By Bembu
Desserts often get put on the Do Not Eat list when you’re trying to lose weight. But you don’t have to forego the occasional sweet treat, especially if you have a sweet tooth. Denying yourself simple pleasures is a sure way to sabotage your efforts. You’re not a robot so don’t be so hard on yourself and have a sweet yet healthy dessert now and then for your best chance at success.
Parfait
Like Donkey says to Shrek, “Parfaits are delicious!”. They are, but many times they can also add to the number on the scale. However, these parfait creations are made from wholesome ingredients on each layer. Enjoy!
Photo: How Sweet It Is
Roasted Blueberry Coconut Quinoa Parfaits – Blueberries provide enough antioxidants to make this a healthy dessert option, but there’s also a nice mixture of other ingredients to make a even stronger case to have this. The quinoa provides texture and additional vitamins and minerals, the coconut milk will provide healthy fat, and there’s also Greek yogurt in play here for some added protein.
Orange Chia Pudding Parfait – This parfait uses chia seeds to give it some extra fiber and omega-3. You’re also getting a layer of fresh berries which is going to give you plenty of antioxidants. Banana joins the party so you’ll have additional fiber as well as a good dose of potassium. Fresh squeezed orange juice means you’ll top up on your vitamin C and have nicely balanced dessert.
Two Minute Apple Pie Parfaits – If you want the taste of apple pie without the time it takes to make one from scratch, this will get you there. They’re keeping the ingredients simple, and using a microwave to get it under the two minute marker. There’s also a recipe to make your own granola so you can have more quality control. They say to serve it with ice cream so consider using one of our ice cream recipes found on this list.
Oatmeal Peach Parfaits – The oatmeal won’t have you thinking about breakfast here, and this parfait is a great anytime dessert. They break this up into a few different recipes, showing you how to make spiced peaches, providing a recipe to make healthy granola, and then helping you to layer it all so it looks great and tastes the way it should.
Cherry, Walnut, and Honey Parfait – They recommend using nonfat Greek yogurt here, which is a good idea if you want to keep the taste up while keeping the fat content down. Cherries are a real superfood, and honey will provide the sweet without resorting to artificial sweeteners or sugar. Walnuts are one of those nuts that give you good fat that actually helps you to lose fat rather than make you fat.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is often used in desserts, and often mixed with chocolate. The nice thing is that peanut butter by itself is pretty much a superfood, so as long as you keep the other ingredients in line you’re on your way to a healthy dessert.
Photo: The Healthy House & Home
Healthy Peanut Butter Cups – Reece’s might have a problem if these peanut butter cups catch on. They pack a ton of flavor, but are mindful of your weight loss pursuit. They walk you through the benefits of each ingredient used, and have focus on using organic and all-natural ingredients where possible so you can avoid all of the chemicals and lab-created fats that come in store bought chocolates.
Low Carb Whipped Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe – What’s better than fudge? Fudge without the carbs, and with peanut butter added. They’ve got this whipped up so it has a nice consistency and they’re trying to keep it as healthy as they can, even suggesting that you use sea salt instead of regular table salt. It’s also pretty flexible, allowing you to add your choice of different ingredients including fruit, nuts, or coconut.
Peanut Butter S’mores Baked Doughnuts – S’mores in doughnut form and without frying? Genius! This is one donut you don’t have to walk away from, since it’s never seen a fryer, and it’s using as many wholesome ingredients as possible. The peanut butter provides a bit of protein and healthy fat, unlike most donuts that contain no protein and large amounts of fat. It’s a way to avoid a trip to the local donut shop.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars – They might not have the Oreo stamp on them, but these cookies pack a peanut buttery, chocolatey taste that will satisfy your craving for America’s favorite cookie. The use of coconut butter and coconut sugar really help to keep these healthy, but you will still want to watch your portion sizes, so make sure you’ve got plenty of friends and family around to help you eat these. Bonus: no dairy!
Chewy No-Bake Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Granola Bars – If you want a dessert that doesn’t involve firing up the oven, these may be an option for you. Dark chocolate provides you with antioxidants and is becoming more and more of a health food in recent years. The use of peanut butter automatically adds good fat and a bit of protein. And the granola gives this a nice crunchiness so you feel full and satisfied when you’re done with this bar.
Brownies
What’s more desserty than brownies? They’re decadent, they’re chocolatey, they make the house smell great. The only problem is that traditional brownie recipes will go straight to your hips. These recipes, however, swap out offending ingredients for healthier options.
Healthy Fudge Brownies – Usually you don’t see the word healthy paired with fudge brownies, so we had to look more closely at this recipe. She’s using tofu to give it that classic brownie consistency, and there’s applesauce mixed in there as well for sweetness. It’s best to use organic applesauce to make this even better for you. We’re pretty confident this will satisfy your brownie craving, and the best part is you won’t feel like you’re eating diet food.
