Summer is the season for parties, picnics, and cookouts, but that doesn’t mean your plans for healthy eating need to go on the back burner until September. We may be secretly high-fiving ourselves for resisting the chips, cheesy dips, and burgers, but then comes dessert. Don’t you deserve a little sweet treat after eating carefully all day? Yes, you do!
The trick is to watch out for those store-bought treats that may be loaded with tons of extra sugar, chemicals and preservatives. Why not bring dessert to your next party so you can control the choices and amount of sugar. These 2 recipes are so simple, easy to make, and delicious that you’ll be the star of the party. Plus, they are so easy you can get your kids to make them for you!
Mixed Fruit Berry Tart
Whether you pick your own fruit or buy some fruit at your local market, this tart is a winner. Plus, by using a single crust instead of a double crust you are already slashing the number of calories in this tasty treat. Make dessert preparation even easier by using a pre-made crust. Many good quality whole wheat and granola pre-made crusts are available. This recipe is so easy you just mix, pour, and bake!
Mix together in a large bowl and let sit 10 minutes:
4 cups fresh fruit of your choice (Choose one or a combination of your favorites – strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar (or your favorite sweetener – such as honey, raw honey, agave nectar)
note: fresh sweet fruit doesn’t need a lot of added sugar so start with 1/4 cup, mix, taste, and decide if you want to add a little more sugar.
1/4 cup minute tapioca (or your favorite thickener – such as cornstarch, arrowroot)
note: I like to use 2 tablespoons tapioca and 2 tablespoons chia to thicken the pie filling and give it a nutritional boost.
Pour ingredients into you pie crust, cover with foil, and bake for about 60 minutes at 350 degrees (place pie tin on a baking sheet to avoid a messy cleanup if fruit bubbles up). Remove foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes. Cool and Enjoy!
Key Lime Pie
Yes, I know. You can’t really call Key Lime Pie a healthy dessert, but sometimes I just need to have a slice. What I discovered was I no longer even like the taste of the restaurant and store-bought pies. They are so loaded with extra sugar that you can’t even enjoy the key lime flavor. On top of that, many store-bought pies contain between 3,000 to 5,000 calories. The per serving calorie count divides that by 8 (about 375-625 calories per slice), but not everyone is cutting a pie up into 8 small portions. In reality, most of us are probably eating a slice containing about 1,000 calories.
What if you could make a simple homemade Key Lime Pie with a fraction of the calories and tremendous flavor. Even better, it only takes 5 steps (Really only 3 action steps including measuring, whisking, and pouring).
Purchase a good quality graham cracker crust (no high fructose corn syrup!)
Whisk together 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk and 4 egg yolks (takes about 1 minute by hand)
Add 1/2 cup fresh or bottled Key Lime juice and whisk (takes about 1 minute for mixture to slightly thicken)
Pour filling into crust and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Cool pie completely on rack then chill for 8 hours in the refrigerator.
Personally, I find the hardest part is waiting 8 hours to let the pie set! This pie tastes so good, you don’t even need to add extra cream for a topping. A few sliced limes on top for garnish give your pie a professional look.
So the next time you go to a party and want to bring an easy homemade dessert that will knock everyone’s socks off, try one of these recipes. Stay in control of the calories and ingredients by knowing what you are eating. You can still eat healthy and allow yourself to indulge once in a while. Healthy living is all about finding the right balance that works for you.
