Stealthy Healthy Desserts
Just Because It’s Dessert Doesn’t Mean it Has to Be Unhealthy!
Dessert- who doesn’t love it? The more sugary, creamy and decadent the better. However, as much as we all scream for ice cream, there are several unfortunate downfalls to imbibing in sugary and high-fat treats. My whole life, I never had to worry about what I ate. I had a high metabolism and always was able to maintain my weight, even when I treated myself to yummy things. However, after having my 3rd child, something crazy happened- I couldn’t do this anymore without suffering the consequences of my pants not fitting. Additionally, the bad part of high sugar treats for my kids is that they are not used to consuming much sugar because most of the time I feed them healthy foods and snacks. So, when we go out for ice cream or something else, I am dealing with 3 off-the-wall kids who I know are going to crash and be grumpy in an hour. Because of this, I try to find things that are delicious but also not going to make them feel horrible after.
Nice Cream
This vegan dessert is creamy and delicious, but doesn’t have all of the added sugar, fat and calories. My favorite is chocolate. To make, slice 2 bananas and freeze the pieces. In a food processor, combine the frozen banana slices with 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder and blend until smooth. Garnish with some chocolate chips (I use regular, not vegan) to make it extra special.
Fruit Popsicles
My kids love a delicious popsicle on a hot day. However, many of the choices at the store are full of high fructose corn syrup and food coloring (another mood and behavior trigger for many kids). So, simply blending some frozen (or fresh) fruit with a little fresh juice and freezing them into popsicles makes a great treat that you won’t have to worry about feeding your kids. To make blueberry frozen popsicles, in a blender combine 2 cups thawed blueberries, ¼ cup apple juice, 2 Tbsp. honey, ½ lemon (juiced), and a pinch of salt. Blend well, then pour into popsicle molds and freeze. If you don’t have popsicle molds, you can pour them into ice cube trays and use lollipop sticks instead.
Fruit Pizza
This is exactly what it sounds like. It is pizza, but has either a cream cheese- based “sauce” (or you can use something like Nutella) and fruit “toppings”. You can use a pre-made cookie dough from the store or make your own as the base (feel free to reduce the amount of sugar). You can spread Nutella on top of the baked crust or make a cream cheese sauce by mixing cream cheese with some vanilla extract and a little sugar. Then, top it with whatever sliced fruits you and your kids love.
Granita
Granita is a frozen sorbet-like dessert. When you make this yourself, you can reduce the amount of sugar to know what you are feeding your kids. This dessert is a bit more time consuming because you have to stir it every 20 minutes while it is freezing to give it that icy texture. To make, combine 1 cup hot water, ¾ cup sugar (feel free to reduce this to ½ cup or less), 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, and 3 cups sliced strawberries. Combine water, sugar, and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. In a blender, process the strawberries until smooth, then combine with sugar mixture. Pour into metal baking pan and put in freezer. Every 20 minutes, stir the edges into the center for about 1 ½ hours.
Meet The Bella Behind the Blog: Kristen Farley is a mother of three and a domestic goddess. She is a former teacher who enjoys spending lots of time with her kids, healthy eating, volunteering at school, and mommy blogging for the masses.
Be on the lookout for more of Kristen’s expert advice and brilliant tips!
