Three Dessert Recipes Made Healthier

   
Recipes for healthier desserts, including fruit crisp, avocado mousse, and apple nachos.
     

Not Your Granny’s Fruit Crisp

fruit crisp

Ingredients

  • 2 apples, cored and diced
  • 1 banana, sliced
  • 1 pear, cored and diced
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh berries
  • 1 orange (you will want the zest and the juice)
  • 1 inch ginger root, grated
  • 1½  cups of rolled oats
  • 5 graham crackers
  • ¾ cup almonds
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 5 dates, pitted
  • 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

    
Directions

  1. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350°.
     
  2. In a bowl, toss all of the fruit together including the ginger, cinnamon, and zest and juice of the orange.
     
  3. In a food processor, blend the oats, graham crackers, almonds, coconut oil, and dates.
     
  4. Pour the fruit into the pan. Sprinkle the newly made oat topping over the fruit evenly.
     
  5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
     
  6. Serve warm and top with plain yogurt if desired.

     

Avocado Chocolate Mousse

avocado chocolate mousse

Ingredients

  • ½ avocado
  • ½ banana, preferably frozen
  • 5 dates, pitted
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • ¼ cup cacao nibs
  • Unsweetened almond milk or nonfat/low fat milk for thinning

    
Directions

  1. Place all the ingredients except for the cacao nibs and milk in a food processor.
     
  2. Blend well, until smooth. If you prefer a less thick texture, add milk, one tablespoon at a time.
     
  3. Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, add the cacao nibs. Portion into custard cups and refrigerate for a couple hours before serving.

      

Gooey Apple Nachos

apple nachos

Ingredients

  • Apples, cored and thinly sliced
  • Pumpkin Caramel Sauce (recipe below)
  • ¼ cup blueberries
  • 1 Tbsp. crushed almonds
  • 1 Tbsp. shredded coconut
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon

   
Assembling Nachos

  1. Place sliced apples on a plate.
     
  2. Drizzle lightly with caramel sauce (keep in mind that one thumb of caramel is one red light).
     
  3. Sprinkle with almonds, coconut, blueberries, and cinnamon.

    

Pumpkin Caramel Sauce

Ingredients
 
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • ¾ cup coconut crème
  • 1½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ cup pumpkin puree
  • ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

    
Directions

  1. Place ingredients into a small pot and whisk together well.
     
  2. Heat until you get a rolling boil, whisking the whole time.
     
  3. Allow to boil, while whisking, for approximately 10 minutes until you see it thicken. Stove tops vary so begin checking at 5 minutes.
     
  4. Test thickness by taking some out with a small spoon and cooling. It will thicken more as it cools.

     

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