Whether you’re using a box of banana Jell-O filling for a cream pie or whipping up parfaits for dessert, the world of pudding includes much more than just the basic varieties of chocolate and vanilla. In the past, the most common way to prepare pudding was to mix ingredients with a grain product or other binding material (like flour, butter, eggs or cereal) to create a solid product. Nowadays, people boil, steam or bake creamy and thickened puddings from scratch.

A couple of ways to step outside of your pudding comfort zone include:

1) Fruit Bread Puddings

To create a new pudding, you may add tropical juices and other fruits to elevate the taste and texture of your recipes. For example, Fruity Bread Mango Pudding may contain Rubicon mango exotic juice drink paired with dried cranberries and mango.

2) Yam (or Sweet Potato) Pudding

Around the holidays, candied yams and sweet potato pie are popular desserts. You probably don’t think of yams and sweet potatoes as creating satisfying puddings, but these healthy starches offer quite a taste and consistency with common ingredients, such as butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, grated lemon peel, and slivered almonds.

3) Steamed Fruit Puddings

Boiling water is used as a method of preparing steamed puddings, where cranberries, plums and apples serve as common ingredients. Known as a popular sweet treat in England, Devon’s Georgie Porgies Puddings offers two tempting steamed fruit selections: Orange & Cointreau (an orange flavored triple sec liquor) and Cider & Apple (contains West Country cider and apples). For a holiday twist, use canned or fresh pumpkin puree to create a steamed pumpkin pudding, which tastes heavenly with a whipped cream or brandy sauce topping.

4) Latin American Rice Pudding

Take a page from Latin American and Caribbean cookbooks by preparing a rice pudding called “arroz con leche” (rice with milk). When preparing this sweet treat, the typical list of ingredients differ per country. In Chile and Mexico, the pudding contains raisins soaked in sherry wine or tequila. Colombians soak their raisins in red wine, rum or pisco – Peruvian liquor distilled from grapes. Anise seed adds a touch of licorice to the Cuban version of arroz con leche. In Peru, it is not uncommon to find shredded coconut or walnuts added to the pudding.

Looking for some old-fashioned comfort food to fill your tummy as you sit by a fire with a good book? Search no further. Yams or other winter squash make this aromatic and delicious cold-weather dish more nutritious.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
· 3½ cups whole milk, divided
· ½ cup short-grain brown rice
· ¼ teaspoon sea salt
· 1½ cups peeled and diced yams
· 3 large eggs
· ¼ cup honey
· 1 tablespoon vanilla
· ½ teaspoon cinnamon
· ¹/³ cup dried cranberries

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups of the milk, brown rice, and salt. Heat to almost boiling then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Stir in the yams and continue to cook, also covered, until yams are tender and rice is creamy and thick, about another 30 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ½ cup milk, eggs, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Stir in cranberries. Gradually stir this mixture into the hot rice mixture and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

About: Chef Patty James is the co-author of  the new book More Vegetables, Please!  Throughout the book the authors, doctor and nutrition specialist Elson Haas and natural chef Patty James, offer suggestions for changing the way the vegetables are prepared, how to make healthy dishes more appealing to picky eaters, and point out which recipes are especially fun for kids who want to help in the kitchen. The book contains delicious, vegetable rich desserts that are perfect for the winter holidays.