Healthy Foods Series: Dessert!

So then, what do I do when I just must have something sweet?  Once in a while it happens, so here are my top 5 things I love to have for a health{ier} dessert.

#5  Make a healthier smoothie - 1 banana, 2 cups of yogurt, 1 cup of water, 2 cups of soft fruit and some fiber or flaxseed

#4 Make toast with whole wheat bread that has some fiber in it, and top with honey and butter or honey and peanut butter.

#3 Have a ramekin full of thawed frozen cherries or blueberries or fresh peaches or strawberries plain or with cream... no sugar needed, fiber included in the whole fruits.

#2 Make scones and serve with perfectly ripe fruit, a drizzle of warm honey and cream.  Scones: Mix 2 Cups of whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2Tbsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Cut in 1/2 cup of butter until it is the size of peas.  In a big measuring cup beat 1/2 cup of cream or milk with 1 egg and then add it to the flour mixture. Give it a quick stir, form a dough ball on your un-greased baking sheet, cut it into 6ths, spread them out and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Serve it warm with lots of fruit and only a little cream and honey.

#1 Send my DH out for baklava!!!

Image Source: Norwegian Wood Bakery

I use honey sparingly, but try to use it whenever possible for my sweetener because it is natural, has no funny disgusting taste or after taste, has a low glycemic value which means it doesn't tank my blood sugar and it's just plain yummy.

What are your favorite low sugar or low glycemic desserts?

Keep it satisfying,

Kristin

Quick Healthy Snacks and Give-Away Winner Announced...

Congratulations to Rachel! She won the chance to pick out one free item in my shop! Stop by her Little Birdie Blog to say hello and let her know I sent you.

Now on to the snacks...

Ok so we all know that veggies and fruit are great snacks for the kids, but we all get bored with the same old thing. Here are some ideas for healthy snacks that you may not have thought of (at least for a while) to add to the lineup.  Enjoy!

Image Courtesy Heartfelt3

Bumps on a log (Peanut butter inside the celery with rasins or crasins on top)

Apple or orange slices with cinnamon sprinkled on them

Apple with peanut butter for dip

Peanut Butter or cream cheese and any kind of fresh fruit sandwich

Garlic Toast on high fiber bread

Roasted chickpeas... My kids LOVE these!

Make fruit kabobs

Dark chocolate milk (Put 2 tsp unflavored fiber powder and a very little bit of cocoa powder in a cup and add 1 cup of milk a little at a time while stirring or put it in the blender... The dextrin is sweet enough to make it like dark chocolate... you can add more cocoa as desired.)

Mexican style dark chocolate milk (add cinnamon to the recipe above)

Image Courtesy Prrint

Frozen Pea Salad (Peas frozen - do not thaw, sour cream, salt, pepper, a pinch of garlic granules and onion powder. Add chopped salted nuts to individual portions if you like. Store any extra in the freezer or it will separate... and no nuts in the freezer, unless you like them squishy later.)

Green cheese spread and crackers (with fiber in them) or celery...  I call it 'Monster Goo'

Toss chopped tomatoes and lettuce with pesto (or mild salsa) and a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar and salt to taste for a yummy salad (freeze leftover pesto in ice cube trays for future use)

Marinate a couple of sliced cucumbers and a few slices of onion in a couple of Tbsp. red wine vinegar, salt, olive oil 1 tsp. honey and a little water for a couple of hours in the fridge Serve cucumbers to the kids, toss the onions (or eat them yourself ;)  This is quite refreshing on a hot summer day and also makes a stellar side dish to go with grilled burgers.

Make a healthier smoothie (Add to your blender 1 cup of plain unsweetened yogurt, 1-2 bananas, and enough fresh or frozen strawberries, raspberries or blackberries to almost fill it up and add some fiber powder. Blend. One banana should be enough sweeten the deal, but you can add the second one if your strawberries are super bland.) Serves 4-5 people.

Image Courtesy HaveArt

Chimichurri Hummus (1/2 a recipe chimichurri sauce blended with one can drained chickpeas - I haven't tried this one yet, but I did make the sauce {It's delicious!} and this was the application that immediately came to mind. Let me know how yours turns out!)

Banana Delight (Mash a banana and add plain unsweetened yogurt to taste then add some fresh berries, serve with chopped walnuts or slivered almonds on top)

Harvest a couple of home grown tomatoes or cucumbers... Serve with a sprinkling of salt and eat.

Split an avocado with someone, salt it and eat. (This is also good with a tiny splash of lemon or lime juice.)

Keep it Yummy and Healthy!
Kristin