Ultimate Guide to Clean Eating Desserts
This post will help you find ways to make clean eating desserts.
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Health Disclaimer: The information in this post is only for education & entertainment purposes only. Always consult your physician or nutritionist for advice first before you start any new products, treatments, or a specific food.
Do you love something sweet from time to time? If you said yes, I’m total with you!
Clean eating desserts: Table of Contents
For people like us who love our sweets, and like to be aware of what we put in our bodies, it can be hard to get the best of both worlds.
I suffer from IBS ( irritable bowel syndrome) and my stomach does not cooperate with my sweet tooth.
So it’s hard for me to eat all the processed sugar and wheat that is in most desserts. Make your desserts healthier will help ease stomach issues like mine.
As you know, almost all sweets have sugar and wheat in them. To help my sweet tooth I take the Paleo baking approach and find other ways to make my desserts healthy but yummy.
If you want to find ways to eat your delicious desserts and still stay healthy, this post will help you with that.
Best 10 tips for clean eating desserts
A lot of baking recipes ask for oil like Canola oil or vegetable oil. By switching those types of oils with avocado oil, coconut oil, and olive oil, your baking goods will be way healthier.
Below I compare and contrast the different types of oil that are used in desserts.
Bad oils
Canola oil: Highly processed, high in Omega-6s which increase inflammation, and can create insulin resistance in the body making you more sustainable to develop type 2 diabetes.
Vegetable Oil & Crisco: Highly processed, Studies have shown it increases your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, cancer, and weight gain throughout time.
Good oils
Olive oil: This oil is linked to decreasing your risk of getting heart disease and cancer. It is also high in antioxidants!
My Favorite Pick: Kirkland Signature Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 QT
Avocado oil: This oil also reduces your risk of developing heart diseases and is made from pressed avocado which is a good source of healthy fats.
My Favorite Pick: Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil
Coconut oil: Has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties and it can be substituted for butter in baking!
My Favorite Pick: Kirkland Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Check Out Flavcity’s recommendations and great facts about these oils! Bobby is amazing and he will change the way you look at food at the grocery store.
Change the quality of your butter
If you don’t decide to use healthy oils like coconut oil in your baking, then using grass-fed butter is your next bet. 100% Grass-fed butter is not processed since it comes from cows that eat on grass all day…not grain.
If you don’t have a local dairy farm wound you to get butter from, then one of the best quality grass-fed butter on the market is made by Kerrygold.
Switch up the type of Flour
Changing up the flour I use has been a game-changer for me! You can make your desserts healthier by staying away from unbleached flour and using Paleo flours to create more nutrient-dense desserts. For example, Unbleached flour has no nutritional value since it is stripped away when being processed. It also can spike your blood sugar faster than nut flours.
If you just don’t like the taste of grain-free flour then use whole wheat flour because it will give you more nutritional value.
Grain-free & Healthy Flours
Almond Flour: Made of almonds and helps with decreasing your risk of getting heart diseases.
My Favorite Pick: Anthony’s Almond Flour Blanched
Arrowroot flour: Easier on your stomach, helps decrease inflammation, is used as a thickener when cooking, and is an alternative to cornstarch.
My Favorite Pick: Anthony’s Arrowroot Flour, 2.5 lb
Coconut flour: Keeps your blood sugar leveled, contains beneficial MCTs, keeps your heart and digestive system healthy.
My Favorite Pick: Healthworks Coconut Flour Unrefined Raw Organic
Cassava flour: Has anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. It’s low in the glycemic index, and also helps aid your digestive system.
My Favorite Pick: Anthony’s Cassava Flour
Can you tell I love flour from Anthonys…I just love buying in bulk from this company!
Add Natural Sugar instead of processed sugar
Using refined sugar like cane sugar is highly processed. By looking for added sugars (in the Nutritional Facts section) on your store-bought items, you can see if there is a number by the added sugar part (if there is any).
Having added sugar in your desserts is harmful to the body, has no nutritional value, and can cause multiple health problems for you in the long run.
