Talk to me about healthy dessert ideas!

Parent Cafe
1

This may get a little long, so, to summarize, I am looking for dessert ideas that are not highly-processed (the less processed the better), but it doesn’t need to be low-calorie. I am looking for things similar to dark chocolate and honey, but maybe more variety than just those two and in interesting combinations, to create variety. So, that’s the brief summary. If you are interested, the longer explanation is below.

I’ve been working for about a year and a half now to eat clean, in order to be healthier. I have pretty much gotten rid of processed foods in my daily eating, and I am extremely happy with the results :). The one stronghold that remains is desserts. I have a HUGE sweet tooth (probably above average - I can literally eat sweets for every meal), and that’s what actually jump-started me eating healthier - I just felt that I couldn’t keep going eating such crazy amounts of sugar.

Nowadays, it’s much better! I have been successfully eating only up to 25 grams of added sugar a day (AHA recommendation for women) and 35 on weekends. However, I still feel that many of the desserts I eat are highly processed, just not the best food for me.

I think I am at a point now where I am ready to start transitioning to healthier sweets. So, I am looking for some healthy ideas! When I say healthy, I don’t mean low fat. My weight is good, thankfully, and I am also pretty decent at portion control. So, I am not looking for some highly processed, low-calorie dessert.

Basically, I am looking for minimally-processed foods that taste like dessert and may have some nutritional value to me, rather than just being sugar for the sake of sugar. As an example, I have already thought of honey, good dark chocolate, and dried fruits. But I am looking for more variety or maybe interesting combinations of these ingredients (I am not a cook, so if it has to be prepared, it really has to require minimal prep time for me to do it).

Please share your favorites!

P.S. I know fresh fruit is a thing that a lot of people do. As much as I have come to love fresh fruit (and I eat a lot of it), I am not at a point where I am ready to transfer to fresh fruit for dessert.

2

I made a low carb cheese cake the other day that was really good. The crust was made from almond meal instead of graham crackers. It is obviously not low fat, and it does call for sugar substitute which can withstand baking, so not so sure how it measures up to “healthy” in your eyes.

There’s always my standby: berries and real whipped cream. :slight_smile:

ETA: Oops, just noticed your fresh fruit comment.

Also, you might want to notify a mod that your thread was double posted, so they can delete the superfluous one.

3

I’ll give this more thought, but my first thought is that you need dessert recipes with minimal ingredients - or more foods in their natural state ingredients - so, recipes that don’t include large amounts of sugar, flour, butter, etc.

What are your current dessert downfalls? Ice cream? Cake? Cookies? Knowing that might help us to zero in on desserts for YOU.

4

@Nrdsb4, thank you for the idea! I am not sure about the sugar substitutes, but I would love to see the recipe!

@abasket, I love candy bars, brownies, cookies, pies, cakes (when I say I have a sweet tooth, I really mean it). Again, it’s controlled, in that I stick very strictly to my daily sugar limit, but I just can’t help but feel I can be having something that’s not just empty of nutrition.

It doesn’t have to be a recipe, per say. It can be as simple as honey mixed with nuts or something - I am really all about the taste - if it tastes like a dessert to me, I will gladly eat it!

5

W has made a really dense chocolate hazelnut torte using 80% dark chocolate and no sugar, some cream and eggs. We have 3 shelves of cookbooks but she will know where to find the recipe.

Other than that, we usually avoid dessert or accept that most are sugar/carb bombs.

6

Banana slices, milk and whipped cream on top.

How about a chocolate zucchini cake/brownie recipe that is short on sugar and oil but high in zucchini and chocolate?

Or a sweet potato microwaved and then split open and sprinkled with a little brown sugar, chopped nuts and drizzled with honey. A little butter for extra richness.

7

Get a cookbook RIPE. I love desserts in it, mostlt fresh fruits, minimally processed, just combining lime, lemon or others to bring out the best fruit flavor.

8

Do you have the recipe for zucchini cake brownies?

All these sound great!

9

My D and her roommates make a healthier version of frozen yogurt. They take frozen peaches, honey, plain yogurt and a bit of lemon juice and process till smooth in a food processor or heavy duty blender. Eat immediately or freeze for later.
I like to have on hand from Trader Joes the dark chocolate covered almonds.

