Healthy desserts please?

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eating4balance
eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
Hello everyone. (If you don't want to read my BIG explanation below, I just need some healthy cookie and muffin recipes... preferably delicious ones! Thanks)

I want to start off saying that I love to bake, I love cooking, and I absolutely love food! You can see where this would be a big problem, especially when I would bake cookies every other day for weeks on end. Yes, they would be moderately healthy with applesauce substitutions, and reductions in sugar, but apparently my body can't tell the difference between five whole wheat muffins, and 5 fattening muffins- I gained weight all the same.

So, I cut back on my baking drastically, and have since made cookies for other people (and no I did not cheat and eat one) as well I have made peanut butter protein bars, and one successful banana bread muffin recipe, within the last 2 months. Seriously- THATS IT!

And in a reward for my great effort, I have decided to compliment myself with a healthy homemade dessert this afternoon. But, I need your help. Please, share any good HEALTHY cookie or muffin recipes that you have (I will give you a list of the ingredients I have). Anything, anything at all would be great. But please, NO SPLENDA!!

Ingredients I have on hand: bananas, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, honey, fructose, skim milk, eggs, blueberries, pumpkin puree, dates, mini chocolate chips, applesauce, butter (rather not have to use it), canola oil, fiber one cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, chickpeas, cinnamon, spices... And probably a lot else-I just don't want to get up from the couch and check.. :)

And... go!

Replies

  • _Lisa_
    _Lisa_ Posts: 61
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    This is a yummy brownie recipe...... the fruit really brings out the chocolatey flavor!


    Lean and Luscious Brownies

    Ingredients

    1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
    1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking powder
    1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
    2/3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar
    1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted
    1 egg
    2 tbsp (25 mL) milk
    1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
    1 jar (4-1/2 oz/128 mL) strained baby food plums
    Preparation:

    In bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt ; set aside.

    In bowl and using electric mixer beat sugar with butter until combine but not smooth; beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Using wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture alternately with plums, making 2 additions of flour and 1 of plums. Spread in lightly greased 8-inch (2 L) square cake pan, smoothing top.

    Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven for about 20 minutes or until tester inserted in centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool completely in pan on rack. (Brownies can be stored in airtight contalner in refrigerator for up to 3 days or individually wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

    Additional Information:

    Tips:
    Substitute 1/2 cup (125 mL) pureed plums If you don't have strained baby food plums.

    Dust brownies with icing sugar for an attractive finish.

    Per square: about -
    cal 95
    pro 1 g
    total fat 4 g
    sat. fat 2 g
    carb 15 g
    fibre 1 g
    chol 21 mg
    sodium 99 mg
    % RDI: -
    calcium 1
    iron 4
    vit A 4
    folate 1
  • asallen7
    asallen7 Posts: 301
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    Vitatops!
  • Jaedynmoon
    Jaedynmoon Posts: 280 Member
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    I have a great base recipe for muffins from my Go Dairy Free book (I'm dairy free so you can totally add regular milk instead of the substitute) I put below the base recipe what I put it and the calorie count for my additions. I sent this to a friend who asked what I did so I just copied it from the message... They can out SO good!! Enjoy!

    2 Cups All Purpose or Whole Wheat Flour or a combo of both (I used 1 1/4 cup of whole wheat and 3/4 cup AP Flour)
    3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar)
    1 TBSP Baking Powder
    1/2 Teaspoon Salt
    1 Egg, 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce, or 3 tbsp dairy free yogurt (I used 3 tbsp of egg whites which is equal to 1 egg)
    1 Cup Plain Milk Alternative of Choice (I used 1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
    1/4 Cup Grapeseed or Vegetable Oil

    So that is the base recipe. To that I added 1 cup of frozen blueberries, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp almond extract. They came out really good!! Baked at 400 for 20 minutes and it makes 12 muffins. I broke down the nutritional stats and with the way I made them they are: 173 Calories, 29 Carbs, 5 fat, 3 Protein, 212 Sodium, and 11 Calcium. Enjoy! :)
  • asallen7
    asallen7 Posts: 301
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    Sorry that's not a recipe! lol Reading is FUNDAMENTAL! I have some recipesI will come back and post.
  • 6Janelle13
    6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
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    I love fresh berries and banana's with a smudge of melted chocolate or nutella. when i want to bake my default is angel food cake or adding apple sauce to recipes that require oil. Or make what you love and just eat less of it. The mini muffin pan was the best investment I ever made because the bite size muffins are always a hit and they look so cute.
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    This is a yummy brownie recipe...... the fruit really brings out the chocolatey flavor!


    Lean and Luscious Brownies

    Ingredients

    1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
    1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking powder
    1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
    2/3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar
    1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted
    1 egg
    2 tbsp (25 mL) milk
    1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla
    1 jar (4-1/2 oz/128 mL) strained baby food plums
    Preparation:

    In bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt ; set aside.

    In bowl and using electric mixer beat sugar with butter until combine but not smooth; beat in egg, milk and vanilla. Using wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture alternately with plums, making 2 additions of flour and 1 of plums. Spread in lightly greased 8-inch (2 L) square cake pan, smoothing top.

    Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven for about 20 minutes or until tester inserted in centre comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Let cool completely in pan on rack. (Brownies can be stored in airtight contalner in refrigerator for up to 3 days or individually wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

    Additional Information:

    Tips:
    Substitute 1/2 cup (125 mL) pureed plums If you don't have strained baby food plums.

    Dust brownies with icing sugar for an attractive finish.

