Healthy Dessert Series-Pt. 1

Since I am always looking for alternatives to stuffing my face full of Oreos, Ben and Jerry's, and donuts, I have done quite a bit of experimenting with some recipes.

Not all of my recipes are fantastic, but some of them really hit the spot. Mainly these come together because I need to use something up or I want to see how certain flavors will mesh. 

I purchased two sets of popsicles molds. One I got at Dollar Tree and another on Amazon here.

I like having two different sets, one with four popsicles and the other with six. This makes it easy to break up the recipes to fit the calories that I am looking for. 

I am really bad about taking photos or doing anything even slightly professional, but I'm hoping just the recipe will inspire you. 

My main inspiration for these first two recipes I'm sharing came from my love of Yasso bars. They are so super good, but pretty expensive ($3.98 for 4 at Walmart), so I was looking for something a bit more budget friendly.

Most of the items can be swapped out with different brands, but it may change the nutritional information slightly. I build my recipes in MyFitnessPal and it is super easy. 

I found some Cookie Dough Bites and Birthday Cake Cookie Dough Bites at Dollar Tree that looked delicious, the rest was just trial and error. You could always swap these out for some dark chocolate chips or crushed up cookies, really the choice is up to you!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt Bars

Serves 4; can be changed to 6 servings to fit in your mold

Ingredients:

6 oz Plain Greek Yogurt-I used Harris Teeter brand

1 package Cookie Dough bites

7 oz Fat Free Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

1-2 oz milk of your choice

Method: 

Mix all ingredients together, the milk will help the items blend together. Pour mix into the popsicle mold and freeze overnight remove and store in the freezer. To remove, place the molds in lukewarm water to the top of the mold and wiggle to release. I store mine in quart size bags which works perfectly.

Chocolate Birthday Cake Popsicles:

Serves 6; but can be adjusted to fit your needs

Ingredients:

8 oz Plain Greek Yogurt

4 oz Fat Free Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

2 tbsp Ghiradelli Unsweetened Cocoa

1 package Cupcake Bites with Sprinkles

Method:

Mix all ingredients together and spoon into popsicle mold. Freeze overnight then remove from mold and store in the freezer. 

Oh my yum wrap

This is a quick and easy lunch that I make time and time again. It is delicious, filling, gets in veggies, and is packed with protein.
I planned to make this with smashed avocado, but my avocados weren't ripe enough to be used today. So I made the swap for some hummus, which was just as good. Using hummus or avocado is a great way to cut calories instead of mayo. They also contain healthy fats which are good for you.
If you make it the way I did, this lunch comes in around 280 calories, slightly less if you use 1/4 cup of avocado versus the 2 tbsps of hummus.

Here are all the ingredients you will need:

First, lay out your wrap-these are FlatOut wraps, but you can also use a tortilla and spread the hummus or avocado all over. Add some fresh ground pepper and sea salt.

Next, layer about a half a cup to a cup of fresh spinach or any lettuce of your choice over the hummus.

 Add the chipotle chicken and bacon (I used precooked) on top. Roll up and enjoy the loaded goodness.

You could also warm this up on the stove or add cheese. I just choose to keep it simple because I like the fresh taste. 

Baked Oatmeal

I originally got this recipe from Cooking Classy and made a few changes to fit my needs. I decided to use the coconut oil in the hopes that I won't always want to use butter instead. This ended up being absolutely delicious. So delicious in fact that I didn't manage to snap any photos while I was making it or before we devoured it. But trust me, it is good. The almond milk made it just a touch sweeter. I think the coconut oil was a good swap, but I wouldn't know unless I made it again with butter. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Yield: About 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups almond milk (I used unsweetened)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted 
• 3 cups rolled or quick oats
• 
  
• Directions
• 
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut oil on an 8 by 8-inch baking dish, set aside.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs. Add in brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and whisk until no lumps remain. Stir in milk and melted coconut oil then mix in oats. Pour into prepared baking dish and spread evenly (at this point you can refrigerate overnight if desired or bake immediately). Bake in preheated oven 30 - 40 minutes until set. 
Cut into squares and serve warm with fresh fruit or syrup. 
We enjoyed ours with some strawberries and light agave nectar. Perfection! Have a great week!