Healthy (guilty) snack/dessert ideas?

fortally
fortally Posts: 78
in Food and Nutrition
I have a raging sweet tooth, but I'm also hypoglycemic and need to seriously clean up my diet. I just started MFP and so far am doing really well with eating healthier meals. But I was hoping for ideas for desserts or sweeter snacks to help satisfy my sweet tooth - something OTHER than fruit (which I already think I eat too much of).

Right now I'm avoiding adding sugar to anything (like in oatmeal or tea) and I am managing to stay in the green for the sugar column. But I seriously miss it. However - I really don't want to go the artificial sweetener and/or overly processed foods route (like fat-free, sugar-free pudding cups). Artificial sweeteners taste metallic to me and give me a raging headache. I'm trying to eat more whole foods and limit the processed junk. I know fruit is sweet, and sure a banana is great for a sugar fix. I'm just looking for OTHER ideas. Here's what I've got so far for "dessert-like" snacks:

cottage cheese w/2 tsp. simply fruit strawberry spread (I can ALMOST convince myself I'm eating strawberry cheesecake)
Quaker chocolate rice cake w/1T natural peanut butter (I can ALMOST convince myself it's a Reese's peanut butter cup)

You get the idea. Creative combos that sort of resemble the real thing (if you pretend REALLY hard) but are healthier. And I know, a rice cake is "processed" food and the jelly has sugar in it, but it's tiny amounts and I'm still in the green for the day. But does anyone have any ideas that are similar? Non-artificially sweetened desserts/snacks that are still diet friendly? I'm desperate! :smile: Thanks!

Replies

  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
    I've made these time and time again, and they are a healthy, satisfying dessert. I add dark chocolate chips to mine, but I'm not as concerned about sugar.
    http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/05/skinny-chunky-monkey-cookies-recipe.html

    All they consist of are oats, banana, peanut butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, unsweetened applesauce, and vanilla extract.

    I've also made a similar type of dessert substituting plain canned pumpkin for the banana and adding some cinnamon.
  • xscat
    xscat Posts: 80 Member
    http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2013/04/healthy-peanut-butter-cookies.html

    This.

    I halved the oil (Earth Balance, butter, whatever), took out the coconut flakes and added 1/4 cups of chocolate chips and an egg (for the moisture). OMG they were so good that the entire batch was gone within hours....

    But I guess portion control is important too XD
  • fortally
    fortally Posts: 78
    WOW - thank you!! Both those cookies look amazing. It didn't even occur to me to think cookies - I just assumed the sugar & flour would automatically make them a no-no. The great thing is that I have all that stuff in my house right now, so I will be making cookies tonight!
  • ashliejones13
    ashliejones13 Posts: 51
    a banana and two eggs beaten can be turned into pancakes :] so good with a little organic agave or light syrup!
  • Krikit34
    Krikit34 Posts: 125 Member
    My favorite:
    32 oz. container plain nonfat yogurt...mix in one pkg. of fat-free, sugar-free Jello cheesecake pudding mix. (Don't make the pudding, just mix the powder with the yogurt.) Tastes as close to cheesecake as I've found. Great with fruit. I freeze in in mini muffin cups for a cold treat during the summer.
  • Charlottesometimes23
    Charlottesometimes23 Posts: 687 Member
    A low cal very satisfying dessert that I like is to add some very well rinsed Shirataki (miracle) rice to a tub of lemon or apple and cinnamon 2% chobani yogurt. I sometimes add a dollop of full fat Greek yogurt to make it extra rich.

    Leave it overnight and it makes a large 'rice' pudding that is very filling and does not (I promise) taste of the Shirataki rice. The key is to rinse it well beforehand to get rid of the fishy smell.

    Another think I do is to blend a 250g tub of Greek yogurt with a 250g tub of cream cheese (reduced fat if you prefer as it reduces calories) and a lemon jelly (jello) made up with about a quarter of the amount of water that it tells you. I add a small can of crushed pineapple drained and pour it into pie dish. If you like, you can crush a few biscuits and add a little moisture (butter or I use the juice from the fruit) and press it into the pie dish as a base beforehand. It makes a delicious light pie. I've done it with strawberry jelly and fresh strawberries too. Yum. My husband loves it and he's not watching his calories.

