Guilt-Free Chocolate Dessert Recipes for the Holidays

Three guilt-free ways to satisfy your craving for chocolate during the holiday season.

 

Everyone loves to indulge in a delicious chocolate dessert every now and then, but those two minutes of pleasure can haunt you long after you are done eating. Chocolate morsels are typically drenched in sugar, fat and carbs, making them a tempting, yet ultimately adverse snack.

 However, you don’t have to sacrifice your healthy eating habits to enjoy a bite of chocolate. With some smart ingredients and a minor amount of preparation, you can whip up these easy-to-make and guilt-free chocolate dishes.

Chocolate banana ice cream

Nothing beats the sweet ecstasy of a refreshing scoop of ice cream on a warm day. But did you know there’s an easy way to make ice cream that bypasses the typical dairy and sugar? All it takes are some frozen bananas and a blender!

EasyAsApplePie.com has a recipe for a banana-based soft serve with chocolate flavoring. To make this dessert, slice two bananas into small pieces and freeze them on a plate lined with parchment paper for almost two hours. Once the fruit is firm, place the frozen chunks in a blender or food processer until it starts to smooth out. Add in one tablespoon of cocoa powder and continue blending until totally smooth. You can eat it immediately after or freeze it for another hour to make it firmer.

Chocolate truffles

Bite-size truffles make charming additions at a party, but they can be powder kegs of fat and sugar. Instead of wrecking your diet over a simple snack, find a way to make them healthier.

There’s an excellent recipe for Guilt-Free Chocolate Truffles on MayIHaveThatRecipe.com. Melt a half-cup of high-cacao chocolate chips in the microwave. Next, stir in a tablespoon of all-natural almond butter, followed by 1/4 cup of plain, fat-free Greek yogurt.

After the concoction chills in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, form inch-sized balls and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder.

Chocolate avocado mousse

For a classy treat that’s dense with flavor, mousse is a go-to snack that you can still enjoy with some health-conscious tweaks.

Following the recipe from TheKitchn.com, blend four medium-sized, ripe avocados in a blender or food processor until smooth. Then, add 1/3 cup of raw coconut nectar, 1/2 cup of raw cacao powder, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. After the mixture is smooth, chill it for two hours in the refrigerator. Sprinkle fresh fruit or crushed nuts on top when serving.

If you love chocolate, but feel compelled to skip your favorite desserts to watch what you eat, then these wise recipes will keep the joy in your after-dinner indulgences during the holidays and all year round. After all, dessert is the best part of any meal.

This article is presented by Heritage Volkswagen in Union City, GA.