We all have our little indulgence. For many, it’s that sweet ending to a meal. The one thing that even when you are bursting at the seams, you claim to have space for because “I have a separate stomach for desserts”. And so we inhale our sweet treat and pretend that a little indulgence never hurt anyone. But, if you bake, like me, at the back of our heads, we are all too aware of the amount of sugar, fats & colouring that go into that sweet treat.

It’s for that reason that I avoid buying mass produced, processed food whenever I can. If you read the label carefully, there is a whole lot that goes into that food item that I wouldn’t want to put into my body. Just take this example of a pack of Chips Ahoy.

In its list of ingredients, we have “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil” – otherwise  know as Trans Fat that studies have linked to cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, among many other health problems. And sugar or more importantly, “High Fructose Corn Syrup” known to lead to fatty liver and in turn to diabesity (“Why you should never eat high fructose corn syrup” – Huff Post).

So what’s the alternative or those who must have their sweet indulgence. Make your own desserts so you can control what goes into your body. Or at least buy it from somewhere where you know that they have made an effort to use wholesome, natural ingredients, which offer a more balanced, healthy alternative.

So, it was with this objective in mind that I set out to discover if healthy desserts are indeed possible or if that is just a myth. Depending on which food philosophy you subscribe to i.e. Paleo, Gluten-free, there are a host of alternatives out there. Having tried a few of those recipes, I’ll say that it is possible but challenging. Substituting non-traditional ingredients alter the stability of the dessert that you are producing and it takes a far bit of experimenting to develop the right balance between taste, health and aesthetics.

I conducted a recent taste test with one of the recipes – producing what looked like a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. It was in fact a chocolate zucchini cupcake with a chocolate avocado frosting. Main ingredients used included zucchini, coconut flour, honey, organic applesauce, spices, eggs, coco powder & avocado. Results show that 80% of testers thought it was a chocolate cupcake and over half of them were willing to pay a premium for a healthier dessert.

My takeaways from this little experiment – I’m going to keep working on healthier alternatives for that end of the meal indulgence. After a long hard day, it feels good to be able to let loose and enjoy some of the treats that you like. Only, this time, it’s actually going to be good for you. My challenge for you, don’t compromise your health for a little convenience. You should be able to have your cake and eat it too.

If you’ll like to enjoy healthy desserts for your next party, contact us for a discussion.