Do I have any healthy dessert options for Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Pies, puddings, cakes, strudels, cookies, candy, so many of our traditional desserts for Thanksgiving and Christmas are high in saturated fats, sugars, and white flour. If you simply want to make a lighter dessert and do not have serious health problems or allergies, consider taking your normal pie recipe and substitute ingredients.

Believe it or not apple pie can be a light dessert. Use organic agave in place of brown sugar, replace your white flour with almond or whole wheat flour, get fresh fruit instead of frozen fruit and only add half the amount of sugar your recipe calls for. Replace butter with olive oil or cut your butter in half, in place of two sticks of butter, use one stick and add 1/2 a cup of unsweetened applesauce. Use chia seeds in place of eggs, two tablespoons of chia with one tablespoon of cold water equals one egg. Also consider using egg whites in place of whole eggs, two egg whites equal one egg.

Cinnamon has many health benefits, so add more. I have found that I can eat just about anything during the holidays if my portions are small, about a 1/4 of the average dessert serving size. I exercise as much as I am able to and consume a good balance of raw foods and green leafy vegetables. Make big salads to go with your turkey and sweet potatoes.

There are varying opinions from health experts on whether you should allow a small amount of cheating in your diet for the holidays. I do not consider small portions cheating, just do not consume more than what your body needs. I do not drink soda, spread butter on my bread, or add more salt to my food, but I do love a good apple pie. Most people will agree, consuming large portions and eating too much of one particular food is the main cause of most of our health problems in America.

In Italy, the average woman is slender, that is because most Italians walk everywhere, even in a country with an abundance of gelato, cheese, salami, wine, and olive oil, most people eat small portions and stay active everyday. So do not be afraid to have your sweets in moderation, but also consider substituting ingredients. You might find that you create the best apple pie you have ever had.

Make pumpkin pie in a graham cracker crust (the reduced fat kind). Use evaporated skim milk for the canned milk. Use only a dash of salt and cut the sugar by 1/3. Skip the whipped topping or garnish with 1 or 2 Tbsp.

The Website: www.allrecipes.com has an "Impossible Pumpkin Pie" recipe that can be modified by using evaporated skim milk, Splenda, tub margarine, egg substitute and whole wheat flour (substitute equal amounts). This would make a healthy Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert.

Another substitute: Low-fat cream cheese instead of cream cheese in cheesecake tarts.

Cobblers and Crisps tend to have a lower fat content than a two crust pie so they would be a better option as compared to pie.

Ambrosia can be made with light sour cream.

Applesauce can be substituted for oil in banana and pumpkin breads.

 

 

The main source of weight gain is not healthy fats, but processed trans fats and excess sugar. In his YouTube accessible UCLA public, Sugar-The Bitter Truth, Dr. Lustwig outlines the biochemistry on how sugar and fructose make you fat. Healthy fats such as organic butter, nuts, seeds, and olive oil actually benefit our heart and other organs.

The solution to keeping slim in any season: Eat whole, unprocessed foods. Your body doesn't recognize fake, engineered foods, and can’t metabolize and use them into our biological processes as effectively as nutrient dense, whole foods.

What are processed foods? Here's a quick assessment on determining what processed foods vs. whole foods are. Whole foods are as they would be found in nature, or baked with minimal processing and whole ingredients. They contain their full nutritional content and don’t need "enrichment," because they are not devoid to begin with. Examples include whole, unprocessed grains, fruits, and vegetables. Organic is the best, because it guarantees no GMOs, pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics which interfere with metabolism and can affect health negatively.

Is it something that comes in packages or doesn't expire easily? If that box of treats doesn't taste any different 2 days or 2 weeks after purchase, just think of how it's not decomposing in your belly or being utilized for biological processed. Processed foods actually make you crave more of them; because your body is using up it nutrients balance the nutrient deficiencies in the food you are eating. Therefore, you are consuming more calories and getting less nutrition! Portion control is much easier if your body is getting the correct cues to when it's full. Processed foods can actually shut off your body’s satiety cues, such as leptin and ghrelin.

Therefore, the key to healthy desserts is to bake using whole and natural foods. You can replace sugar with xylitol or stevia (and imbibe less calories), use gluten free grains abundant with nutrients, add in whole fruits and sweet vegetables, replace margarine with butter or ghee, and add fiber rich grinded chia or flax seeds for satiety.

You can easily access healthy recipes online by goggling what you’re looking for. For example, search "gluten free pie”, “organic chocolate cookies”, “gluten free pie”.

Thanks to the internet, we can find lots of options that satisfy our sweet tooth without creating bulge in our waists.

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too! Just be aware of what you are consuming.

We often eat out of our home during the holiday season (whether it be at a friend/family members home or a restaurant) and we are not aware of the ingredients in our food. 

Check out this great Eating Free blog, Eat More Not Less: Apple or Pecan Pie?, to view a simple chart of holiday desserts. You will be able to easily navigate the chart to see the amount of calories and freebies that are commonly found in traditional desserts. 

View here: http://www.eatingfree.com/blog/2011/11/17/eat-more-not-less-apple-or-pecan-pie/

This chart will allow you to make healthy dessert choices. Enjoy!