"Guilt-Free" Desserts

[sister herb]

Only smiley what can descripes this cake is this one:

Low-fat Guilt-free Cheesecake

• 9 whole low-fat cinnamon graham crackers, broken in half
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Cooking spray
• 2 8-ounce packages (Neufchatel) cream cheese, softened
• 2 8-ounce packages fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 large eggs plus 3 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Assorted toppings (for example strawberries/strawberry jam like in the picture)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 C. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until crumbled. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and the butter; pulse until moistened. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with foil to prevent leaks. Coat the inside of the pan with cooking spray and press the crumbs onto the bottom. Bake until browned, about 8 minutes. Let cool, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat both cream cheeses and the sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 5 minutes, then beat in the sour cream on low. Lightly whisk the 3 egg whites in a bowl, then add to the cheese mixture along with the 2 whole eggs, flour, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Pour over the crust.

Place the cheesecake in a roasting pan and add enough warm water to come one-quarter of the way up the sides of the springform. Bake until the cake is set but the center still jiggles, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Turn off the oven; keep the cheesecake inside with the door closed for 20 minutes.

Remove the cake from the water bath and transfer to a rack. Run a knife around the edge, then cool completely. Chill until firm, at least 8 hours. Top as desired.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/low...e-allows-you-to-enjoy-your-dessert-guilt-free

 

[sister herb]

Gluten Free Guilt Free Chocolate Banana Pie

Ingredients
Crust
1½ cups blanched almond flour
5 large medjool dates, finely chopped
Large pinch of kosher or fine sea salt
3 tablespoons coconut or grapeseed oil (or maybe a bit more)

Filling
5 small, ripe bananas, cut into pieces
5 large medjool dates, chopped
1 cup light, unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, measured then sifted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup sliced almonds
2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped or shaved with a vegetable peeler

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 C. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with gluten-free, non-stick cooking spray.

Prepare the crust by combining the almond flour, dates and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the dates and almond flour are well combined. Add the oil and process until the mixture starts to come together like a dough. If the mixture is too dry add some more oil, a few drops at a time. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until the crust has browned, it may seem soft but it will harden up as it cools. Let cool completely.

Prepare the filling by combining the bananas, dates, coconut milk, cocoa powder and vanilla in a food processor. Process until smooth. Pour the mixture into the cooled pie crust, top with the sliced almonds and chopped or shaved chocolate, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours. Can be made 1 – 2 days ahead.

About ½ hour before serving, take the pie from the freezer, remove the plastic wrap and let set at room temperature until it is soft enough to cut. Slice and serve immediately.

Servings: 8

Source: http://simplygluten-free.com/blog/2012/01/gluten-free-guilt-free-chocolate-banana-pie-recipe.html

 

[sister herb]

Guilt-Free Flourless Espresso Choco Gems

YIELD: 24

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
2/3 c granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
3 lg eggs
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar

1. Heat oven to 375F/190 C. Coat 2 gem tins (12-cup mini muffin pans) with cooking spray.
2. Combine chocolate and butter in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Off heat, whisk in granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Whisk in eggs until well combined. Sift cocoa over top and whisk until smooth.
3. Divide batter among prepared pans and bake until cakes have risen, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool in pans on rack 10 minutes. Carefully remove cakes and cool on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

NUTRITION (per gem) 98 cal, 2 g pro, 10 g carb, 1 g fiber, 6.5 g fat, 3.5 g sat fat, 9 mg sodium

Source: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook...colate-desserts/flourless-espresso-choco-gems

 

[um muhammad al-mahdi]

Oh ukhti!!!! Yummy recipe mashallah

 

[sister herb]

Guilt-Free Walnut Brownies

SERVINGS: 8

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg + 1 large egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C. Coat an 8" or 9" baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine the brown sugar, oil, egg and egg white, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts (the batter will be stiff).
4. Spread the batter in a thin layer in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until firm at the edges and a wooden toothpick inserted off center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Place pan on a rack and let cool completely. Cut into 8 bars.

