10 Healthy Desserts You Can Enjoy Guilt-Free & 10 Bad For Your Health
A Sweet Surprise
For some people, a meal doesn’t feel complete without a dessert to finish it off. But most desserts are quite high in sugar and calories, making them pretty unhealthy. Luckily, there are plenty of sweet treats you can indulge in without the guilt!
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1. Chia Pudding
A lot of people have chia pudding as a healthy breakfast, but it also makes for a delicious dessert. This pudding is high in fiber, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids, and it can even help you feel full for long due to its fiber content.
2. Baked Apples
You may be craving apple pie, but all that flour, butter, and pastry isn’t good for anyone. So instead, try baking apples and topping them off with a layer of cinnamon, which is actually quite good for regulating blood sugar.
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3. Greek Yogurt Parfait
Yogurt parfaits in general are much healthier than the alternatives, but using Greek yogurt instead of the regular kind is both more protein and less calories. The dessert in general is quite good for digestion, and as long as you use natural sugars from fruits instead of added sugar, your body will thank you.
4. Oatmeal Cookies
With so many different kinds of cookies to choose from, oatmeal certainly stands out as a healthier choice. Make these cookies with whole grain oats for high fiber, and add natural sweetness by incorporating bananas or maple syrup. You can even make them without refined flour, saving you calories in the long run.
5. Coconut Energy Balls
Plenty of health stores sell delicious coconut energy balls. They’re not only packed with fiber and healthy fats, but you can even make them without baking, which makes the whole process quite easy.
6. Frozen Banana
Instead of indulging in an ice cream bar, consider a frozen banana instead. The banana is full of potassium and fiber, and as long as you top it with something semi-healthy like dark chocolate, you’ll get the benefits of antioxidants with less sugar.
7. Stuffed Dates
Even by themselves, dates are a delicious and sweet source of fiber. But adding a healthy filling like nut butter is a great way to get some healthy fats and proteins in as well.
8. Avocado Chocolate Mousse
Avocado and chocolate may seem like a strange combination but they actually work really well. The goal is to use natural sweetness from honey or maple syrup and mixing that along with cocoa powder and raw avocado.
9. Frozen Yogurt Bark
If you’re craving something snappy and creamy, try frozen yogurt bark. This bark is high in protein and low in sugar, and is a great alternative to ice cream. You just need to line Greek yogurt with some toppings on a baking sheet and let it freeze before cracking into pieces.
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10. Fruit and Whip Cream
While whip cream isn’t healthy, in moderation, you’ll be able to get a pass. Top off a bowl with your favorite fruits and add a dollop of low-fat whip cream to the side as a dip. This is simple and sweet!
Now that we have talked about desserts you can enjoy any time without worry, here are 10 to think twice about.
1. Molten Lava Cake
In theory, it’s easy to see why people love this cake. Not only do you get that delicious chocolatey feel, but the melted layer adds an interesting texture that is so unique. Unfortunately, it's rich in butter and sugar and one serving can easily reach 600 to 1000 calories.
2. Ice Cream Sundae
It’s pretty easy to overeat ice cream, but sundaes in particular are worse. This is because they’re often topped with caramel sauces, hot fudge, or sprinkles, that simply add more empty calories on top of a sweet serving.
3. Baklava
Baklava’s big issue is that the layers of phyllo dough are practically soaked in sugar syrup and butter. This makes it one of the sweetest items on the menu, and the added fat from the toppings doesn’t exactly help its case.
4. Funnel Cake
Obviously, the best way to make cake even more unhealthy is to deep fry it, and that’s exactly what funnel cake is about. Additionally, funnel cakes have no nutrition, and adding ice cream or powdered sugar just makes the matter worse.
5. Milkshakes
Milkshakes are essentially like drinking sugary ice cream. Often these blended drinks are mixed in with sweet syrups, whipped cream, and candy inserts. Often one milkshake is more than enough to exceed daily sugar limits.
6. Carrot Cake
You might be fooled into thinking carrot cake is healthy—after all, there is a vegetable involved. While the carrots do add fiber, the cake itself is very calorie dense and is often high in oil and sugar. Not to mention, the cream cheese frosting is quite fatty.
7. Pecan Pie
Like most pies, the issue here is the use of high sugars, butter, and not to mention corn syrup. One serving can easily run 500 to 700 calories, and while pecans on their own are fine, in the pie setting they’re a sugar overdose.
8. Tiramisu
Tiramisu may seem like a light dessert—after all it’s so creamy and easy to eat. But it’s actually quite high in sugar and cream, and the mascarpone cheese only adds to the rich saturated fat content.
9. Donuts
Donuts in particular can be quite tricky. While a plain old-fashioned will keep you on the shorter calorie count with 150 to 200 calories, a glazed or cream-filled donut can easily reach much higher counts as they are all deep fried too.
10. Oreo Cheesecake
The Oreo Dream Extreme Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory in particular is known as one of the unhealthiest desserts around. It has some of the highest calories of any dessert, which adds up when you consider the use of a cookie crust, fudge cake, chocolate icing, and cream and sugar that go into one slice.
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