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Quick Tips For Healthier Desserts

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.

  1. 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.
  2. Making a layer cake? Use sugar-free jam or preserves for that middle layer, instead of sugary frosting.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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).
  6. Make sure the fats you use are the good kind. Switch half the butter or margarine in your cakes with heart-healthy canola oil.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.