Spring is here! We were all pastels and florals at the recent Just A Pinch Blue Ribbon Showcase event. (More on that Decadent Dessert celebration in an upcoming Notebook!) There were so many great discussions that sprung up during the event, but the single most asked question was how to make springtime appropriate desserts that are also healthy. Well, I took that on as a fantastic challenge! That very same evening I began to go through Just A Pinch and pulled some of the Test Kitchen’s favorite springtime eats.
To my great joy, I found that some – dare I say, many – of our favorite desserts are healthier than I knew! I mean, how can you pass over a recipe entitled Best Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies?! Yum. Anna Messina wasn’t playing around when she posted her scrumtastic recipe to Just A Pinch… They really are some of the absolute best!
“Moist and chewy with only 85 calories per cookie, you can indulge in a few with an ice cold glass of milk and feel guiltless!” smiles Anna.
The combination of oatmeal and chocolate in her recipe is SO delicious. Made with whole wheat flour and applesauce in place of the majority of oil, these little sweeties are so high on flavor that you’d never know they’re low on guilt.
For another healthier than average treat, nix the cake and bake up a delectable loaf of Karen Alcala’s Good For You Zucchini and Apple Bread! She deftly combines flavors that meld into a wholly unique dessert.
“I love zucchini bread but I hate all the oil and sugar you have to put in,” says Karina. “I developed this recipe so it is good for you and it is still sweet and moist. My kids love [it] – I make one loaf and mini muffins for them.”
We love slicing it up -It’s great warm! – and dolloping on just a bit of fat free whipped topping. Karina prefers slathering on pineapple or orange jam. Either way, this is such a wholesome, homey recipe for satisfying your sweet tooth. The apple and zucchini truly are a flavor match made in heaven.
Need a little chocolate in that healthy diet of yours? Can I ever relate! One of our favorite guilt free-ish chocolate treats also happens to be super cute and kid-friendly: M&M Balls! That doesn’t sound guilt free, you say? Ho ho, au contraire! Made of only egg whites, cream of tartar and a bit of sugar, these melt-in-your-mouth meringues are then laced with a rainbow of colorful M&Ms.
“My aunt has been making these for all the kids in the family for as far back as I can remember,” says Jessica Grigowsky, the home cook behind the addictive sweets. “They’re super quick, easy & CHEAP to make! And I haven’t heard anyone ever say they didn’t like them!”
Well, that streak is holding strong as far as we’re concerned, Jessica. Her M&M Balls recipe has been saved by more than 4,000 people and we hear rave reviews on a regular basis. The people have spoken… These are simply stellar.
So who says you can’t have your dessert and be healthy, too? These crafty gals are clearly using their noggins to beat the battle of the bulge, and turning out interesting recipe reinventions to boot! How about you? Got a tip for cooking lighter? We’d love to hear it! Leave a comment and let us know.