    Per square: about -
    cal 95
    pro 1 g
    total fat 4 g
    sat. fat 2 g
    carb 15 g
    fibre 1 g
    chol 21 mg
    sodium 99 mg
    % RDI: -
    calcium 1
    iron 4
    vit A 4
    folate 1

    Thank you Lisa. That sounds delicious and I will keep that recipe in mind, but do you think that I could substitute in some banana puree or pumpkin puree in for the plums. I'm kind of snowed in as of now, and I won't be a be able to go to the grocery store for a while.
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    Sorry that's not a recipe! lol Reading is FUNDAMENTAL! I have some recipesI will come back and post.

    Thanks... I do love vitatops though!
  • eating4balance
    eating4balance Posts: 743 Member
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    I have a great base recipe for muffins from my Go Dairy Free book (I'm dairy free so you can totally add regular milk instead of the substitute) I put below the base recipe what I put it and the calorie count for my additions. I sent this to a friend who asked what I did so I just copied it from the message... They can out SO good!! Enjoy!

    2 Cups All Purpose or Whole Wheat Flour or a combo of both (I used 1 1/4 cup of whole wheat and 3/4 cup AP Flour)
    3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar)
    1 TBSP Baking Powder
    1/2 Teaspoon Salt
    1 Egg, 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce, or 3 tbsp dairy free yogurt (I used 3 tbsp of egg whites which is equal to 1 egg)
    1 Cup Plain Milk Alternative of Choice (I used 1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
    1/4 Cup Grapeseed or Vegetable Oil

    So that is the base recipe. To that I added 1 cup of frozen blueberries, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp almond extract. They came out really good!! Baked at 400 for 20 minutes and it makes 12 muffins. I broke down the nutritional stats and with the way I made them they are: 173 Calories, 29 Carbs, 5 fat, 3 Protein, 212 Sodium, and 11 Calcium. Enjoy! :)

    That sounds good too! I will have a hard time deciding what to make!

    As for the blueberries, do you leave them frozen when you bake them, because that's what I normally do, but I've also read that it minimizes their sweet flavor. Any thoughts?
  • Jaedynmoon
    Jaedynmoon Posts: 280 Member
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    I took them out before I put everything together. Then I just tossed them in a bit of the dry mixture so they wouldn't sink and they stayed in a bowl until I was ready to add them. They thawed out a little bit but were mostly frozen still and I didn't find the blueberries bitter or not sweet. I love baking too! One of my favorite things to do and I drive myself crazy when there is stuff I want to bake so you enjoy all these new recipes you get to try out!! Happy baking! :)
    I have a great base recipe for muffins from my Go Dairy Free book (I'm dairy free so you can totally add regular milk instead of the substitute) I put below the base recipe what I put it and the calorie count for my additions. I sent this to a friend who asked what I did so I just copied it from the message... They can out SO good!! Enjoy!

    2 Cups All Purpose or Whole Wheat Flour or a combo of both (I used 1 1/4 cup of whole wheat and 3/4 cup AP Flour)
    3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar)
    1 TBSP Baking Powder
    1/2 Teaspoon Salt
    1 Egg, 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce, or 3 tbsp dairy free yogurt (I used 3 tbsp of egg whites which is equal to 1 egg)
    1 Cup Plain Milk Alternative of Choice (I used 1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
    1/4 Cup Grapeseed or Vegetable Oil

    So that is the base recipe. To that I added 1 cup of frozen blueberries, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp almond extract. They came out really good!! Baked at 400 for 20 minutes and it makes 12 muffins. I broke down the nutritional stats and with the way I made them they are: 173 Calories, 29 Carbs, 5 fat, 3 Protein, 212 Sodium, and 11 Calcium. Enjoy! :)

    That sounds good too! I will have a hard time deciding what to make!

    As for the blueberries, do you leave them frozen when you bake them, because that's what I normally do, but I've also read that it minimizes their sweet flavor. Any thoughts?
  • lucylorelei
    lucylorelei Posts: 46 Member
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    Chocolate Chickpea Cake (sounds weird, but is good, and bonus, gluten-free)

    Preheat oven to 350, move rack to center. Grease a loaf pan with 1 T softened butter (or Pam spray), and dust with 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder.

    Melt 5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave, in 15 second intervals, stirring between.

    Rinse and drain 1 can of chickpeas, and pat dry. Place in food processor with 4 large eggs, 1/2 t. vanilla. Puree one minute.

    Add 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. salt, blend 20 seconds.

    Add melted chocolate, stir.

    Transfer to loaf pan (should be a thin batter - if not, add more chocolate!!!??!?! - or just some water).

    Bake one hour. Cool 15 minutes, then invert. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

    Cut into 10 slices, each slice has 176 calories, 7 g fat, 6 g protein, 2 g fiber.
  • lucylorelei
    lucylorelei Posts: 46 Member
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    White Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies

    1 can great northern beans, rinsed, drained, patted dry
    3 T butter
    1 c. brown sugar
    1/2 c. white sugar
    Put the above in your KitchenAid and blend till smooth and creamy (like blending shortening and sugar)

    Add...
    2 eggs
    1 t. vanilla
    blend

    In food processor, destroy 4 3/4 c. oatmeal till it's flour-y. Mix in 1 T baking soda and 1 t. baking powder

    Add the oat flour mix to the mixer. combine.

    stir in a bag of dark chocolate chips

    Drop rounded spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet (that is important, since there isn't much fat in the batter to keep them from sticking); bake 6-8 minutes.

    I get 60 two-teaspoon or so sized cookies out of this. If you get 60, they are each 84 cal; 3 g fat; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber.
    Or do your own calculations from the totals: entire batch is 5024 cal; 177 g fat; 94 g protein; 87 g fiber; so don't eat the whole batch!!!