cook and stir frequently, until they start to soften and fall apart. Take the berry mixture off the heat before the berries lose all shape -- you want chunks of berry in the trifle.

Slice the cake into 1/3-ish inch thick slices.

Line the bottom of the trifle dish with cake, spoon 1/3 of the berry mixture over it, spreading it so that all the cake is covered, add a layer of banana slices, and then spoon 1/3 of the pudding over the berries. Repeat these layers twice. Cover the top layer of pudding with whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24-48 hours, and then spoon out servings that go all the way from the bottom to the top and enjoy!