Someone I met a few months ago completely shunned my idea of making healthy desserts. He (let’s call him Jack) said, “I eat desserts to indulge, not to count my calories” Now, Jack, everything that you JUST said in THAT sentence is wrong (thanks for that kick-a** line, Luke Skywalker).
- It’s super-duper important to take care of your health and watch what you eat – especially because of the kind of life we lead in this day and age.
- Healthy desserts can be indulgent too, I promise :)Let’s start with the basics !
After months and months of research and experiments in my kitchen, I’ve found perfectly healthy ingredients that can be great alternatives to your desert-making ESSENTIALS, and you’ll be stunned by how yummy your treats taste when using these.
1.Get rid of that flour RIGHT away:
Refined grains and their food products are substandard foods for several reasons but one of the most important is that they are excessively starchy and high in gluten. Gluten is not ONLY bad if you have celiac diseases, it also is because it may cause a lot of gut issues (inflammation, for example) and even give you bad skin!
(Read more about this on: https://paleoleap.com/11-ways-gluten-and-wheat-can-damage-your-health/ )
Gluten-free alternatives that I use are:
Almond Flour (low in carbs, high in protein and fiber)
Coconut Flour (high in fiber, protein and healthy fats)
Gluten-free oats (include anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins, and also improves blood-sugar content)
2.Moo you for still drinking that milk!
About 70-75% of adults are lactose intolerant and don’t even know about it. Moreover, there are tons and tons of added hormones in dairy products these days which are absolutely unhealthy for us – THIS fact has completely cheesed me off (puns are always welcome )
More about this can be read on : https://www.google.ae/amp/s/www.bustle.com/articles/137195-7-reasons-milk-is-bad-for-you/amp
Alternatives to milk that I use:
Unsweetened Almond or Coconut Milk : naturally rich in several vitamins, and are both lactose free!
3.You butter not underestimate this.
I’ve already explained why I’m against dairy products in the above point, so I’ll just go straight to the alternatives I use for butter:
Almond Butter: Eating almonds offers antioxidant action from Vitamin E and helps lower cholesterol. A small serving of almond butter contains a generous amount of magnesium–which boosts heart health by promoting the blow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients–and potassium, important for good blood pressure and heart health
Peanut Butter:A serving of peanut butter has 3 mg of the powerful antioxidant vitamin E, 49 mg of bone-building magnesium, 208 mg of muscle-friendly potassium, and 0.17 mg of immunity-boosting vitamin B6. Research shows that eating peanuts can decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic health conditions
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is high in natural saturated fats. Saturated fats not only increase the healthy cholesterol (known as HDL cholesterol) in your body but also help convert the LDL “bad” cholesterol into good cholesterols. By increasing the HDL in the body, it helps promote heart health and lower the risk of heart disease.
4.Don’t be a sugar daddy.
Refined sugar contains a lot of calories, no nutrients what so ever, and are terrible for your teeth, liver, and metabolic rate.
More information for this can be found on:https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-disturbing-reasons-why-sugar-is-bad#section4
Alternatives for refined sugar:
Maple syrup (in limited quantities ! ) it has anti-oxidant properties.
Dates: relieves constipation, is anti-inflammatory, reduces blood pressure, is protein-rich, and is a great source of iron)
Coconut Sugar (again, in limited quantities): has traces of iron, zinc, calcium, potassium, some short-chain fatty acids, polyphenols, and antioxidants,
I’ve tried to sum up as much as I could in this short article, but stay tuned on my Instagram page – HealthsKitchen_DXB to know more and get your healthy dose of dessert recipes and more!
Contributed by Anjali Makhija