Watch out for natural flavors and other additives! I have linked great options to help you filter all harmful ingredients. (sometimes it’s hard to find anything with no natural flavors, so you have to weigh your ingredient options)
Natural Sugar Options
- Honey
- 100% Maple syrup
- Coconut sugar
- Agave Syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Erythritol
- Fresh or frozen fruit
- Monk Fruit sweetener
- Stevia
- Sugar-free chocolate
- Dates or Dates sugar
- Yakon Syrup
Use Zero Sugar Chocolate
Finding chocolate bars or chips that are made with sugar alternatives and contain less than 1g or 0g of sugar is an amazing healthy alternative.
Using Cacao powder and nibs is another great option! Cacao has antibacterial properties and is known to decrease your risk of heart disease.
My Favorite Pick: Semi-Sweet Baking Chips by Lily’s or Healthworks Cacao Powder
Find egg substitutes or better quality eggs
There are many egg substitutes to use if you want to go that route. Check out Make it Dairy Free YouTube on different egg substitutes, they are a great resource for all vegans!
If you don’t mind using eggs, using pasture-raised eggs are the best eggs to use. They come from chickens that consume a lot of grass, and because of that their eggs contain more nutrients.
Pasture-raised eggs have more Omega-3s than factory-farmed eggs.
According to a study, pastured raised eggs have twice as much vitamin E, Omega-3 fats, and were 38 percent higher vitamin A content per egg than eggs from caged hens.
Add More Fruit
Adding fruit or fruit puree to cakes, pies, muffins, or ice creams is another way to add natural sugars to your desserts. Baking with fruit is healthier and gives you a chance to get creative in the kitchen too.
You can even use fruit to substitute oil! For example, you can use apple sauce instead of using oil or butter.
Use Quality Milk or Substitutes
If you use milk, always try to get organic or grass-fed milk. Since this type of milk has more nutritional value, the cows who create the milk live on grass rather than corn.
According to The Cornucopia Institute, there are some reasons why grass-fed milk is better than conventional milk.
- Better living conditions for the animals
- Compared to conventional milk, Grass-fed milk has the highest level of omega-3s
- Grass-fed milk has 52% less omega-6’s than conventional milk (Too much Omega-6’s increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.
For more amazing information on the quality of food below are some great resources!
Using grass-fed milk or even goat’s milk can be easier on the stomach for some people. For others who don’t drink milk, using milk substitutes can be a great alternative.
A milk substitute like coconut milk is an amazing alternative for baking. I use it to make the frosting, homemade popsicles, ice creams and substitute it in a recipe that requires the use of milk.
More milk substitutes!
- Coconut milk
- Almond Milk
- Soy milk
- Rice milk
- Oat milk
- Cashew milk (linked cashew milk powder to make your own!)
- Hemp milk
- Pea milk
- Flax milk
- Macadamia milk
- Hemp milk
- Walnut milk
- Banana Milk
Read Baking Product Labels
If you are buying products that you need for a desert always be sure to look in the back of the box to read the ingredients. Creating a yummy but healthy dessert depends on it!
To learn how on what to look for ingredients on any grocery store item read my post: The Ultimate Guide on How to Stock a Healthy Pantry!
This is a great guide, especially if you’re new to it all!
Bake with Veggies
Adding vegetables to your dessert is a great way to make your desserts healthier. You can use veggies in bread, muffins, cakes, brownies, dessert bars, and so much more!
Some vegetables that be incorporated in the dessert are:
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Beets
- Pumpkin
- Yams
- Sweet potato
- Avocado
- Squash
Eating Well.com have great deserts recipes that use veggies… try it out!
Try No-Bake Recipes
Most no-bake desserts usually contain nutritious ingredients that are high in fiber and protein. No-bake recipes have minimal ingredients so they are much easier to make as well as healthier to eat.
The video below shows you some no-bakes recipes from Goodful.
Was this information about clean eating desserts help you make healthier sweets? Let me know in the comments!
Clean Eating Desserts PIN for LATER
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