Weight Loss Tips & Tricks: low-cal desserts

Showing posts with label low-cal desserts. Show all posts

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

No Ice Cream Maker Required! Low-Calorie Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream

If you love Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Ice Cream but don't love that a half-cup serving is 200 calories, get out your food processor, a spoon, and a smile. This homemade ice cream is chock-full of cherry and chocolate goodness but without saturated fat and cholesterol.

Made with just four ingredients — fresh cherries, a banana, almond milk, and chocolate chips — this creamy recipe couldn't be easier to whip up. And the flavour? Holy sweet cherry ecstasy! Seriously. You can see the fruitiness just bursting out of the bowl.

And because it's made with fresh cherries, you get the antioxidant benefits, the filling fibre, and the potassium you wouldn't get with a bowl of ice cream. But really, it's the creamy texture and luscious flavour that make this recipe a winner — all for just 126 calories per lip-smacking serving.

From Jenny Sugar, POPSUGAR Fitness

Vegan Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

NOTES

If you put the ingredients in the freezer the night before, this recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cherries, fresh
1/2 banana
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
3 tablespoons dairy-free chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Wash and dry the cherries, and remove all the pits. Place in a freezer bag or glass container, and freeze for at least three hours. If you don't have the time, you can use frozen cherries.
Peel a banana, and place half in the freezer.
Pour 1/4 cup of the almond milk into ice cube trays (save the other 1/4 cup), and freeze those as well, for at least three hours.
Place the frozen cherries, half a frozen banana, the almond-milk ice cubes, and 1/4 cup almond milk in a food processor, and process until completely smooth, several minutes.
Stir in chocolate chips, and enjoy immediately!

INFORMATION

Category:

Desserts

Yield:: 3 half-cup servings

Cook Time: 3 hour 15 mins

NUTRITION

Calories per serving:: 126 calories

Source
http://www.popsugar.com.au/fitness/Delicious-Cherry-Chocolate-Chip-Ice-Cream-Vegan-35589695

4-Ingredient Chocolate Salted Caramels That Are Actually Healthy

You open up a box of chocolates and choose carefully. Strawberry sundae? Nah. Orange truffle. Ugh, no. Chocolate-covered caramel? Yes, please! You can indulge in one of these for 95 calories, or make your own using four basic ingredients, for only 60 calories.

No cooking thermometer needed! These babies couldn't be easier to whip up. Just place sunflower seeds, dates, and sea salt in a food processor. Press into a pan and freeze.

Cut into squares, smother with melted chocolate, sprinkle on some sea salt (I used pink Himalayan), and pop them back in the fridge. Now there's a sweet treat you can feel good indulging in.

These are nut free, gluten free, dairy free, and absolutely delicious — they taste just like the real thing! Give them as a home-made gift, bring them to the office, or just keep a batch in the fridge when sweet, chocolaty, chewy caramel cravings strike.

From Jenny Sugar, POPSUGAR Fitness

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramels

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
2 cups medjool dates (16), pitted
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Sea salt for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Place the sunflower seeds, dates, and fine sea salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth for several minutes, until a thick dough forms.
Press the mixture firmly into an 8-by-8-inch pan. If the top is oily (from the sunflower seeds), gently blot it with a paper towel.
Place pan in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
While the caramel is firming up, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler (in a small glass bowl over a small pot of boiling water).
Remove the pan from the freezer. Take a butter knife and go along the edges of the pan to loosen it up. Turn the pan over onto a cutting board lined with baking paper. Cut into 49 pieces (7 rows of 7).
Using a small spoon (I used a metal baby spoon), drizzle a small dollop of melted chocolate over the top of each caramel square, using the back of the spoon to smooth it out and get chocolate along the edges. Sprinkle with sea salt, if you like. Place the cutting board in the fridge for 20 minutes to harden the chocolate.
Enjoy! Store uneaten caramels in an airtight container in the fridge.

INFORMATION

Category:

Desserts

pieces

Yield:: 49

Cook Time:: 1 hour

NUTRITION

Calories per serving:: 60

Source
http://www.popsugar.com.au/fitness/Healthy-Dark-Chocolate-Salted-Caramels-Recipe-37527086

Thursday, 18 June 2015

150-Calorie Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

If cold and creamy ice cream calls to you after dinner, here's a sweet alternative that's lower in calories, fat, and cholesterol. As an added bonus, it contains 3.6 grams of fiber and 3.2 grams of protein per serving.

