Desserts in many parts of the world are a must-have meal in every dinner. Although many people feel guilty about this little treat. Trying to make the dessert healthier by adding highly nutritious and delicious ingredients is a great way. Therefore, if you are changing your unhealthy regular diet to a healthy one. It does not mean you have to stop eating dessert as there many ways to make it healthy as well. Therefore, it is okay to have a sweet tooth and indulge in an amazing dessert as you eat clean. Try the useful tips below for making a healthy dessert and have your cake and eat it too.
- Experiment with new recipes
Do you find yourself thinking of veggies when you want to start eating healthy? This is common as most people rarely think of sweets or sugars while wanting to start a healthy diet. Importantly, as you try with new recipes, it does not mean that for dessert to be sweet it needs to be high in fat and sugar to taste amazing. Yet, there are many recipes that you had not known of that make healthy desserts. For instance, you can broil a pineapple or grill a mango to bring out their sweetness and serve with freshly squeezed lime juice or whipped cream. Other alternatives that are great to experiment with are topping Greek yogurt with fruits or fat-free vanilla yogurt with nuts. Additionally, a strawberry-rhubarb pie is a tasty recipe and healthier than other sugar-coated cakes. Ask for other recipes from friends and family and you can check food blogger sites.
- Avoid processed white wheat
If you always make your dessert with the processed white wheat it is best to switch out your flour. Try almond flour or whole wheat flour, and other healthier options that are available to you. Although they have a small effect on the taste of your dessert, it is the healthier option. For instance, the almond flour is amazing as it adds protein to your dessert meal. Hence it is better for those that cannot have dessert with gluten due to allergies. While using the whole wheat flour, you will increase your fiber intake which is important to your health. For this reason, you can experiment by using both flours to get the amazing nutrients of both worlds and for a more reliable consistency. More importantly, practice this in moderation, especially if you have kids until they ease into it.
- Use natural sweeteners
No matter the dessert you love to make, it is important to use natural options as sweeteners. In this way, you will benefit from the healthy minerals and vitamins instead of the calories present in the white sugar. Hence opt to use honey or maple syrup to sweeten your dessert. These substitutes are easy to digest, and hence they help prevent you from experiencing a sugar rush later on, and they keep your blood sugar more steady. Optionally, you can use no-calorie sweeteners, however, many people dislike using them. Therefore, you can try them if you want to cut down the calorie intake in your dessert. Fortunately, you do not have to change the recipe when you use no-calorie sweeteners as they measure cup for cup with white sugar.
- Instead of oil use apple sauce
Since everyone needs to enjoy what they are eating. As you make your healthier changes, make them more realistic to still have your dessert tasty. For instance, when you use applesauce to replace high-fat oils like vegetable oils, you benefit from the nutrients and it is tasty even for the kids. Start with sweetened apple sauce, then shift to unsweetened apple sauce gradually. The applesauce just like the oil, adds flavor and moisture and it is amazing to try in muffins, bread, and cakes. Therefore, try this hack and lower your calorie and fat intake, and up your consumption of vitamin C. As you use the apple sauce for your recipe, for every cup of oil use ¾ of a cup of apple sauce for a nutritious and lighter option.
- Use bananas to make ice cream
At times it is best to get creative especially when ice-cream is your favorite dessert. Plus, while you make ice cream out of bananas, it is healthy for you and your kids as well. Shift from the dairy and processed sugar and get your ice cream treat by using frozen bananas. The procedure is simple, and anyone can try it at home. The simplest way is freezing the bananas overnight and blend them after mixing with the flavor you wish. For instance, you can use vanilla, cocoa powder, or fruit-like flavor. Then top using nuts, dried fruit, or dark chocolate just as you would the normal ice cream. This is an amazing alternative if you love frozen treats and it tastes just like ice cream.
- Use coconut oil instead of butter
Using coconut oil instead of butter is a great way to transform your homemade desserts. Through this, you transform them into guilt-free healthy foods in disguise as any foods that need butter you use coconut oil. Although at room temperature they are both solid. Coconut oil is low in sodium and contains Lauric acid. The Lauric acid helps aid in weight loss and lower cholesterol as it is a healthy saturated fat. Thus as you craft, your healthy desserts try this option and you will love the outcome.
To sum up, dessert is always the best part of a meal. Although most of the usual ones may affect your health and weight. Many people are shifting to healthier options with a slight change in ingredients. Among the above useful tips, there are a lot of others that many people use. For instance, to get heavy cream you use evaporated skim milk. Therefore, it is important to not skip dessert as the above tips will make you indulge in your dessert without feeling guilty.
