8 desserts to help you lose weight

Watching your waistline doesn't mean you can't enjoy the occasional treat. We've rounded up eight low-calorie, easy-to-make desserts that will help you lose weight

Quick and healthy diet-friendly desserts

When you're trying to cut calories, it seems like dessert is always the first thing to go. While it may be a bad idea to cozy up to a bag of cookies after a hard day at the office, enjoying a sweet, healthy treat now and then is no crime. In fact, the occasional indulgence may even help you achieve your diet and weight-loss goals more efficiently than swearing off sweets all together.

Here are eight delicious guilt-free dessert recipes to add to your cookbook. Enjoy!

Lemon Mousse with Strawberries

Sampling this lemon mousse with vitamin-packed strawberries is like spooning up sunshine; the jewel-like layers of berries are an unexpected delight. We've lightened up the mousse by substituting gelatin and fat-free yogurt for the usual quantities of eggs and cream.

 

Get the recipe: Lemon Mousse with Strawberries

Toasted Almond Meringue Cloud

These almond meringues taste decadent, but are actually low in fat and calories. Serve them at your next dinner party for an "I can't believe this is healthy!" dessert that's sure to wow your guests.

 

Get the recipe: Toasted Almond Meringue Cloud

Fruit Sorbets

Craving ice cream? Before you chow down on the Häagen Dazs, consider a healthier, homemade swap. Refreshing, fat-free sorbets are a delicious substitute for ice cream and making it yourself allows you to control the amount of sugar in your dessert. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can also make granita, which is icier, but still just as tasty!

 

Get the recipe: Fruit Sorbets

Baked Almond-Stuffed Peaches

Turn your peaches into a fabulous warm dessert by stuffing them with dried apricots, toasted almonds and crushed amaretti cookie crumbs, then baking them in the oven until they are brown and bubbly. It may sound decadent, but each serving is actually fewer than 200 calories. The fruit can be served with light sour cream for an added kick.

 

Get the recipe: Baked Almond-Stuffed Peaches

Whole-wheat Grapefruit Bran Biscotti

This heart-healthy recipe makes for a fresh-tasting dessert option. Tangy grapefruit is loaded with immune-boosting vitamins and antioxidants, while the high fibre content will help support weight loss. And at 57 calories for two biscotti, this is one dessert that practically begs for a second helping.

 

Get the recipe: Whole-wheat Grapefruit Bran Biscotti

Light Raspberry-Ricotta Fool

A fool is usually made with fruit and whipping cream. We’ve lightened the original by using ricotta cheese, and added a burst of citrus flavour, while maintaining this dessert’s made-in-10-minutes appeal.

 

Get the recipe: Light Raspberry-Ricotta Fool

Almond Butter Cookies

Love the taste of peanut butter cookies? Try this healthy twist on an old favourite, featuring heart-healthy almond butter. Whole almonds add a satisfying crunch to these yummy, nutrient-packed cookies.

 

Get the recipe: Almond Butter Cookies

Peach Crostini

Juicy peaches and berries with a hint of maple syrup and fresh mint rest on a canapé of cream cheese, making a lovely light dessert. Opt for low-fat cream cheese and you can enjoy two of these tasty crostinis for only 80 calories.

 

Get the recipe: Peach Crostini

Comment below what you think of these yummy dessert ideas! Would you try he out at home? Let me know in the comment section below :)







Source
http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/diet/8-desserts-to-help-you-lose-weight

What Are Bad Points About Chocolate?

Eating chocolate may help you lower your blood pressure and your risk for heart disease and diabetes, according to MayoClinic.com. However, not all types of chocolate contain significant amounts of the compounds responsible for this effect, and chocolate is high in calories, fat and sugar, so it shouldn't be considered a health food.

High in Calories

Limit the amount of chocolate you consume to avoid going over your daily calorie allotment and gaining weight. Dark chocolate has 598 calories per 100 grams, which is 3.5 ounces. The same amount of milk chocolate has 535 calories. White chocolate, which isn't a true chocolate since it doesn't contain any cocoa solids, just cocoa butter, contains 539 calories per 100 grams.

High in Fat

Chocolate also contains a lot of fat. A 100-gram serving of dark chocolate has 42.6 grams of fat, including 24.5 grams of saturated fat, which is 66 percent of the daily value for total fat and 122 percent of the DV for saturated fat. Milk chocolate is lower in fat, with 29.7 grams of fat, including 18.5 grams of saturated fat. Even though a high percentage of the fat in milk chocolate consists of a type of saturated fat called stearic acid that doesn't raise your cholesterol levels, this is still a lot of fat. Consuming too much fat or saturated fat increases your risk for obesity, high cholesterol and heart disease.

High in Sugar

Sugar adds calories without providing any essential nutrients. The American Heart Association recommends women limit their added sugar intake to no more than 100 calories, or 25 grams, per day and men consume no more than 150 calories, or 37.5 grams, of added sugars per day. Each 100-gram serving of dark chocolate contains 24 grams of sugar, and the same amount of milk chocolate has 51.5 grams of added sugar.

Consumption Considerations

Chocolate eaten in moderation might not increase your risk for weight gain, since it contains flavonols, a type of beneficial plant chemical that acts as an antioxidant, that may decrease absorption of fat and increase satiety, notes an article published in "Phytotherapy Research" in 2013. You may need to eat up to 3 ounces per day of dark chocolate that contains at least 65 percent cocoa to experience heart-health benefits, so you'll have to eat less of other high-calorie foods to compensate for the 450 or so calories the chocolate contains, notes MayoClinic.com. Dark chocolate contains more than twice as many beneficial flavonols as milk chocolate, according to a study published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" in August 2011.

Source
http://livehealthy.chron.com/bad-points-chocolate-6712.html

References (9) 

• HealthAliciousNess.com: Nutrition Facts Comparison Tool
• MayoClinic.com: Healthy Chocolate: Dream or Reality?
• American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Chocolate Feeding Studies: A Novel Approach for Evaluating the Plasma Lipid Effects of Stearic Acid
• American Heart Association: Sugars 101
• University of Illinois Extension: Eating for Cadiovascular Health
• Phytotherapy Research: Dark Chocolate: An Obesity Paradox or a Culprit for Weight Gain?
• Food & Function: Differential Effect of Polyphenol-Rich Dark Chocolate on Biomarkers of Glucose Metabolism and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Healthy, Overweight and Obese Subjects: A Randomized Clinical Trial
• AARP: Harvard Study: Dark Chocolate Can Help Lower Your Blood Pressure
• Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: Flavanols and Methylxanthines in Commercially Available Dark Chocolate: A Study of the Correlation with Nonfat Cocoa Solids