Healthy Desserts To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

When you think of dessert you probably think of things like cheesecake, ice cream and pastries. Sadly, these kinds of foods probably won’t do our waistlines and favours, that’s why substituting your regular go-to’s for these healthy desserts will let you satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt.

1. Banana nice-cream

So incredibly easy and effective. A couple of hours ahead of time, remove the skin from several bananas and break them into chunks before placing them in the freezer. Pop your frozen banana in the blender along with a splash of your chosen milk or milk substitute and blend until smooth. You can eat it like this or pop it back into the freezer to firm up a bit and have more of an ice cream facility. If you want to jazz it up a bit, add some dark chocolate chips or vanilla extract, you can even add some protein powder before you blend for a delicious post-workout treat (chocolate or salted caramel work great in this).

2. Fruit Salad

It seems like such an obvious one but it’s so often overlooked. The best thing about a fruit salad is that you can prepare in bulk ahead of time and dish out a portion whenever you’re craving something sweet. This healthy dessert can also be really inexpensive and tailored to your tastes, just pick up a bunch of your favourite fruits from your local farmers market and just chop them into small chunks and stick them in a bowl, simple!

3. Popcorn

What better than curling up on the sofa after dinner with a big bowl of popcorn and your favourite Netflix show? Buy popcorn ready-made from the store (pick one that’s super simple with natural ingredients) or make it from scratch with a pot on the stove and add your favourite natural sweetener. Popcorn is very low in calories and is a quick, convenient snack. You can also make your popcorn lightly salted if you’re more of a savoury snacker.

4. Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate has a multitude of health benefits: it’s full of natural antioxidants and there is considerable evidence that cocoa can provide powerful health benefits, being especially protective against heart disease. As far as healthy desserts go, this is probably the best in terms of versatility and portion control. You can eat it on its own; dip fruit in it; or even find deliciously flavoured versions (orange dark chocolate, yes please). It’s also very rich and intense which means a fairly small amount should do the job when it comes to curbing those sweet cravings.

5. Fruit juice ice-pop

This will be a life saver throughout the summer months: you can’t beat an ice cold fruity snack to quench the thirst and satisfy your sweet tooth on a hot summers day. Simply pour a combination of your favourite fruit juices (freshly squeezed if possible) into an ice-pop mould. Add some chopped up fruit to make it more interesting if you wish and then place into the freezer for a few hours, preferably overnight.

Desserts are often synonymous with guilt, but they don’t have to be. Make the swap from your usual cakes and sickly-sweet treats to these more health-conscious options to ensure that indulging in your sweet tooth doesn’t deter you from your health goals. Don’t forget, fitness is all about balance, these healthy deserts are great substitute for regular desserts, but it’s important to treat yourself every now and again and not deprive yourself entirely form your favourite sweet treats. I’d love to hear about what your healthy dessert alternatives are in the comments!

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