Healthy Dessert Ideas
Updated: May 1, 2021
If dessert can taste delicious and be HEALTHY, would you eat it? Of course you would. There's no catch. It's true. There are plenty of healthy desserts sitting right under your nose that you've probably never thought about trying.
Dessert is defined as a sweet course, such as confection, that is eaten at the end of a meal. Confections are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, and are often exemplified by baked goods and candies.
Well I have news for you. Dessert now takes on a new meaning: Healthy!
That's right. Desserts high in sugar and carbohydrates are out, and healthy desserts are in. If you are sick of how you feel after eating cakes, cookies, pastries, pies, candy, chocolate, and other sweets, you're not alone. Many people today crave a sweet treat to satisfy their taste buds after a meal, but don't want the side effects that come with the highly caloric, sugary, fatty desserts that they're used to.
Luckily for us, there are delicious healthy desserts that are
- Simple to make
- Fast to prepare
- Inexpensive to buy
and
- Healthy for you
I've prepared 5 of my favorites for you to try.
5 Healthy Dessert Ideas
Frozen Fruit (blueberries, grapes, watermelon)
Pop fresh blueberries, grapes, or diced watermelon in the freezer and enjoy a
couple of hours later. Other than allowing time for the fruit to freeze, it takes no effort to prepare. Blueberries are often sold for $2.99/lb; grapes for $1.99/lb, and watermelon for $0.99/lb. The fruit tastes better than commercial water ice, has none of the added sugar,
and is a fraction of the cost.
Chocolate Hummus
I recently discovered chocolate hummus, and am in love with it. I'm a big fan of hummus to begin with, but would never think of hummus as a dessert, until certain manufacturers released dark chocolate hummus. Dip fruit, nuts, unsalted pretzels, or rice cakes in the creamy chocolate hummus spread for a delicious, really good, healthy dessert. Trader Joe's, Cedar's, Sabra, Tribe, and Boar's Head are the most commonly found manufacturers. It can be found at many local grocery stores for $2.99 - $5.99 for an 8 oz. container.
2 tablespoons of the Trader Joe's brand yields 50 calories, 1.5 g fat, 0 g sat. fat, 0 g cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 5 g total sugars, and 2 g protein.
Banana Frozen Yogurt
This one can't be found in your local grocery store, and must be homemade. But the plain version only has 2 ingredients (bananas and yogurt) and costs less than $5 for 4 servings.
Instructions:
Peel 4 bananas and freeze them for at least 2 hours.
Add the 4 frozen bananas and 1 cup fat-free, plain greek yogurt to a blender or food processor. I recommend Chobani non-fat plain greek yogurt.
Blend until creamy.
Serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the freezer to be enjoyed later.
To add some sweetness, sprinkle some sugar-free chocolate syrup or peanut butter powder into the blender and mix.
1 serving only gives you 135 calories, <1 g fat, 0 g sat. fat, 0 g cholesterol, 29 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 16 g total sugars, and 7 g protein.
Frozen Fat Free Tapioca Pudding
Freezing pudding gives you the same great taste you love in a pudding, but extends the enjoyment by making it into a harder, colder form. Tapioca flavor is naturally sweet, and pudding naturally creamy, giving you 2 of the most commonly desired characteristics in a dessert. Freezing the single-serve, 4 oz cups of the fat-free variety from Jell-o makes for a delightfully cold, fat-free dessert that takes zero preparation other than the time it takes to freeze (about 2 hours). You can find it at any grocery store cold reach-in section, or purchase the cook and serve online.
One 4 oz cup has 100 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g sat. fat, 0 g cholesterol, 22 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 16 g total sugars, and 1 g protein.
Unflavored Popcorn with Seasoning
Unflavored popcorn is low in calories, fat, and sugar, and makes for a crunchy, light dessert. If you love popcorn, you're going to love making homemade popcorn with a variety of toppings. Best of all, it costs less than $1 per serving.
You can make your own seasoning at home. But I know you want simple and fast, and so I recommend seasoning kits, like this one from Kernel Season's.
As for the popcorn kernels, if you don't want to mess around with searching for the perfect kernel, any brand will do. You can't go wrong with Orville Redenbacher's.
Takes about 10 minutes to make 2 servings (7.5 cups popped). For instruction on how to make popcorn on the stove, go here. Most people have pots large enough to make about 2 servings. Adjust as necessary.
Per serving (3-3/4 cups popped popcorn and 1 tsp serving of seasoning): 92 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g sat. fat, 0 g cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 0 g total sugars, and 2 g protein.
Final Tip
Whoever said dessert had to be bad for your health to taste good was wrong. There are plenty of fantastic healthy dessert ideas that are also simple to make, fast to prepare, and inexpensive. But remember, just like everything you eat, enjoy in moderation. Just because one serving only has 100 calories doesn't mean you should eat 5 servings.
Nevertheless, I do like to indulge in a sweet treat every night after dinner. Stick to the healthy dessert ideas above and your belly will thank you.
For recommendations on starting to eat healthier, check out my guide, Beginner's Guide to Eating Healthy. If you have a great, healthy dessert idea, please pass it on by leaving it in the comments section or sharing it on our facebook page.
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