    If you like cheesecake, there is a cheesecake group here with the most amazing cheesecake recipes.
  • Charlottesometimes23
    Charlottesometimes23 Posts: 687 Member
    I wish we had the cheesecake pudding here in Australia. The recipe above me sounds delicious.
  • DumbDoorKnob
    DumbDoorKnob Posts: 31 Member
    1 piece of Angel Food Cake (1/8 of the cake) with 2 tablespoons of Cool Whip. 165 calories. Super good.
  • MirandaDeCrane
    MirandaDeCrane Posts: 78 Member
    I buy Nutella in individual servings from amazon (18 grams each...a small spoonful or so) and eat that with berries or a banana. I am a chocolate lover, and HUGE fan of the Ferrero Rocher candies. I kind of feel like i'm eating a rich, cheat treat, but it isn't TOO damaging to my diary for the day :)
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    My latest fave (has a bit of sugar, but it's not like crazy sugary):

    Take 14g of Trader Joe's sesame honey almonds and 7g of Trader Joe's Roasted Coconut Strips. Put them in a baggie and beat them with a meat hammer just a few times til the almonds are in slightly smaller pieces. Mix into 1 container of Dannon Light and Fit Greek Toasted Coconut yogurt. It for REAL tastes like dessert. 200 calories, 9g of (heart healthy) fats, 14g protein, 20g carbs and 3g fiber. You could certainly do another pretty decadent dessert for 200 calories (1/2C of ice cream or something), but you're not going to get the same macro profile. Plus this is actually filling due to the protein, and you could easily eat just half of it and be satisfied from a sweet tooth perspective.

    (Oh, wait, I think that yogurt has a bit of artificial sweetener in it - that's not something I usually watch for and I missed it in your post. It's still delicious, though! And you could certainly do the same thing with another non-artificially sweetened yogurt, vanilla or something, you'd just have a bit more carbs/calories.)
  • aekaya
    aekaya Posts: 163 Member
    I love to make mango and banana smoothies with almond milk! It always satisfies my sweet tooth. I also do almond butter on toast drizzled with honey, or topped with sliced banana. You could also consider making banana ice cream, or freezing a banana, then throwing it into a food processor. It seriously looks and tastes just like ice cream.
  • aekaya
    aekaya Posts: 163 Member
    A low cal very satisfying dessert that I like is to add some very well rinsed Shirataki (miracle) rice to a tub of lemon or apple and cinnamon 2% chobani yogurt. I sometimes add a dollop of full fat Greek yogurt to make it extra rich.

    Leave it overnight and it makes a large 'rice' pudding that is very filling and does not (I promise) taste of the Shirataki rice. The key is to rinse it well beforehand to get rid of the fishy smell.

    Another think I do is to blend a 250g tub of Greek yogurt with a 250g tub of cream cheese (reduced fat if you prefer as it reduces calories) and a lemon jelly (jello) made up with about a quarter of the amount of water that it tells you. I add a small can of crushed pineapple drained and pour it into pie dish. If you like, you can crush a few biscuits and add a little moisture (butter or I use the juice from the fruit) and press it into the pie dish as a base beforehand. It makes a delicious light pie. I've done it with strawberry jelly and fresh strawberries too. Yum. My husband loves it and he's not watching his calories.

    If you like cheesecake, there is a cheesecake group here with the most amazing cheesecake recipes.

    mmm I need to try this
  • _rozamu
    _rozamu Posts: 119 Member
    What great ideas!
  • LCgymnast
    LCgymnast Posts: 258
    Have you tried any smoothies or shakes??
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Also, try Lundberg rice cakes. I love the kettle corn one with about a Tb of either natural PB or almond butter (like Justin's vanilla almond butter).
  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    I keep Dove Dark Chocolate miniatures and usually have one or 2 a day. 1 miniature is only 41 calories and dark chocolate is full of antioxidants

