Desserts don’t have to be loaded with calories (and fat) to taste great. There are many low calories recipes that won’t add to your waistline, but still taste great. These two desserts recipes are just a sampling of how recipes can be altered to make them healthy, yet still taste great:
Low Calorie Mandel Bread
How modified:
- vegetable oil replaced with canola oil
- sugar reduced by one-fourth
- dark chocolate chips substituted for semisweet ones
- one-third of all-purpose flour replaced with white whole wheat flour
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup dark-chocolate chips
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Together mix granulated sugar and oil in a large bowl; fold in eggs and vanilla until well mixed. In a separate bowl, combine flours and baking powder. Add flour/baking powder combination to egg mixture, along with chocolate chips and mix well. Form the dough on the cookie sheet into three 9-inch-long logs; flatten each to 2 inches wide.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes. Angle cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange slices on cookie sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until browned. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Healthy Low Calorie Savings:
- Cut 22 calories and 2 g carbohydrate; added 1 g fiber.
- New nutrition facts per slice: 123 calories, 1g protein, 15g carbohydrate, 8g fat (2g saturated), 1g fiber
- Makes 36 slices
Low Calorie Snickerdoodle Cookies
How Modified:
- Replaced half of flour with white whole-wheat flour
- Reduced butter by half; added yogurt as butter substitute
- Reduced sugar by one-fourth
Ingredients:
- 1 cup natural, plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, mix together flours, cream of tartar and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix butter and yogurt 30 seconds; add 1 cup granulated sugar. Beat until combined; scrape sides of bowl occasionally. Fold in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture. Divide the dough in half. Wrap and chill dough for 2 hours, or until easy to handle.
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray. Mix together 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch small balls and roll the balls in the sugar mixture. Place balls about 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly, if desired.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Remove and cool on wire racks.
Healthy Low Calorie Savings:
- Cut 22 calories, 2g carbohydrate, and 2g saturated fat; added 1g protein, 0.5g fiber.
- New nutrition facts per cookie: 70 calories, 1g protein, 11g carbohydrate, 2g fat (1g saturated), 0.5g fiber
- Makes 48 cookies
By using healthy substitutes, such as white whole wheat flour in place of regular flour, yogurt in place of butter, and reducing the sugar in your recipes, you can turn your calorie-laden desserts into something healthy, and more than likely your family will not notice the difference. Next, we’ll take a look at some hidden calorie traps but go ahead and experiment and see how you can rehab your recipes to make them into low calorie deserts.
