Desserts are THE symbol of high-calorie and high-fat meals. But have you ever thought about how healthy they can be, which ones are quite healthy and how you could make the others healthier? Everything that contains lots of fruit, little fat (like cream or mascarpone) and sugar is already healthy. For the not yet healthy recipes that you don't want to do without, try the following tips!
1. Add some fruit Fruit is one of the healthiest food groups you can get. Experts recommend that we should eat at least five portions of fruit or vegetables every day. You can, for example, make a fruit salad. Choose fruits of different colors so that you get a nice colorful mix, add a bit of pure fruit juice (non-sweetened, 100% fruit juice), maybe a few raisins, arrange it in a pretty dessert plate, sprinkle some chopped nuts or almond flakes over it - and in a short time you have the healthiest dessert possible. If you include apples, bananas and oranges, you have already done something excellent for your attempt to lose weight because all of them are great fat and calorie burners.
2. Reduce fat Yes, many desserts contain quite a bit of fat in form of cream or high fat cheese types like mascarpone. Never mind, you can solve that problem quite easily. Simply use low-fat or fat free milk instead of full cream milk for your vanilla sauce or cream, and replace the fatty cheese with low-fat smooth cottage cheese or ricotta. It will still taste great. In many baking recipes you can use margarine instead of butter. It still contains quite a bit of fat but vegetable fats are healthier than animal fats. Check on the bucket if the margarine is suitable for baking. Yoghurt mixed with fresh fruit or home made jam also makes a nice dessert. Just make sure you use low-fat yoghurt and that it's not sweetened. A great basis for fruit shakes is buttermilk which is also low in fat compared to other dairy products.
3. Reduce sugar As long as the sugar is not an essential part of the recipe, you can just simply reduce the amount of sugar. A good alternative is to use natural sweeteners like fructose, honey or maple syrup. They are not necessarily very nutritious but still contain more nutrients than white sugar which is just "empty calories". Adding dried fruit like raisins or even fresh fruit is certainly the best way to reduce sugar. Many fruits are naturally sweet and you don't need to add extra sugar.
You see, it's really easy! Eating healthy does by no means mean that you need to sacrifice the joys of an intriguing dessert every now and then. If you just have a mascarpone trifle every now and then for a special occasion, that most definitely won't harm your health, so don't stress too much about it if you don't need to closely watch your weight. But if you can make it healthy, why should you not?
Bettina Berlin is a health professional specializing in healthy nutrition and quick cooking. Eating healthy and thus maintaining a healthy weight can significantly improve your health and help prevent many diseases. Is your life so hectic that preparing healthy food often seems impossible? Then visit http://www.elishas-quick-recipes.blogspot.com TODAY and get your FREE fast cooking tips and much delicious quick easy recipes!
