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Healthy and Delicious: 3+1 Easy Dessert Recipes
Many people believe that if something is healthy, it can’t possibly taste good. They think that being healthy comes at the cost of bland and unenjoyable food.
Today’s blog post aims to debunk this myth: we have 3+1 dessert recipes that use more conscious ingredients, yet the end result is absolutely delicious. Join us!
What Makes a Dessert Healthy?
The secret lies in the ingredients. Healthier recipes do not include refined sugar, white flour, and lots of fat. The good news is that most traditional recipes can be easily modified once you know what to substitute. For refined sugar, you can use cane sugar or honey, for white flour, you can use whole grain or other grain flours (e.g., buckwheat, spelt, rye), and instead of animal fats, you can use margarine or cold-pressed vegetable oils.
1. Autumn-Winter Dessert Recipe: Spelt Apple Muffins
One of the most common ingredients in autumn desserts is the apple, which also plays a starring role in our favorite muffin recipe. To reduce calories, we replaced white flour with spelt and rye flour. Spelt flour is easy to digest and is high in B vitamins, potassium, iron, magnesium, and calcium. Rye flour makes desserts denser and darker than their white flour counterparts, with lower fat and higher mineral content, and a high fiber content. Note that neither spelt flour nor rye flour is gluten-free!
Ingredients for Spelt Apple Muffins:
- 10 dkg white spelt flour
- 10 dkg whole grain rye flour
- 5 eggs
- 12 dkg butter
- 2 grated apples
- 2 handfuls of chopped walnuts
- 8 dkg honey
- cinnamon
- lemon juice
- vanilla
Instructions:
Cream the butter, add the egg yolks one by one, then drizzle in the honey. Then, fold in the flour mixture with a spatula and loosen the batter with the whipped egg whites. Finally, add the grated apples flavored with cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice, along with the walnuts. Spoon the batter into muffin cups and bake in a 175°C convection oven until golden brown!
2. Lazy Sunday Dessert Recipe: Waffles with Berries
On weekends, you might have more time to experiment, and a delicious, fragrant waffle could be a great start to your day. This dessert recipe introduces you to xylitol, a healthier alternative to sugar, in addition to the already familiar spelt flour. Xylitol, often known as birch sugar, was first extracted from birch trees. It tastes and looks exactly like traditional sugar but has a much lower carbohydrate content and 40% fewer calories than refined sugar.
Ingredients for Waffles:
- 2 eggs
- 400 ml rice milk
- 3 heaped tbsp whole grain spelt flour
- 3 heaped tbsp flour
- 5 dkg butter
- 1/2 tbsp xylitol
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
Beat the eggs with a mixer until fluffy, then add the rice milk, softened butter, xylitol, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well, then add the flours by the spoonful. While mixing the batter until smooth, heat the waffle iron. Pour the batter into the waffle iron and cook for 3-4 minutes. Pro tip: top with berries, pudding, or jam.
3. Dessert to Energize: Oatmeal Energy Balls
Do you feel like you need an extra boost in the morning? This healthy treat can help you get going. You only need a few easily obtainable ingredients, and your day can begin!
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 cm ginger
- 10 dkg cranberries
- 5 dkg oats
- 10 dkg cashews
- 2 tsp chia seeds
Instructions:
Blend the banana with the peeled and chopped ginger and cranberries. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the oats with a wooden spoon. Mix the roughly chopped cashews with the chia seeds and combine with the oat mixture. Shape the mixture into small balls with your hands. Pro tip: if the mixture is too sticky, add more oats! Ensure it’s not too dense, or it will be hard to shape!
+1. Gingerbread with Walnuts
The holidays are just around the corner, so it’s time to prepare with a delicious and diet-friendly gingerbread recipe. This recipe is noteworthy because even those with egg allergies can enjoy it, as we substitute eggs with flaxseed flour. In addition to traditional gingerbread ingredients, it includes sesame flour, which is rich in vitamins, and carob powder, which gives the dough a beautiful color.
Ingredients for Gingerbread:
- 10 heaped tbsp oat flour
- 8 tbsp whole grain flour
- 1 tbsp sesame flour
- 1 tbsp flaxseed flour
- 40 dkg honey
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 handfuls of chopped walnuts
- 1 dl water
- 2-3 tsp gingerbread spice mix
- 1 tsp carob powder
Instructions:
Warm the honey, water, and coconut oil together, transfer to a mixing bowl, and gradually mix in the flours and baking soda while stirring continuously. Add the walnuts, gingerbread spice mix, and carob powder. Knead the dough on a floured board and roll out to about half a cm thick. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Preheat the oven to 160°C and bake the gingerbread for 10-12 minutes.