Nutrition Info Per Serving (1 bar): 305 cal, 5 g pro, 31 g carb, 22 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 26 mg chol, 73 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

Source: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/flat-belly-diet/flat-belly-diet-recipes-82

 

[sister herb]

Guilt-Free Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecake

SERVINGS: 12

1 c graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp margarine, melted
2/3 c + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 c fresh raspberries + additional for garnish
3 c bittersweet chocolate chips, divided
2 packages (8 ounces each) fat-free cream cheese
1 c light sour cream
3 eggs
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee granules
2 Tbsp half-and-half

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C. Coat a 9" springform pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, margarine, and 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a bowl and mix together. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and refrigerate until ready to use. Toss the raspberries with 1 tablespoon of the sugar.
3. Melt 2 cups of the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler, taking care to keep the water from touching the bottom of the pan containing the chips. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, and remaining 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour, vanilla extract, and coffee. Add the reserved chocolate and beat on high speed until well incorporated.
5. Pour half of the chocolate batter into the pan and top with the raspberry mixture. Gently pour the remaining batter over the raspberries.
6. Bake for 48 to 52 minutes. Remove from the oven and run a knife around the edge of the sides to loosen. Place pan on a rack and let cool for 45 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and chill for 3 hours or up to overnight.
7. When the cake is chilled, melt the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler and stir in the half-and-half. Cool slightly and pour onto the top of the cake. Spread with a spatula to the edge so that some of the chocolate runs down the side of the cake. Garnish with additional raspberries. Chill until ready to serve.

Nutrition Info Per Serving (1/12 of cake): 390 cal, 11 g prot, 53 g carb, 18 g fat, 9 g sat fat, 65 mg chol, 300 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Source: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/flat-belly-diet/flat-belly-diet-recipes-6'

 

[sister herb]

Guilt-Free Chocolate Raspberry Towers With Sauce

The layers of cake and fresh raspberries give height to this elegant dessert, so a small serving looks like a big one!

PREP TIME: 15 min TOTAL TIME: 1 hr SERVINGS: 12

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c dark brown sugar
3/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp raspberry juice (or some other juice)
2 lg eggs
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 c fresh raspberries
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted


1. Heat oven to 350 F/175 C. Coat 9" x 9" baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Whisk together 1/2 cup boiling water and cocoa in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, butter, vanilla extract, and 2 Tbsp of the juice and whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Whisk flour, baking soda, and a pinch of salt in small bowl and add to batter. Whisk until just combined.

3. Pour into prepared pan. Bake until cake is beginning to pull away from sides of pan and wooden pick comes out clean, 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto rack and then flip again onto another rack to cool.

4. Cut cake into 12 rectangles and split each piece horizontally. Brush cut sides of cake with remaining 2 Tbsp juice. Arrange bottom slices cut side up on serving plates and top each with 6 to 9 raspberries, standing them upright. Top with remaining cake halves. Pour melted chocolate over each tower, letting it drip down sides, and serve.

NUTRITION (per serving) 280 cal, 5 g pro, 39 g carb, 2 g fiber, 12.5 g fat, 6.5 g sat fat, 146 mg sodium

Source: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook...ate-desserts/chocolate-raspberry-towers-sauce

 

[sister herb]

Chocolate-Zucchini Snack Cake/Brownies

SERVINGS: 12

1 3⁄4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp baking soda
1⁄4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1⁄2 c sugar
1⁄2 c low-fat vanilla yogurt
1⁄3 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ c shredded zucchini
3 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350 F/175 C. Coat an 11" x 7" baking pan with cooking spray.

2. COMBINE the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

3. WHISK the eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Whisk in the zucchini and 1½ cups of the chips. Stir into the flour mixture just until blended. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

4. REMOVE from the oven and sprinkle the remaining 1½ cups of chips over the cake. Spread with a small spatula as they melt to form an icing, placing back into the warm oven, if needed, for about 1 minute.

NUTRITION (per serving) 361 cal, 5 g pro, 47 g carb, 20 g fat, 8 g sat fat, 36 mg cholesterol, 175 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

Source: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/13-delicious-guilt-free-desserts?s=12

 

[sister herb]

Peach-Raspberry Pie With Almond Crunch Topping

This fruit pie makes a wonderful summer treat when juicy peaches and fresh raspberries are readily available. Out of season, frozen fruits work just as well.

SERVINGS: 10

Filling
12–14 peaches, peeled and sliced into 1⁄2" wedges
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
1⁄4 c packed brown sugar
1⁄4 c sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp ground ginger
1⁄8 tsp salt
2 c fresh raspberries (about 12 ounces)

Topping
1⁄2 c almonds, toasted
1⁄2 c whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached flour
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp sugar
3⁄4 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1. HEAT the oven to 375 F/190 C. Lightly coat a 10" or 11" deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. TO MAKE THE FILLING: In a large bowl, gently toss the peaches with the lemon juice. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, sugar, cornstarch or arrowroot, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the peaches and toss gently.