It's a cinch to make and a delicious way to use up ripe bananas if you can't bear the thought of one more loaf of banana bread.

And at only 150 calories per serving and one gram of saturated fat, it's a much healthier way to indulge in your Summer ice cream cravings.

From Jenny Sugar, POPSUGAR Fitness

150-Calorie Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 bananas
1 tablespoon natural creamy peanut butter

Directions

Peel the bananas, slice them, and place slices on a plate.
Freeze for at least 2 hours.
Place the frozen bananas and peanut butter in a food processor. Blend well. Enjoy immediately or freeze in a glass container until solid.

Makes 2 servings.

Source: Calorie Count

Information

Category: Ice cream, Desserts
Yield: 2 servings
Cook Time: 1 hour

Nutrition

Calories per serving: 152; Source; http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Vegan-Ice-Cream-Made-Bananas-24660104

Sunday, 26 April 2015

6 Low-Calorie Ice Cream Picks

Healthy frozen treats

Ice cream is the perfect remedy to steamy, hot weather, (or really, any sort of day!), but sometimes the calorie counts on the carton are downright scary. That's why we found frozen desserts that don't melt under scrutiny. These healthy treats get our vote (with a cherry on top!).

Reduced calorie

Breyers French Chocolate Fat Free (1/2 cup) Nutrition: 90 cal; 3 g pro; 13 g sugar; 4 g fiber; 0 g fat

Like: Our pick has less fat than many premium frozen desserts and also boasts fiber, which gives it more texture.

Healthy takeaway: Be cautious about fudge ribbons, which are mostly corn syrup with a dab of artificial dye.

Frozen yogurt

Stonyfield Farm Organic Nonfat Frozen Yogurt (1/2 cup) Nutrition: 100 cal; 4 g pro; 18 g sugar; 1 g fiber; 0 g fat

Like: This carton is packed with the good-for-your-gut bacteria that we love in yogurt.

Healthy takeaway: Other fro-yos lure you in by touting their "live and active cultures," but the actual yogurt portion can be minuscule.

Sorbet

Ciao Bella Blood Orange Sorbet (1/2 cup) Nutrition: 60 cal; 0 g pro; 16 g sugar; 0 g fiber; 0 g fat

Like: A keeper! It's bursting with flavor, plus it has 50% of your daily vitamin C intake.

Healthy takeaway: Many sorbets have no real fruit in sight. Steer clear of ones with ice cream swirls, which drive up the calories and fat.

Nondairy

So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Frozen Dessert (1/2 cup) Nutrition: 130 cal; 1 g pro; 13 g sugar; 3 g fiber; 3 g fat

Like: This soy treat tastes just like the real deal, making it perfect for people who have lactose intolerance.

Healthy takeaway: Some dairy-free varieties—based on soy, coconut, and rice milk—can be high in fat and sugar.

Ice-cream sandwich

Julie's Organic Juliette Ice Cream Sandwiches (1 bar) Nutrition: 100 cal; 2 g pro; 6 g sugar; 0 g fiber; 0 g fat

Like: You're less likely to overindulge because these organic novelty bars are portion controlled for you.

Healthy takeaway: Some ice-cream sandwiches swap the wafers for cookies, doubling the calories.

Ice pop

Edy's All Natural Fruit Bars Strawberry (1 bar) Nutrition: 80 cal; 0 g pro; 20 g sugar; 1 g fiber; 0 g fat

Like: The real strawberry bits in this pop taste like summer. No high fructose corn syrup here.

Healthy takeaway: Beware varieties that resemble a chemistry project: Would you like a little sodium benzoate with your polysorbate 80?

Source
http://www.prevention.com/food/smart-shopping/best-low-fat-ice-creams-and-frozen-yogurts?slide=1

Turn Greek Yoghurt Into a Low-Cal Dessert

Yoghurt isn't just for breakfast! If a cold and sweet bowl of ice cream is what you crave, swap it out for a creamy bowl of non-fat Greek yoghurt topped with these delicious flavour combinations. Grab a spoon and dig into these desserts that are low in fat and all less than 250 calories.

Bananas With Chopped Peanuts and Raisins