Easy recipes for healthy desserts and snacks
Check out the video above to see these sweet treats in action, or scroll down for the recipes.
These are some of our favourite healthier desserts and snacks. Yes, they still have some sweeteners and sugars and fats in them, but it's a variety of different ones and they're less refined. These little cheats crowd out the bad stuff and add things that are easier for your body to process. They're also a really tasty way to vary things up.
Ignore what Karl Stefanovic says in the clip above. These desserts are delicious and better for you. So have your cake and eat it too.
Karl and Ally try Jane's vegan choc fudge Supplied
Ultimate chocolate fudge avocado slice recipe
Avocado chocolate fudge Supplied
Ingredients:
- 1 large, ripe avocado
- ½cup maple syrup
- ⅔ cup almond butter / nut butter of choice
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 200g good quality dark chocolate, broken or chopped into small pieces
- ½ cup slivered almonds or nuts of your choice, toasted, to garnish
- pink salt flakes, to garnish
Method:
Line a slice tray with baking paper, leaving overhang. Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high in 30-second bursts, stirring well between, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a food processor, blitz up avocado (skin and pip removed), maple syrup, almond butter and cocoa until smooth. Add in melted chocolate and pulse until combined. The mix will be thick and rich. Make sure you scrape the sides to get everything incorporated so there are no avocado lumps.
Transfer the chocolate mixture to the lined slice pan and smooth top. Scatter with toasted nuts and a sprinkle of salt. Chill in the fridge until firm enough to remove from the tin and slice. Use a hot knife to cut into small pieces and serve.
Note: You can also add fresh mint to the food processor when blitzing, or even a dash of peppermint for a choc-mint flavour.
Brownie with hidden black beans
This is a great trick because it cuts back on sugar a bit, but adds in fibre in the beans. It also has a great texture and is so easy the kids can make it. You can even sub out the sugar for a sugar replacer like stevia or monkfruit.
Healthier baked doughnuts
Califia cold brew donuts Califia cold brew donuts
These espresso flavoured doughnuts are great. When you bake instead of fry doughnuts you have more control over the kind of ingredients used and you cut out all that oil. They're more like little cakes, but they are delicious and bring all the fun of the donut, minus some of the guilt. Plenty of cake recipes that are vegan or GF or even sugar free work really well in a doughnut tin.
Vegan berry cheesecake
This is so pretty and it cuts out all the cream and dairy, replacing them with nuts. It has a great texture and vibrant flavour.
Vegan avo choc fudge divides Today Show hosts Supplied
Every recipe for these vegan 'cheesecakes' are essentially just soaked and crushed nuts held together with dates and coconut oil. Maple syrup or rice malt syrup is used to sweeten them and berries, spices and citrus add flavor and colour.
Healthier choc-peanut butter cups
These are better than Reese's and so easy the kids can do them. Equal parts coconut oil, maple syrup and unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix it all together over low heat and then set it in the fridge or freezer. Add a dot of pure peanut butter to the middle of each of them.
Or fill them with berries or nuts.
You could even make the chocolate and then dip pieces of fresh fruit in them and pop them in the fridge to set - banana and mandarin segments work really well.
