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kgstable · Jan 18, 2020 8:00 PM

Alrighty, everyone, as a culinarian I am taking a few Nutrition classes that talk about how to make the traditional American cuisine (or french, or other influences of American foods) healthier. I have a project coming up in a few weeks where I will have to make a 'healthy dessert' where I replace the ingredients (like processed flour, butter or fatty oil, processed sugars etc.) and make it better for you while tasting good still.
I have tons of ideas to execute for the project but I'd love to see what others have in their recipe book about healthier desserts!
Any kind of sweet will work! Share your recipe (if you want!)

I have a modified Sugar Cookie recipe that has a secret ingredient that makes it super soft and not too sweet because the icing is almost always the only sweet thing you need on a cookie!

For my project, I'm thinking of making Avacado brownies or honey sugar cookies (I'd have to think about how to replace or minimize the sugar to make it work, would definitely require some research!)

If you aren't a cook or baker post below what you've tried before or what you think might work or taste good!

TerreDesAnges · Jan 18, 2020 9:06 PM

I love playing with spices in my baking and find that they'll frequently make reduced fat & sugar content not missed at all. When I make brownies, I replace half the fat with unsweetened applesauce, cut the sugar by 1/4, and add spices; my current favorite blend is a heaping tsp of cardamom, 1/2-3/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne per 9 x 12 pan.

Katiedid · Jan 18, 2020 9:24 PM

Dates are a great sugar option, very underrated. You can soak them in hot water, until they're soft and then blend them up. It can be the consistency of thick jam or syrup.

kgstable · Jan 18, 2020 9:32 PM

@TerreDesAnges Oh, that sounds amazing! I'd love to substitute applesauce with strawberry pure and see if it works the same!

@Katiedid I agree that dates are very underrated, I might have to try someone day! I'm not sure how available they are fresh where I'm from but I wonder if dried prunes would sweeten similarly if they were blended up

Katiedid · Jan 18, 2020 10:10 PM

You could always order some online. Prune's do go well with chocolate. Any dried fruit can be used in that manner as well.

WhiteValley · Jan 19, 2020 2:16 AM

Substituting sugar with honey works well and is healthier. I agree with using dried fruits to add sweetness. When I use dried raisins, currants and sultanas in cakes I soak the fruit in cold tea overnight before baking which makes them nice and plump. Using mixed spice, nutmeg or cinnamon will also add great flavour to mask any reduction in sweetness. Also, substituting some of the flour with oats adds texture while making it healthier.

Herzeloyde · Jan 19, 2020 5:00 AM

Cool projects!

Here are some of my favourites:

Banana pancakes with fruit:

You need:
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 4 eggs

(cinnamon or cardamom to taste if you like spices)

Mix the batter and fry them. They are fragile unless you also put in some kind of four in the, but it is easy once you get the technique. If you want to make it easier and put flour in the, I can recommend buckwheat. Buckwheat is not a grain as the name suggest, but a nut, with good binding abilities. You can also use oats.

Serve with fresh fruits and dark chocolate

Sorbet ice cream

You need:

- Your favourite fruits or berries, frozen
- a litte bit of juice or 1-2 table spoons of honey to sweeten

Put everything in a strong food processor that can handle ice cubes, and enjoy!

Fruits in dark chocolate

- Dark chocolate
- Fresh bananas, oranges, strawberries, peaches, figs, mango etc.

Temper the chocolate and dip the fruits in it and leave it to dry. You can use toothpicks in the fruits to make it easier.

If you want to do something more fun out of it, you can drizzle different types of nuts (pecan, pistacchio, walnut hazlenut, almonds etc) over, or chilli, flake salt, mint leaves, raspberry powder etc over them before the chocolate dries.

Yoghurt with honey and nuts

- Greek yoghurt
- Acasie honey or another type of runny honey
- a handfull of chopped nuts of your taste, f.ex walnuts, almonds or pistacchio, or a mix

Put the yoghurt in a nice glass, put honey over, and top with the nuts. Easy!

kgstable · Jan 19, 2020 9:03 AM

@Herzeloyde Those pancakes seem so easy! I'll have to try those

@White Valley I'm going to be trying oat flour for some of this :D It's super easy to put a few cups of oats in the food processor and blend it up really fine!

ChateauAlbere · Jan 20, 2020 6:30 AM

I've seen some recipes where you can sub in greek yogurt for some of the cream cheese in cheesecakes, but have never tried them yourself.

I've also subbed unsweetened applesauce for sugar + oil in some recipes.

kgstable · Jan 20, 2020 9:59 AM

@ChateauAlbere Applesauce is so handy in the cake or bread world! I love it, you can also do different flavors of applesauce, theres cinnamon, strawberry, blueberry and plain apple sauce! I love it, haven't tried to greek yogurt yet but I've actually never made a cheesecake either

Ammit · Jan 20, 2020 1:48 PM

As someone who can't do much carbs allulose is my sugar replacement of choice. It works great.

kgstable · Jan 20, 2020 6:39 PM

@Ammit I’ve never hear of allulose

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