Instructions: Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish or a 3-quart oval casserole with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350F. Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add noodles gradually, return to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, combine next 6 ingredients. Process until smooth. Drain noodles, return them to pot and add cottage cheese mixture and pineapple with juice. Blend with a slotted spoon.

Pour mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon, then with melted margarine or nuts, if desired. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 1 hour or until lightly browned. Cut in 12 squares and top with nonfat sour cream if desired.

Variation: Mix 1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries with 1 cup blueberry pie filling. Spoon on kugel before the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

REF: Shape Cooks : Recipe Makeover : Noodle Kugel

NOTES : Harriet Roth, author of: Deliciously Healthy Jewish Cooking(Dutton, 1996), substitutes egg whites, nonfat sour cream and cottage cheese and uses pineapple to replace much of the sugar. With a hint of cinnamon and vanilla, this is one low-fat dish you neednt make excuses for.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.