Summer is here and as always, so are the endless BBQs, beach days, and bikinis. We’ve scoured the web for some of our favorite healthy summer dessert recipes, so that you can enjoy yourself while keeping that beach body looking fab. As a bonus, they’re all super easy to make too!
Frozen Fruit Pops
Servings: 4 Serving Size: 1 popOld Points: 0 pt Points Plus: 1 pts
Calories: 32.1 Fat: 0.2 g Carb: 7.8 g Fiber: 1.1 g Protein: 0.4 g Sugar: 5 g
Sodium: 1.4 mg
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup diced kiwi
• 1/3 cup diced watermelon
• 1/3 cup diced strawberries
• 1/3 cup diced pineapple
• 1/4 cup fresh pineapple juice or orange juice
Directions:
1. Combine diced fruit in a bowl and fill each 5 oz cup with fruit.
2. Add 1 tbsp of juice and insert craft sticks into each cup. They easily stay in place because of all the fruit.
3. Place in the freezer a few hours until firm.
4. To remove the pops from the cups, run under warm water a few seconds. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Strawberry Banana
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries 1 1/2 bananas (fresh)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup maple syrup
Pineapple Banana
2 bananas (fresh)
1 1/2 cups frozen pineapple
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup maple syrup
optional sub: try coconut milk instead of lemon juice for an ultra creamy sorbet (not fat free)
Zippy Wild Blueberry
1 1/2 cups frozen wild blueberries
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 banana (fresh)
optional: 1/2 tsp ginger powder or grated fresh ginger OR dash of cayenne
Spicy Mango
1 1/2 cups frozen mango
1 banana (fresh)
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
a few dashes of cayenne powder
Ingredient subs: You can easily substitute the maple syrup with agave syrup. And the lemon juice can be subbed with lime juice. A hint of citrus zest is also a nice touch.
Directions
*Tip: slightly thaw the frozen fruit so that it easily blends – but is still frosty.
1. Add all ingredients to a high speed/high quality blender like a Vitamix.
2. Blend until smooth – do not overblend. You do not want to “melt” the mixture. Keep it as thick and frosty as possible. 3. Pour into freezer-friendly container. *Tip: A chilled metal container works best. If you can find small metal containers to chill for your sorbet – grab them! 4. Chill until firm. 5. Scoop and serve!
Roasted strawberry parfait? Don’t mind if I do!
Makes: 4 to 8 oz servings
Ingredients
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 cups plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup granola
• mint for garnish, optional
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl, combine strawberries and brown sugar. Pour the strawberries on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast for 12 to 15 minutes until the strawberries start to release their juices but are still firm. Carefully pour the roasted strawberries and their juice into a bowl and set aside until needed.
2. Mix yogurt and honey in a medium bowl and stir until combined.
3. In 8 ounce glasses or parfait cups, assemble the parfaits by adding a layer of yogurt to the bottom of the glass. Next add a few spoonfuls of the strawberries on top of the yogurt and then add a spoonful of granola on top of the strawberries. Repeat layers until the serving glasses are full. Top the parfaits with a spoonful of strawberries and a sprinkle of granola. Place a sprig of mint for garnish, optional.
What’s dessert without chocolate? This recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins is tasty and gluten free, although you can definitely replace the gluten free flour, with regular white whole-wheat flour if you prefer.
Ingredients:
• 1¼ cup gluten-free flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 mashed banana or ⅓ cup applesauce
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup grated zucchini
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 24-mini-muffin pan and a mini-loaf pan.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients together and then add the dry ingredients. Stir together to combine, and then fold in the zucchini.
4. Bake the mini-muffins for 20-25 minutes and the mini-loaf for 45 minutes. Alternately, if you have 2 mini-muffin pans, bake the whole batch in mini-muffin form.
5. Cool on a wire rack.
Want to bring something along with you to a BBQ? You can’t go wrong with these delicious pretzel bites. Plus, they are sure to be a hit with the kids!
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Bites
Makes: about 40-50 pretzels
Ingredients
• 80-100 mini pretzels
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 Tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 12-ounce bag chocolate chips
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and butter until smooth. Whisk in the sugars and vanilla (depending on the consistency of your peanut butter, you may need to add a bit more powdered sugar to get it stiff enough to hold its shape between the pretzels).
2. Spoon about 1 – 2 teaspoons of the peanut butter mixture on to a pretzels, then add another pretzel to the top and press them together until the peanut butter mixture reaches the edges.
3. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together and mix until smooth. Dip half of each pretzel sandwich in it, then place on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet. Let chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving to let the chocolate set.
Which one is your favorite?
Written by Stevie Guarino
