Dessert

When "dieting" this seems to be the ultimate 4 letter word. But it doesnt have to be. I love sweets! Always have, always will. I have gone without sugar for a month straight, including no fake sugar, like soda. But for the LONG term, that just isnt realistic for anyone, especially those with a natural sweet tooth. So what do we do? We get creative!

Peanut Butter Cookies
You can make peanut butter cookies with just peanut butter, honey, and an egg. It's 1 cup sugar or honey, 1 cup natural peanut butter, and 1 large egg (with sugar its 67 calories per cookie, but this makes 36 so those are small.). You can also just mix peanut butter with a small amount of powdered sugar and it tastes like reeses which you can bake with an egg and have a reeses cookie.

Dipped Strawberries/Fruit
I love fruit, especially strawberries and bananas, dipped in chocolate! For Valentines day, I bought some dark chocolate chips to melt and make some. You can also dip in the following to make is slightly healthier... but if you are sharing, you will probably eat less and a bit slower (and maybe work off some calories anyway ;) !).
~Sour cream or greek yogurt then in brown sugar
~Whipped cream with honey
~Cream cheese whipped with honey or cocoa powder (whipping the cream cheese with a little milk with make it thinner and easier to dip, and less calories per dip. It also helps it go further. You can do this will frosting, too!).

Chocolate Chips
I keep chocolate chips in the freezer so I dont think about them much, but they are there for an emergency. They are out of view!!! But if I have a desire to relax with some chocolate and a movie or good book, I grab about 1 Tbsp up to 1/4 cup of dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips (both are lower sugar) and suck on them (remember they are frozen). They last a while and melt in my mouth for a take over of flavor.

No Bake Chocolate Drops
I make mine with dark cocoa powder and honey. I put in some almond slices or unsweetened coconut sometimes, too. Use 1/2 the amount of butter from the recipe, and cut the sugar number in half when measuring the honey (or agave). Its runnier so it spreads easier. They sometimes turn out a little gooeyer, so I like to put them in cupcake papers to cool, then they store and travel well, too.

Yogurt/Smoothies/Homemade Frozen Yogurt
Cant go wrong!!! Here are several ideas for a yummy treat you can have any time of day! I like plain yogurt. If you prefer vanilla, just watch the label! You can throw in coconut, almonds, ground flax seed, wheat germ, etc to any of these for more of a sweet meal.
~Yogurt with frozen fruit
~Yogurt with honey and cinnamon (favorite! very sweet!)
~Frozen yogurt = any mix of fruit, honey, etc that is mixed up and frozen. Simple! Find what you like and make some small servings of it if you are a big ice cream fan! You can even throw in a few dark chocolate chips if needed.
~My morning smoothy when I am running late is 1/4 c plain yogurt, 1/2 cup juiced veggies (I juice kale, celery, and beets a bunch at a time and store in apple juice containers from my kids), 1/4 c almond milk, 2 bananas (or 1 and 1 orange), and 2 Tbsp ground flax seed. Its filling, yummy, and easy.
~Fruit smoothy is simply frozen, mixed berries, 1/2 c plain yogurt, 1/2 c almond milk or juiced veggies, and flax (or not).
~Use Tofu in smoothies instead of yogurt (about the same amount) and you have a cheap way to up your protein without changing the flavor (about $1.30 for 6 smoothies worth). It also allows you to make a large batch for 2-3 days worth of breakfast and they keep the texture in the fridge.
~You can make overnight yogurt, too, where you mix yogurt and oats, then in the morning the oats are soft and "cooked" and you can top with fruits like blueberries, and add some milk if needed.

"Banana Nice Cream" (from my Whole Foods App)
2 bananas
1 cup unsweetened soy (or almond) milk
2 Tbsp smooth almond or peanut butter
Blend all together in blender or food processor and serve, or freeze in small containers for later! Add some cinnamon or honey for added sweetness.

Baked Apples
A friend made me some baked apples recently that were amazing! Find some crunchy sweet apples, like pink ladies, and core them. Put about 1 tsp of butter in each and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake. Thats it!!!

Experiment!!!
Most of my stuff I have just seen something that looked yummy and tried to make it healthy, or mixed stuff that sounded good. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. Do a small amount at first. Write down what you do so if you like it you can repeat it. If you dont bake, try some simple mixes of yogurts and fruits to start. I love to make up recipes, but you have to be brave. And trust your NOSE!!! If you arent sure ingredients will go together, close your eyes and smell the aromas. When baking make sure you have an egg or something to hold together your ingredients!!!

Good luck. And please share any others!!!