Since the start of my healthy living journey, my approach to dessert has transformed completely. During the earlier days of my journey when I was losing weight, I was all over desserts deemed low-calorie or low-fat. Skinny Cow ice cream bars were my jam and I spent way too much money on those Weight Watchers dessert pots. Moving a few years on, I became more clued up about ingredients in foods. I tried to eat a more of a ‘clean’ (i.e. unprocessed & natural) diet and my dessert choices reflected that. I opted for desserts made from natural ingredients which were low in oils & refined sugars and also made from alternative flours. ‘Nice cream’, also known as banana soft serve (i.e. frozen bananas blended with a few tablespoons of milk)? Oh heck yes! Chocolate cake containing black beans? Extra fibre is what I’m talking about. Energy bars bursting with dates & nuts? Squeaky clean so I’ll take 2. Gluten-free tarts made from almond flour? Let’s do it!
Eleven years into my journey and my dessert choices have taken a full 180. These days when I crave dessert, I rather eat the real deal and savor it guilt-free, whether that’s chocolate cake made from all-purpose flour, butter-filled cookies, or ice cream containing heavy cream. While that’s probably contradictory to what you’d expect from a nutrition specialist, I’ll explain my reasons:
1) When I indulge in the real deal, I almost always end up eating less: a few bites are enough to satisfy me most of the time, even more so when it’s a rich dessert.
2) I am more likely to nip the craving in the bud and move on with my life. While in a dream world we’d be able to satisfy our chocolate cake craving by eating avocado, in reality that’s far from the case. More often than not, attempting to kill a craving with healthy alternatives tends to leave us feeling unsatisfied and reaching for more…not to mention still fixated on the initial craving.
3) Although nutritious, most healthy desserts tend to be a calorie-bomb in their own right. Often containing ingredients like dates, almond flour, nuts, seeds and avocado even a small portion ends up being calorie-dense. Just because they’re healthy doesn’t mean you can go to town with how much you’re eating, even more so if you’re trying to lose weight.
4) Sure I eat chocolate daily but a proper dessert? A couple of times a week at the most. And given that, I think the rest of my week of eating a nutritious diet helps balance out the not-so-healthy treats.
That being said, of course I’ll still eat “healthy” desserts…BUT only if they actually taste delicious. And I mean they gotta be legit or I rather not bother. A perfect example of the former are these Peanut Butter & Banana Muffin Bites I experimented with last week. Vegan, gluten-free (if you use GF oats) & low in sugar, these bad boys hit the spot every time!
Whether you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth or want a lil pre-workout snack, these are for YOU! And of course if peanut butter isn’t your jam, our friendship is questionable either replace it with another nut/seed butter or eat the muffin bites naked. You guys, I know dessert so take my word & GO MAKE THESE PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA MUFFIN BITES NOW!
[yumprint-recipe id=’24’]What’s your take on “healthy” dessert?
What’s your favourite not-so-healthy dessert? Ice cream wins for me any day!
Oh yum, they look so good and how delicious is the combo of peanut butter and bananas??
I love all kinds of healthy bars/bites with nuts, dates, dreid fruit and stuff. I usually just read the ingredients at the store and then make them myself 🙂
The real thing is Swiss chocolate of course. Or Momma’s chocolate cake. A sin that is worth every gram of sugar!
Oh wow- any chance Momma will be willing to share the recipe ;)??
http://fitswisschick.com/2013/02/05/tuesday-recipes-moms-original-chocolate-cake-healthified-version/
🙂
100% agree with everything you said about dessert! As much as I love healthier baking, it’s not usually as satisfying as the real deal and I can eat twice as much 😆 Gotta keep things balanced. That being said, I definitely couldn’t live without [nut] butter and bananas. Match made in heaven!
You and me both…but then again, there are very few foods that nut butter doesn’t pair well with ;)!
You are so right – when you eat a ‘real’ dessert, a few bites always satisfys me!
I still avoid gluten as I feel a million times better when I don’t eat it but I don’t feel the guilt any more if I have a GF brownie or cake. I just split what I want when I want with david, unless its froyo or ice cream, then that’s all mine!
Haha I feel you, ain’t nobody taking my ice cream/fro yo!!
Mmm, peanut butter and bananas equals a match made in heaven. Toss is some chocolate and you’ve got yourself a rather appealing threesome.
I’m all about the eating the real deal, whether it be dessert, dairy or anything else. A little bit goes a long way when it’s the real thing.
You’re so right, especially about full-fat dairy versus the low-/non-fat varieties!!
Oh girl, you know I’m right there with you! I would much rather have a rich, decadent dessert once a week than Weight Watcher’s every night (although I have definitely fallen victim to the latter, too!). It’s funny that you mention the point about “healthified” desserts not really being any better for you. This weekend, I happened to see a war on Facebook between a nutritionist, who posted a recipe for “healthy fudge guaranteed to help you lose weight” and a bunch of strength coaches. The recipe called for a cup of coconut oil and was almost 3000 calories, but would have barely produced enough for eight serves. While it had healthier ingredients, there was really no difference in calories between her fudge and regular old fudge. It’s funny how most people don’t realise that!
These look very tasty! And I love pb too 🙂
I’m all about a delicious healthy dessert. How can you go wrong with a PB and banana combo?!
Agreed- it’s a match made in foodie heaven :P!
These look delicious! I love baking with oat flour.
Hope you try it out :D!