Your favorite desserts don’t have to be unhealthy! The Families.com Food Blog is full of delicious (and healthy) recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth and your dedication to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some quick tips to make your desserts healthier.
- Skip the frosting/icing and whipped topping. Top your cakes and cheesecakes with whatever fruit is in season. Create a rainbow of healthy fruit using red strawberries, orange cantaloupe, yellow pineapple or peaches, green kiwifruit or grapes, blueberries, and dark red cherries or grapes.
- Making a layer cake? Use sugar-free jam or preserves for that middle layer, instead of sugary frosting.
- Boost the fiber in your cookie recipes by switching a quarter-cup of all purpose flour with a third of a cup of oats. Fiber is great for your digestion and can help you feel fuller/more satisfied.
- You can save calories — and not lose taste — by taking a spoonful of sugar out of your recipes. Need to satisfy that sweet tooth? Add a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract instead. You can add extra vanilla to replace the sugar if the recipe already calls for the extract.
- When baking a cake, you can replace half the fat (like butter, margarine, or oil) with unsweetened applesauce. This will help cut down on calories without changing the taste of your cake (or brownies).
- Make sure the fats you use are the good kind. Switch half the butter or margarine in your cakes with heart-healthy canola oil.
- Swap half the all purpose flour in your cookies, muffins, and breads for whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour. That ups the nutrition without changing the taste.
- Love shakes and smoothies? Switch the ice cream for low-fat or non-fat yogurt. Use frozen fruit for an extra chill, and a splash of juice if your shake is too thick.