The 5 Best Healthy Desserts
14th Jul 21
We’ve all been there; we want to eat well and stay healthy, but the call of sweet treats knocks us off course. It can be difficult when sweet foods are so high in calories, especially if you are trying to lose weight. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as healthy desserts, but it can be difficult to know which ones count.
We’ve put together a quick guide on how to fit healthy desserts into your diet and what the best ones are:
Want to move fast? Jump to the right section below.
Where to Start
The best place to start is with calories. If you get your food from the shop, check the calories and find something that’s low and fits into your diet. Portion control is another way to get something you enjoy into your diet but not blow all of your calories for a day. Or you could make your own sweet treats and healthy desserts. That way, you can control what goes in and the portion sizes you eat, and you can even substitute ingredients for healthier options.
If you want some recipes to help you get started, Pinch of Nom is a great place to start. They allow you to filter recipes by calorie count, so you can tailor your search to your needs.
The Best 5 Healthy Desserts
Chocolate Brownies
When we think of desserts, something chocolate nearly always crosses our minds. When you are dieting, though, or trying to be a bit healthier, eating chocolate can seem like a big no-go. Getting those chocolate cravings can make it really difficult to stick to your plans, so why not try healthy chocolate? That’s where chocolate brownies come in.
Now you might be thinking they definitely aren’t healthy, but you can make changes to the recipe that make them healthier but don’t affect the taste. When you look at the recipe, try swapping butter for reduced-fat spread, or pick low-calorie cooking spray. The most important point, though, is to make sure you control the portions. If they come out quite thick, cut them smaller. If they are thin, you could cut them a bit bigger. Just think, the more brownies you have at the end, the fewer calories there are in each one. Just be sure to only have one at a time.
For a 59-calories brownie recipe, try it here!
Lemon Drizzle Cake
When it comes to healthy desserts, it’s not all about chocolate. Some people prefer chocolate-free puddings, but one thing is for certain, and that is that when you are trying to eat well, this can be at the sacrifice of good flavour. Lemon is a good option here as it’s strong and full of flavour. Like our brownies, go for the low-calorie ingredients where you can and for this, you can even swap sugar for sweetener. Check your portions, and you’re good to go!
For a 73-calorie lemon drizzle cake recipe, try it here!
Banana Bread
It’s the lockdown champion; Banana Bread! Banana bread is generally a pretty healthy dessert anyway, with the flavour coming from actual bananas. Again, go for the low calories ingredient options like sweetener, and of course, the more pieces you cut it into, the lower the calories. Eggs are good for you, too, so using eggs to bind your ingredients instead of butter can sometimes work.
For a 67-calorie Banana Bread recipe, try it here!
Trifle
It’s a British favourite, the trifle! On the whole, trifle is mostly fruit anyway, so when it comes to your jelly, you could try sugar-free jelly sachets and real, fresh fruit. Custard can be bought in sugar-free or low-calorie versions too, or try custard and fruit yoghurts as they can be purchased in low-fat options. For your cream, there is always the low-fat whipped cream, so grab that over the full-fat one. For trifles, portion size plays a key role as, unlike the other desserts, it can’t be cut up. You’ll need some smaller dessert bowls or cups. This way, you aren’t choosing healthy ingredients and ruining them by eating a big portion.
For a 64-calorie Trifle recipe, try it here!
Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
Finally, we have cheesecake stuffed strawberries. A bit of an odd one, but a good, healthy alternative to strawberry cheesecake. With this idea being based around individual strawberries, you’ve got your portion sizes sorted off the bat. Like the others, selecting the low-fat/low-calorie ingredients is how to keep the calories low here. Low-fat cream cheese and sweetener instead of sugar. Again, with the portion size being predetermined, it’s going to be hard to make one strawberry very high in calories as they are only small.
For the recipe below, the calories are higher than the other desserts we have suggested, but that is based on 6 strawberries (1 serving). If you want fewer calories, just eat fewer strawberries.
For a 107-calorie (6 strawberries) cheesecake stuffed strawberries recipe, try here!
Healthy desserts and sweet treats are out there. Finding one that suits you and your diet isn’t too difficult, but it can be hard to work out the calorie count at the end, and some people might not want to bake. If you are in the shops, always check the calories. At the end of the day, sometimes a small sugar fix is all you need, especially if you have a sweet tooth. If this is you, work healthy desserts into your diet instead of cutting out sweet foods altogether.
Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.
If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.
5% off
