Think of this as your guide to healthier baking. Chef Mia Rigden and Jenny Dorsey will show you together how you can redesign some of your favorite baked goods so that they are healthier and filled with ingredients that are better prepared for you – without compromising on taste. See everything
The great thing about baking is that it can be as elaborate or as simple as you want it to be. The internet is full of intricate pastries, cakes, and biscuits that can take hours or sometimes days from start to finish. And, hey! This is great if baking is a therapeutic activity for you. But sometimes you just want the dessert to be on the table in an hour or less. That’s why we asked our bakery lover’s stable to come up with the best desserts using four (or three or two) ingredients.
Whether you are a chocolate lover, nut butter fanatic or ice cream fanatic, we have a four-ingredient dessert for you. And did I forget to mention that each and every one of these simple, healthy dessert recipes have their own health benefits? Grab your spatula and enjoy these decadent but down to earth desserts.
5 easy, healthy dessert recipes with four ingredients (or fewer)
1. Almond butter brownies
You owe Jennifer Lee, the recipe creator behind Kirbie’s Cravings, those incredibly simple squares of chocolate goodness. When you’ve got ripe to overripe bananas, almond butter, and cocoa powder, you have everything you need to make this popular recipe with serious nutritional value.
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The bananas sweeten these brownies while also providing plenty of potassium, which helps your body balance sodium levels and digest carbohydrates, as well as lowering the risk of stroke and heart disease. Meanwhile, this nut butter adds some solid protein (about seven grams per two-tablespoon serving), and the cocoa powder contains polyphenols that help protect against certain cancers and heart disease. It’s a brownie, yes … but it’s a super powered brownie.
Photo: Kirbie’s Cravings
2. Berries and vegan whipped cream
Sometimes simple candies are the most satisfying candy of all – and this recipe is exhibit A. All you need is a can of full-fat coconut milk, a teaspoon of vanilla, and your favorite berries to create this dessert. Since this recipe doesn’t have any added sugar, it won’t boost your blood sugar and cause an energy crash later in the day.
When deciding which berries to buy, keep in mind that all berries are nutritional MVPs, but blackberries, blueberries, and cranberries provide the most antioxidants. “Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body,” said registered nutritionist Isabel Smith, RD, Well + Good. “Free radicals are compounds in our body that are necessary for certain functions, but can cause serious damage if their levels get too high.”
3. Dairy-free ice cream
So you’ve baked Lee’s brownies and a loaf of banana bread and still need to get rid of overripe bananas? Introducing three-ingredient ice cream from Mia Rigden, co-host of Well + Good’s Alt-Baking Bootcamp. Freeze these bananas, then mix them with dark chocolate chips and peanut butter. And, bam, there’s your lightning-fast dessert. You get all of the above banana benefits (hello lots of potassium) plus healthy monounsaturated fats that will help bring down the “bad” (or LDL) cholesterol levels in your ever-trusted jar of peanut butter.
4. Vegan fudge
Three-ingredient fudge. Do i have to say more? This vegan recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut milk, and vanilla – and you don’t even have to turn the oven on. “This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar free, nut-free and vegan … we hit all the fields here today,” says Rigden in the video. That said, if you’re baking for a group of people with various dietary restrictions, this fudge won’t disappoint anyone.
Remember that chocolate has many health benefits. And although semi-sweet has a slightly lower nutritional value than, for example, an 85 percent cocoa extra dark chocolate bar, it still has a lot to tell. Research has linked chocolate’s rich flavonoid content to longevity. When choosing your chocolate chips, try purchasing a high cocoa option to reap more chocolate-coated rewards from your fudge.
5. Vegan blueberry rice
Blueberry ice cream is the underrated stepsister to strawberry ice cream, and that has to change. But with this two-ingredient recipe, we’re well on the way to building a new reputation for blueberries. Just combine frozen blueberries and oat milk and you have a creamy dessert.
For a two-ingredient recipe, this ice cream has many nutritional benefits. First of all, the blueberries contain the antioxidants that fight free radicals that we talked about earlier. Second, oat milk provides slowly digestible carbohydrates that make up B vitamins that help your body convert food into energy. So if you are feeling lethargic one morning, ice cream for breakfast may be your best option. Serious.
Photo: Stocksy / Paperclip
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