Have you ever noticed a natural shift in your food interests and cravings as the days get longer and the weather warms up? In a few weeks we will spring forward, turning the clocks ahead. Longer daylight holds the promise of spring and summer and always makes me feel happier and lighter. Is that true for you too? For this final post in my healthy food swap series, I'm talking about healthy dessert swaps to lighten up the sugar load.
A survey conducted last November found that during darker days, 79% of Americans crave more snacks at night. I know I reach for sweet treats more often in the winter months. And regardless of the season, an after-meal treat is almost a given in the Western diet. Lucky for all of us, many healthy alternatives exist – deprivation not necessary. Recipes like fat bombs and chia pudding, below, (and many others) can be found in my book, Gutsy. You can find more recipes for the items below online, or purchase widely available pre-made options.
Desserts
Now I’d love to hear from you. Please share your healthy food swaps or hacks in a comment below. Let’s share what makes your mouth water!
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NICE CREAM
Made from frozen bananas, nice cream is a dairy-free, refined-sugar free alternative to ice cream. It is a blank palette upon which you can create so many interesting flavors! It requires a little advanced planning to pre-freeze the bananas; I regularly cut and freeze my very ripe bananas before they go bad.
Serves 2-4
2 bananas, peeled, cut into 1" pieces, bagged and frozen
3 T cacao or drinking chocolate (I used Cacoco brand drinking chocolate)
Fresh mint leaves to taste
pinch salt
Other add-in options: 1 t cinnamon, or 1 t coffee grinds, and/or almond butter to taste
Place frozen banana pieces into a high-speed blender on highest speed, use plunger and plunge bananas until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you can use a food processor. Add drinking chocolate, mint leaves and salt (or whichever ingredients you choose) and blend again until well combined. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
A survey conducted last November found that during darker days, 79% of Americans crave more snacks at night. I know I reach for sweet treats more often in the winter months. And regardless of the season, an after-meal treat is almost a given in the Western diet. Lucky for all of us, many healthy alternatives exist – deprivation not necessary. Recipes like fat bombs and chia pudding, below, (and many others) can be found in my book, Gutsy. You can find more recipes for the items below online, or purchase widely available pre-made options.
Desserts
- Fresh fruit sautéed in a little coconut oil with vanilla extract and/or cinnamon (with a few drops of stevia or tsp. of honey if family members need it sweeter) and topped with some crushed nuts (and maybe a drizzle of melted dark chocolate?!). Try blueberries with almonds. Banana with walnuts. Nectarines with cashews. Figs with pecans. Pineapple with macadamias.
- Chia pudding (gets even better after sitting in the fridge for a few days)
- Avocado based puddings
- Frozen banana ice cream
- Fruit sorbet
- Fat bombs (great for keto)
- Nut and seed balls
- Frozen cherries and grapes (you can dip these in warm, melted dark chocolate too – a wonderful hot/cold treat)
- Or even just a square or two of organic dark chocolate. We recommend looking for 70% cacao or higher and a brand with as few ingredients as possible. Pleasure is about slowing down and savoring. Don’t “gobble” up a treat. Put a small bit of one square in your mouth and just let it melt. That one square can give you 5 seconds or 5 minutes of pleasure depending on how you enjoy it!
Now I’d love to hear from you. Please share your healthy food swaps or hacks in a comment below. Let’s share what makes your mouth water!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
NICE CREAM
Made from frozen bananas, nice cream is a dairy-free, refined-sugar free alternative to ice cream. It is a blank palette upon which you can create so many interesting flavors! It requires a little advanced planning to pre-freeze the bananas; I regularly cut and freeze my very ripe bananas before they go bad.
Serves 2-4
2 bananas, peeled, cut into 1" pieces, bagged and frozen
3 T cacao or drinking chocolate (I used Cacoco brand drinking chocolate)
Fresh mint leaves to taste
pinch salt
Other add-in options: 1 t cinnamon, or 1 t coffee grinds, and/or almond butter to taste
Place frozen banana pieces into a high-speed blender on highest speed, use plunger and plunge bananas until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you can use a food processor. Add drinking chocolate, mint leaves and salt (or whichever ingredients you choose) and blend again until well combined. Serve immediately. Enjoy!