How to Stay Healthy and Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
“Stressed” written backwards spells “Desserts” and honestly, what better way to tackle stress than indulging your sweet tooth with these recipes? But to be fair, dessert is okay any time of the day, no matter how full. For some of us, dessert is the ichor of gods, and rightly so! But if only they came without the calories then everyone would love them. Fret not, for we bring you some mouthwatering desserts, which are healthy! Yes, you read that right, healthy desserts. Read on to find out more.
Oatmeal cookies:
Ingredients: 1 of cup whole-wheat and all-purpose flour in equal amounts, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 egg,1 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions: In a bowl, mix the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together the flour and baking powder thoroughly. Now slowly mix the contents of the two bowl and gradually fold in the raisins as well as the oats.
Take a small amount of the dough and roll them into balls, squish them with your hands and place them on a well-greased baking tray or one lined with baking paper. Now pre-heat the oven and insert the cookies. Let them cook for around 20 minutes. Take them out when done, let them cool completely and serve.
Why: Oats are excellent when it comes to reducing high cholesterol levels in the blood. They also happen to be very good sources of fibre and so, reduce hunger pangs by making you feel fuller.
Berry and Yoghurt Party:
Ingredients: 1 cup of blueberries, 1 cup of raspberries, 1 cup of strawberries, 5 large basil leaves, 1/3 cup of organic honey, 1 vanilla bean or half teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 cups of Greek yoghurt
Instructions: Add the berries in a saucepan with the honey and cook over low heat until they start to fall apart. In a separate bowl mix, the yoghurt and the vanilla extract together. Now take the berries off the heat and add the yoghurt. Top it off with some fresh berries and more basil leaves to taste.
Why: Berries are extremely rich in antioxidants, essential vitamins and fibre, and are excellent for your skin as well as hair.
Quick Chocolate and Fruit Mousse
Ingredients: 1 cup of pre-cooked chocolate mousse, 1 cup of fresh strawberries, raspberries, bananas, 1 cup of dark chocolate shavings.
Instructions: Basically, throw in the fruit assortments in a bowl and top it off with the chocolate mousse and dark chocolate shavings. You can freeze it overnight, but it is best to serve it fresh.
Why: Not only does the assortment of fruit serve as a collection of vitamins, minerals, fibres and essential ions, it has been scientifically proven that dark chocolate stimulates reduction of weight and at the same time, also reduces the risk of heart attacks and related heart disorders.
Ginger Apple:
Ingredients: 2 sliced and cored apples, 1 tablespoon of organic butter, ½ cup fresh apple juice, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 cups vanilla ice cream
Instructions: In a saucepan, cook the freshly cut and pitted apples in the butter and ginger powder over low heat. Once you see that the apples have turned tender along the edges, pour in the apple juice and cook for a few more minutes until the apple juice starts to form bubbles along the edge. Now take it off the heat and when cool, serve it with fresh ice-cream of your choice.
Why: While an apple a day keeps the doctors away, ginger is known to reduce muscle pain and soreness, and reduce blood sugar levels.
Essential Berry Smoothie:
Ingredients: 1 cup of fresh raspberries, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of banana, 1 cup of blueberries, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1 cup of low-fat or skim milk, 1 tablespoon of lime juice and the half cup of fat-free yoghurt.
Instructions: Blend in a few ice cubes until they chip. Add all of the ingredients into the blender and blitz until you get the consistency that you desire. Pour it into a glass and top it off with some fresh berries and basil leaves.
Why: This is the perfect dessert that substitutes regular ice cream during the summer season.
So there you have it, some easy and quick dessert recipes that not only serve your sweet tooth but also have very few calories so that the next time you dip your spoon into your favourite dessert, you don’t have to feel the least bit of guilt about it.