10

Here’s the brownie recipe - I reduce the oil by 1/2 and use applesauce - so, 1/4 c. applesauce and 1/4 c. oil. Reduce the sugar by at least 1/2 cup. Add dark chocolate chips to make more rich and chocolate-full! Choose to frost or not frost (to reduce sugar).
http://mommyimhungry.blogspot.com/2010/11/frosted-zucchini-brownies.html

Spiced Zucchini Cake - again, reduce the sugar a bit, increase the zucchini a bit, leave unfrosted to reduce sugar or use whipped cream in place of sugar
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/spiced-zucchini-cake/

And this one - a yogurt parfait that could be made with either of the above instead of carrot cake! Very delicious!!
http://cookingontheside.com/carrot-cake-yogurt-parfaits-and-the-morals-of-the-story/

If you’re like me, when you want dessert, you want DESSERT. So it doesn’t have to be a huge slice of NY Cheesecake, but fruit isn’t going to cut it!!!

And if you can control the portion sizes, then half the battle is won. Also, any of these recipes could be cut in 1/2 for smaller yield.

11

With so many fresh fruits this time of year, I’d go that route.

A fruit crisp with a simple topping made with oatmeal, some butter, nuts, and some brown sugar. Love a combo of peaches or nectarines with raspberries.

Grilled fruit like stone fruits or pineapple drizzled with some honey, and maybe a little marscapone if you want to splurge.

I can be happy with some plain yogurt with some fresh berries and some honey. Sometimes, I’ll make a fresh fruit compote with berries that are getting too ripe cooking down the fruit with a little sugar or honey. Great on yogurt - or ice cream. :wink:

12

Not sure it necessarily qualifies as healthy but here is an easy deliciously scrumptious recipe. I make it and I don’t cook.

1 trader joe’s frozen pie crust (comes pre-rolled)
5 or 6 ripe nectarines (or mixture of nectarines and plums)
Squeeze of lemon juice
Couple tablespoons each flour and sugar

Slice stone fruit into medium wedges (prob abt 8 per nectarine)
Toss with squeeze of lemon juice and sugar
Unfold pie crust onto baking sheet
Pile fruit in middle of pie crust
Sprinkle 2 T flour over the fruit.
Wrap pie crust around fruit to form a free-form tart (or galette to be fancy abt it)
Bake for about 40 mins.

For better browning of pie crust, you can brush it with an egg and little bit of heavy cream but that’s too much work for me.

YUM!!

If that’s too much work, cut nectarines or plums in half, remove pits, arrange in baking dish, sprinkle with sugar and lemon and bake. Simple and yummy. I promise you it feels like a treat even though it is basically just fruit.

Top with whipped cream or ice cream if you want to forget about the healthy part.

http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2009/06/pie-a-day-10-nectarine-gallette/

13

Almond cake with marzipan. Minimum sugar. The sugar is in the marzipan.

14

Coconut Macaroon cookies, shredded coconut, egg white, vanilla and you can vary the sugar to your taste.

15

Baked Apple Crisp. Apple and a bit of oatmeal, cinnamon, little flour, little sugar, and butter, mixed and put on top of the apple. It depends on how you feel you can add a scoop of ice cream. I keep it light on the butter, sugar, and flour.

16

Plain yogurt (I really like Teader’s Point Creamery brand from Whole Foods or Benoit Creamery)–I use a half-cup and add berries (strawberries or raspberries) and a half-ounce if walnuts or almonds (I break them up with a knife.) it’s a great dessert that’s low-cal and not too many carbs.

17

Panacotta and fresh fruit of the season, either in sauce or just plain fresh. Like passion fruit sauce. You can vary the cream to be milk and not be so rich, or add more clear jello. This is one of my kids favorite dish. If you make fruit sauce with more sugar then go light on the cream. If you serve with fresh fruit then you can have more cream.

18

I can’t believe anyone said that. Here’s what goes into cherry dessert, cherries, ricotta, sugar, milk almond extract, amaretti cookies, cacao nips. Almond anf cherry go together very well. Minimal starch and sugar. You wouldn’t think you are missing anything in a dessert.

19

I’ve made these pumpkin spice muffins countless times and they’re delicious. They’re also wheat-free, with minimal natural ingredients. I even make them for breakfast muffins, but they’re good any time. http://detoxinista.com/2012/10/pumpkin-spice-muffins-grain-free/

20

Ricotta cheese, cocoa powder, vanilla, and stevia to sweeten. Surprisingly good, on the South Beach diet plan. Very low carb. Leave out the cocoa powder to make it taste like vanilla. Freeze it for a different taste.