Healthy-ish and totally delish: wholesome, indulgent, totally worth it

Jump into a top food trend and maintain your healthy goals. Healthy indulgence isn’t an oxymoron!

---

I give a big no-thank you to Spam fries and some other food trends I see on TikTok.

And from a nutrition perspective, I’m not really into some of the trends I see in the supermarkets. Sugary drinks spiked with probiotics are still sugary drinks after all.

But I’m all for the trends of mini treats and healthier indulgences!

Food is fun

It’s my love language.

My granddaughter laughed when I served up a heart-shaped slice of cantaloupe for her snack. And when my kids were little, we enjoyed faces crafted from peanut butter, raisins and chocolate chips on apple slices or pancakes.

Food trends was the topic at a partially-sponsored conference recently. We heard about more products with beans like seasoned canned beans to star in a nourish bowl and snacks like roasted fava beans. I smiled deeply when our speaker showed a slide of beautiful mini caprese salads created to look like ladybugs. It screams food is fun, even though I’m sure I’ll never take the time to prepare such a cute appetizer.

Maybe when I’m retired – whenever that will be.

My favorite trends to learn about were mini treats and healthy indulgences.

Why? Because they perfectly speak to my nutrition philosophy that food is meant to nourish and delight.

Get in on the trends

Create healthy indulgences with feel-good ingredients like avocado, dates, and nut butters. Whether nourishing your body or treating your soul (or both), desserts with benefits deliver the best of both worlds: fantastic flavor and wholesome fuel. Here are a few ideas.

Just ideas. Search for recipes. Combine your favorite flavors. Use your creativity.

Chocolate mousse 2 ways

Blend unsweetened cocoa powder, a touch of maple syrup (or a low-calorie sweetener), and a splash of vanilla with either silken tofu (protein boost) or ripe avocado (healthy fats).

Dark chocolate-dipped apricots

Poach the apricots before dipping for an amazing soft texture.

Chia pudding

Soak chia seeds with milk, sweetener (maple syrup, stevia, or other favorite), unsweetened cocoa powder or fresh blueberries. Refrigerate for a few hours. I pour the pudding into individual cocktail glasses or pretty ramekins for a fun mini dessert.

Dark chocolate-dipped orange slices

Dip orange segments in melted dark chocolate. Chill until firm. Simple and elegant.

Chocolate peanut butter oat balls

Grab the recipe for these simple treats made with dates, peanut butter, chocolate, and oats.

Stuffed dates

So easy-peasy, it feels like cheating. Split a Medjool date, remove the pit, fill it with almond butter, and sprinkle with chocolate chips and crushed pistachios.

Chocolate chip banana bread

So moist and delicious.

Mixed berry frozen yogurt

Can you believe it’s only 2 ingredients: mixed berry frozen yogurt recipe

 

Looking for more ideas? Check out other desserts with benefits.

Which sweetener?

Maybe you’re trying to cut back or even eliminate added sugar, like 66% of Americans. I’m often asked which sweetener is the best, so here’s my simple answer: Use whatever you prefer. But if you choose calorie-dense options like honey, maple syrup, table sugar, or molasses, use them in teeny-tiny amounts. They add tons of calories that affect your weight and tons of carbs that affect blood sugar levels.

When it comes to low-calorie and no-calorie sweeteners, you have many choices: the blue packet, yellow packet, white packet, and more.

And you’ll find even more choices in packaged foods. In fact, a product like stevia is really more than one product. I taste-tested some stevia products a few years ago and noticed dramatic differences. The most common stevia extract is called Reb A, and it’s bitter tasting. Reb D is sweet and delicious, but it’s less abundant, so it might be more expensive. Totally worth it, in my opinion. There are still other stevia extracts, and they all taste a little different.

But aren’t they bad for me?

I’m questioned: aren’t sugar substitutes going to make me eat more sugar? Not according to the SWITCH trial. In a randomized controlled study, researchers compared people who drank diet sodas to those who drank water for 1 year. Both groups lost weight – about 16 pounds for the soda drinkers and 13 pounds for the water drinkers. There were no differences in sugar intake between the groups.

Here are 10 ways to cut back on sugar.

Scour the supermarket

The number of tiny desserts is astounding. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Wyman’s Just Fruit
• Trader Joe’s Hold the Cone
• Trader Joe’s French Macarons (chocolate and vanilla)
• Heaven and Earth Almond Butter Date Bites
• TrüFrü chocolate-covered raspberries

Just spend a few minutes looking around. I know you’ll find something tiny and delicious.