    On this forum if you do a search you will see a TON of people who have a problem staying within sugars myself included. Now you also need to understand that when this site was set up they neglected to not include sugars for natural foods. So every single thing you put in your mouth contains sugar in a natural form. You are only allowed a certain set amount of sugars obviously but what MFP doesn't tell you is that those sugars are the refined processed white sugars. NOT the ones from naturally occurring foods. I understand you're trying to eliminate sugar and I tried that also when I first started. I was gung ho and tried every substitute and cut out all sugar. I was miserable until I came across another person just like me who started a I'm miserable I love sugar thread. It was explained on that thread that its processed you don't want. So limit the processed white sugar products but don't count all your fruits and veggies. I'm not saying go gung ho on fruits and veggies but don't worry so much about the sugar from those things. If you start to limit yourself you will be miserable and eventually fail. If you reward yourself within reason you are changing your habits and there fore will change your life and succeed. Good Luck
  • fortally
    fortally Posts: 78
    Another think I do is to blend a 250g tub of Greek yogurt with a 250g tub of cream cheese (reduced fat if you prefer as it reduces calories) and a lemon jelly (jello) made up with about a quarter of the amount of water that it tells you. I add a small can of crushed pineapple drained and pour it into pie dish. If you like, you can crush a few biscuits and add a little moisture (butter or I use the juice from the fruit) and press it into the pie dish as a base beforehand. It makes a delicious light pie. I've done it with strawberry jelly and fresh strawberries too. Yum.

    Wow - I can't tell you how good this sounds. I love the addition of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. Does it freeze well, do you think? The muffin cup suggestion was also a great tip. Can't wait to try it!
  • cmbancroft
    cmbancroft Posts: 8 Member
    I love sugary things, but I've also had to get smart about them... Some of my go-tos:

    - 1-2 Tablespoons of Peanut butter for dipping apple/banana/crackers in
    - 1 serviing (depends) 75% dark chocolate bar, organically sourced to avoid all the bad things
    - Cookie dough Luna protein bar
    - Any flavor KIND bar -- I also love their new wider bars for breakfast
  • Mojoman02
    Mojoman02 Posts: 146 Member
    My favorite:
    32 oz. container plain nonfat yogurt...mix in one pkg. of fat-free, sugar-free Jello cheesecake pudding mix. (Don't make the pudding, just mix the powder with the yogurt.) Tastes as close to cheesecake as I've found. Great with fruit. I freeze in in mini muffin cups for a cold treat during the summer.

    Oh my...I will have to try this!! Thank you!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    My favorite:
    32 oz. container plain nonfat yogurt...mix in one pkg. of fat-free, sugar-free Jello cheesecake pudding mix. (Don't make the pudding, just mix the powder with the yogurt.) Tastes as close to cheesecake as I've found. Great with fruit. I freeze in in mini muffin cups for a cold treat during the summer.

    Oh my...I will have to try this!! Thank you!

    Yeah I wish I could find some non sugar free cheesecake pudding mix. I hate sugar free stuff too.

    I like plain Greek yogurt with PB2 and cocoa powder. Greek yogurt with fruit. Chocolate... lol.
  • Charlottesometimes23
    Charlottesometimes23 Posts: 687 Member
    Another think I do is to blend a 250g tub of Greek yogurt with a 250g tub of cream cheese (reduced fat if you prefer as it reduces calories) and a lemon jelly (jello) made up with about a quarter of the amount of water that it tells you. I add a small can of crushed pineapple drained and pour it into pie dish. If you like, you can crush a few biscuits and add a little moisture (butter or I use the juice from the fruit) and press it into the pie dish as a base beforehand. It makes a delicious light pie. I've done it with strawberry jelly and fresh strawberries too. Yum.

    Wow - I can't tell you how good this sounds. I love the addition of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. Does it freeze well, do you think? The muffin cup suggestion was also a great tip. Can't wait to try it!

    I've never tried freezing it but I can't see why not. It really is a delicious dessert.
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
    Great ideas here, thanks for sharing.
  • FatKidAtHeart88
    FatKidAtHeart88 Posts: 89 Member
    These ideas all sound so good! I am going to try the cheesecake pudding mix with the yogurt. I will see if my mom will eat it too!

    Ben and Jerry's sells individual servings of ice cream. I usually have one in my freezer as an emergency treat. That way I wont grab something larger that has more calories. Sometimes I just can't get away from sugar.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    I don't know if this fits into your dietary requirements, but I like chocolate mousse pudding.

    1 package Jello pudding mix (I like chocolate, but anything works)
    1.5 cups skim milk
    .5 cup heavy cream

    Mix everything together with a hand mixer for 2 minutes and put into single serving containers. Because the heavy cream whips up, it increases the volume so you get a lot more servings. It's like 140-some calories each for 8 servings.
  • Krikit34
    Krikit34 Posts: 125 Member
    I skip making the ice cream and and having to clean a processor. I just slice a banana in a bowl, stick it in the freezer for a bit (depending on how hard you want it), top with a LITTLE choc. syrup.

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