Healthy Desserts

Desserts are often sweet, creamy and loaded with calories.  If you want to maintain a healthy weight, you may want to avoid it altogether.  But did you know that there are many healthy dessert recipes that can satisfy your sweet tooth without sabotaging your diet? Sweet Cherry Cobbler, Butternut Squash Flan and Apple Oatmeal Crumble are absolutely delicious desserts that provide nutrients and fiber to help keep you healthy and when using natural sugars from the fruit itself eliminates high sugar content.

A healthy, nutritious meal is not complete without dessert.  For many people, it makes the perfect sweet ending to a great meal.  So go ahead and treat yourself to some guilt-free desserts like dried fruit or fruit cakes, oatmeal bars or cookies, bran fruit filled macaroons made with olive oil & Creme not butter.

Think of Fruits and Vegetables

You can find numerous wholesome dessert recipes on the internet that can complement your healthy dinner recipes.  If you have a craving for sweets, search for dessert recipes that include healthy ingredients such as fruits and low-fat yogurt.  Fruits contain natural sugars and provide the sweetness you are looking for.  They also provide vitamins, minerals and fiber.  How's that for a healthy dessert?

Dessert recipes that contain pears, like the delectable Apricot Ginger Pear Parfait, are high in fiber.  Butternut Squash Flan will satisfy your sweet tooth while providing loads of the antioxidant Vitamin A.  The dairy in Strawberry Panna Cotta supplies calcium while the berries provide Vitamin C, antioxidants and fiber.  Pumpkin Pie is an excellent source of Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, minerals, dietary fiber and antioxidants.

Fruits and vegetables make healthy desserts.  Pineapple, pumpkins, carrots, sweet potatoes, cranberries, apples and bananas, among many others, make great desserts that are delicious and nutritious.  When it's apple season, you can enjoy apple pies, tarts and muffins.

Use Low-Calorie Ingredients

Many dessert recipes use high-fat and high-calorie ingredients like cream, cottage cheese, butter, whole eggs and sugar.  Find healthy versions of these dessert recipes.  Use low-fat versions or fat-free substitutions.  When baking muffins, applesauce makes a great substitute for oil while egg whites can be used in place of whole eggs.  You'll still get the same taste and texture but your dessert will be much healthier.

Consider Using Whole Wheat Flour

Whole wheat flour is not one of the ingredients you would expect to find in a dessert, but there are many recipes for whole wheat cakes, muffins and pancakes, turnovers, and cookies.  Using whole wheat flour instead of highly processed white flour gives the nutrient content of your dessert a big boost.  You may want to use a combination of whole wheat flour and white flour, or even masa or potato flour if so desired.

If you have a favorite muffin recipe, try modifying the ingredients used in the dessert recipe to make it healthier.  Replace some of the white flour with whole-grain flour, and use applesauce instead of oil.  Your muffins will stay moist, scrumptious and sweet.

Get Creative

It's possible to eat your cake and stay healthy too.  There are hundreds of healthy dessert recipes that can give you ideas for a sweet and wholesome treat.  You can add nuts, seeds, fresh fruits, rolled oats and other healthy ingredients to your dessert.  Natural sweeteners like honey and date sugar contribute nutritional value that you won't find in refined white sugar.  And finally, just enjoy raw fruit and some wheat bread: Apple or peach slices laid out on fresh baked wheat bread and made into a pocket by sealing it up with low fat cream cheese to hold it together.