Do you view dessert as your enemy? Have you assigned a “damaging” title to it subconsciously?
If so, it’s time to change your perception of dessert to something that contributes to your health rather than subtracting from it and the only way to do that is by shifting the ingredients that make up your desserts from unhealthy ones to healthy ones.
Create Healthy Nutrient Rich Desserts
Desserts are commonly thought to be “dead nutritiously” and because of that, they have never been viewed as a serious contribution to our health. It doesn’t have to be that way if you change your desserts to include healthy nutrient rich ingredients by tapping into the variety of veggies that nature so generously offers.
Veggies bring vitamins, antioxidants and healthy fiber to all recipes wrapped up in a tasty package.
With healthy veggies thrown into the mix, no longer will you view your desserts as nutritiously dead but you’ll begin viewing them as healthy additions to your daily diet – a fresh new healthy perspective, raising desserts from the level of damaging foods to those that heal.
Veggies are highly versatile. They add natural sweetness to desserts, make a perfect binding agent, provide needed moisture, are a great substitute for eggs and fat and boost nutrition and the best thing of all…they eliminate the guilt normally felt when eating dessert.
Savory desserts are nothing new – home and professional cooks alike have been experimenting with veggie-based desserts for a long time (think Pumpkin Pie and Carrot Cake), however, they are enjoying renewed attention as wise cooks and smart homemakers everywhere demand nutrition out of every bite for both themselves and their families. Desserts are no longer excused but included in the equation.
Truth is, there is no logical reason to be eating “dead calories” even in dessert when dessert is so easily transformed into something that contributes to health by including veggies as either the star or supporting ingredient. They are easily disguised in most dishes (so, you can enjoy veggies in your desserts that you might not ordinarily enjoy as a savory dish) but silently work their magic once they get inside your body.
Vegetables That Work in Desserts
Carrots: Carrots have been used as a sweetener for thousands of years. Rich in vitamins A and beta carotene, carrots provide antioxidants and phytochemicals that help reduce cancer and cardiovascular risks, improve immune functions and regulate blood sugar.
Sweet Potato: These colorful gourds can be used in desserts in several ways. They are the perfect “fat” substitute…you can use ¼ cup of mashed sweet potato to replace 1 egg or ½ cup of oil nor butter when baking.
Kale: This ever popular nutrient dense green veggie is not only great in salads, juices, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and chips…but Kale even has a “sweet side” and works well in cakes, brownies, cheesecakes and other sweet treats.
Squash: Squash is another veggie that makes the crossover from savory to sweet dishes easily and done correctly makes a great ingredient for cakes, pie, cookies, waffles, homemade granola’s, muffins, pancakes and the list goes on.
It’s time to pack added flavor, color, nutrition and health benefits into your indulgences and make every calorie count simply by experimenting and including nature’s bounty of veggie choices into your sweet dishes. With such a vast variety available, your imagination is your only limitation.
Its never been about the amount of calories going in but about the amount of nutrients consumed. Make every bite count.
Most veggies and many herbs can be used with great success in desserts and treats and can be key to getting the required daily requirements of nutrients that your body needs.
If you are ready to expand beyond your traditional recipes and upgrade them to a more nutrient dense level you will love my newest creation…“Blended Bites.