3. TO MAKE THE TOPPING: In a food processor, combine the almonds, flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until finely ground. Add the vanilla and butter. Pulse until the butter is cut into small crumbs. Pour half of the peaches into the prepared pan. Add half of the raspberries. Top with the remaining peaches and then the remaining raspberries. Sprinkle with the topping and press gently.

4. PLACE the pie on the baking sheet. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

NUTRITION (per serving) 227 cal, 3 g pro, 38 g carb, 8 g total fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 42 mg sodium, 5 g fiber

Source: http://www.prevention.com/food/cook/13-delicious-guilt-free-desserts?s=13

 

[sister herb]

Tips for The Healthist Cookies

Chocolate chip, sugar, snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin, gingerbread, no bakes, white chocolate macademia nut… is your mouth watering yet? I'll admit, cookies are a regular indulgence for me, and I love just about every flavor out there. Unfortunately, my waistline doesn't necessarily agree with this frequent indulgence — but what's a girl with a love of cookies to do? Make them healthy, of course!

Changing the way you bake

Those with a big sweet tooth have a hard time wanting to make cookies and cakes healthy. Healthy food doesn't satisfy a sweet craving, but what if you can't taste the difference? Here are a few things you can do to make your own cookies, any flavor, less fattening but still equally as delicious:

• Use whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour has more fiber, more nutrients, more vitamins (such as folate and vitamin B3) and less sugar than white flour. Since whole wheat flour is denser than white flour, reduce the amount of butter you use slightly (about 20 percent).
• Replace eggs with mashed bananas. This works incredibly well for any type of cookie containing chocolate, since it gives the cookie a hint of banana taste. One egg is about 1/4 cup mashed banana.
• Replace oil with applesauce. Any flavor will work, but using unsweetened no-sugar-added applesauce will make for the healthiest cookies. Ratio of substitution for oil and applesauce is equal.
• Replace butter with Greek yogurt. One cup butter can be replaced with 1/4 cup Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup of butter. The end result is a chewier cookie with the same flavor as if you used all butter.
• Replace butter with pureed avocado or pumpkin. Both will leave you with a chewier, denser cookie. We love using pureed pumpkin in chocolate chip cookies for the fall! Use half the amount of butter the recipe calls for and the other half pureed avocado or pumpkin.

You'll have to do a little bit of experimenting with different cookie recipes to see which substitutions work best. We recommend always using whole wheat flour and choosing either the oil, butter or eggs to switch out with healthier items. If you switch everything out, the cookie may not taste as it should.

The healthiest cookie

With so many different variations and recipes for cookies out there, it's impossible to determine the "healthiest" type of cookie. For example, homemade chocolate chip cookies with butter and oil substitutions are healthier than store-bought chocolate chip cookies, but store-bought sugar cookies may be healthier than homemade ones if no substitutions were made.

If we had to choose, though, we would pick oatmeal raisin cookies as the healthiest. Oatmeal is loaded with fiber and helps keep you full (hopefully preventing you from eating the entire batch!), and raisins aid in digestion, are good for the eyes, promote bone health and are loaded with antioxidants helpful in preventing cancer.


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1-1/4 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2-3/4 cups oats

• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Cream butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla; set aside.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. Blend flour combination into egg mixture.
4. Fold in oats and raisins.
5. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheets.
6. Bake at 375 degrees F/190 C for 8-10 minute or until edges begin to brown.

Source: http://www.sheknows.com/recipes/oatmeal-raisin-cookies

 

[sister herb]

Baked Strawberry Dougnuts

Baked instead of fried, and sweetened with maple syrup and raw sugar makes these healthier.

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup raw sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup diced strawberries
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 C and grease a dougnut pan *Note.

In a small bowl, stir together the berries and syrup. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then add the milk, egg, and butter, stirring until just combined. Add the berries. Fill each cup about 2/3 full.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until tops spring back.

Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Eat as is or dip in chocolate glaze if you're feeling naughty.

*Note: If you haven´t a doughnut pan, use cup cake/muffin pan and make strawberry cup cakes/muffins or use.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/strawberry-doughnuts/3-r-367672