Help me institute healthy desserts. . . any ideas?

[Alicia64]

My son is almost five feet tall and he weighs 112 lbs. I've mentioned it before so forgive me for being repetitive. A friend suggested that I bake too much and he's eating too much sugar.

 

Well. . . yes, it hurt my feelings a little because we have a no desserts during the day rule and only one dessert after dinner. And I watch his portion size -- without being obnoxious.

 

He comes from huge stock -- dh is tall and football playerish, but the grandfathers are even bigger. My son's calves are solid and HUGE. And have been like that since he was four. Friends even noticed his calves.

 

Anyway. . . back to sugar. Any ideas for creating healthier desserts? I don't think I can make him go cold turkey. I'd like to cut him back in a way that won't completely freak him out.

 

My first thoughts go to angel food cake, Weight Watchers ice cream bars.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

 

Alley

[medawyn]

In the summer, I do a ton of fruit crumbles. I make the crumble topping with oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar and coconut oil (plus spices to complement the fruit). You can play around with the ratios, but I find that 1/2 c brown sugar to 1 cup oats + 3/4 cup ww flour works for us. Summer fruits need no sweetening!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, in my opinion, your friend should not have said anything unless you asked her opinion. That was pretty rude of her. Your son may just be growing faster than others of his age and it will all even out in the end. I know my boys bulk up a little before each growth spurt, then it evens out when they get taller.

 

Anyway, fruit salad with homemade whipped cream is one of my favorite desserts. The only added sugar is a tiny bit in the whipped cream.

[Momof3littles]

Berries (fresh or frozen) a touch of homemade whipped cream

 

Do you have any interest in baking with almond or coconut flour and cutting back on sugar?

 

Low sugar smoothies frozen into popsicle molds. You can also freeze lightly sweetened (we use erythritol or stevia to sweeten) fruity teas.

[5sons]

I've replaced our sweetners with:

Blackstrap molasses

raw honey

rapadura (non processed sugar originating in India)

fruit jams made with real fruit and fruit juice with no added sugar

 

White refined sugar and white refined flour has no nutrients. If you were to leave them out not even the insects would eat them because of the lack of nutrients. Eating refined sugar and flour take large amounts of vitamins and minerals from the body to digest them because they have none of their own. So the body becomes depleted especially of B vitamins (which give you energy). Because the body gets depleted (especially of B vitamins) overeating occurs as the body craves more nutrients.

 

I want to encourage you in your adventure to help your family in this area. I am addicted to sugar and have had many struggles personally to get healthy and avoid sugar. So I know how you might be feeling.:)

 

Be careful with processed prepackaged desserts as they are very hard on your body.

 

Food should taste good and be nourishing. Check out westonaprice.org

 

HTH!

 

Kristen

[Starr]

Most recipes work fine with the sugar cut back. Portion control is the usual issue with weight and you are doing that already. :grouphug:

[momto2Cs]

I am dealing with a dd who has put on some weight in the last couple of years, so I am pretty strict about desserts.

 

Having said that, my kids both love yogurt with frozen berries or other fruit. Seriously. We'll use lowfat vanilla yogurt, or the banana-vanilla flavor from Trader Joe's, and top it with frozen blueberries, or fresh sliced bananas, blackberries, sliced strawberries, etc. It is delicious, and very healthy.

 

I make popsicles too. Their current fave is a combo of Silk's Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, banana, and peanut butter. Blend until smooth, freeze, and it tastes like a peanut butter cup!

[Mandylubug]

well I don't think cutting out all sugar period would do anything other than making everyone crave it more. For here we have fresh fruit with peanut butter, yogurt and granola, angel food cake with fresh berries and whipped cream, even a small piece of chocolate. Tonight we had one cinnamon donut. Only sweets we have had today or the past few days for that matter.

 

I embrace the occasional sweet splurge. I do keep track of what we consume on myfitnesspal.com so I do know what we are eating. When I first started I was amazed at the amount of sugar we ate. I was also shocked that we weren't eating enough protein and fiber. Once I upped our protien and fiber, downed the sugar we have been quite happy :)

 

I would also state that I would nip fruit juices, sweet teas and sodas before nipping desserts all together. Also using measuring cups to actually measure out portions is a better way to cut back than eliminating favorite foods entirely. Desserts wise I bake once a week. Once that treat is gone, we have the healthy treats to enjoy such as apples and grapes, bananas, etc. The kids can choose to eat it all in two days or nibble throughout the week.

[Katy]

Fat free, sugar free instant pudding (especially a mix of one box each chocolate and coconut).

 

Fruit (with a tsp of a syrup - raspberry or chocolate drizzled over the fruit and the plate). Mango is especially good for this.

 

Pears or fruit cocktail (canned, sugar free) in sugar free jello.

 

Pumpkin Mousse: A can of pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and a container of fat free cool whip. Mix. Sweeten if necessary.

 

Make a really rich flourless chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate. Reduce the sugar a little and serve tiny portions.

 

Can you tell I grew up in a household where my mom was constantly on weight watchers? Honestly though, I wouldn't worry too much. He's probably about to have a growth spurt. I'd focus more on limiting snacking and drinks with calories (milk or water are fine) and increasing the fiber in foods if I was concerned.

[chepyl]

Cold watermelon is our favorite summer desert! Fresh fruit smoothies are good too.

[ktgrok]

Not sure how on earth she thinks sugar makes a kid taller? His weight seems fine for his height, I'd stop worrying about it right now.

[Kathryn]

That doesn't seem oddly proportioned to me.

 

As to your question, dessert is almost always fruit here.

[ondreeuh]

Is that really overweight? My son is very lean (dare I saw scrawny?) and is 4'11" and 96 lbs. 112 doesn't sound worrying to me if he is built stronger.

 

I just got a Vitamix and we are loving smoothies for dessert. I froze a bunch of bananas and blend them with skim milk, lowfat yogurt, and berries. It tastes like ice cream. Another yummy desert is frozen tubes of yogurt (like GoGurt - they even make a kind without HFCS). They taste like ice cream pops. We rarely have dessert, though. It's never been a regular thing.

Edited July 28, 2012 by ondreeuh

[AndyJoy]

He's 9? Especially if he's always had a thick build that doesn't really sound overweight. A lot of kids are a bit thick before puberty then they shoot up.

 

We like to eat a very small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream topped with lots of fresh sliced strawberries, nectarines, cherries, or banana. It seems much fancier than just eating fruit.

[Sara in AZ]

:lurk5: You described my son. He's 7. He has a legitimately big build, but i think he's been packing on too many pounds lately (as have I). So adjustments are in order at our house, too. One treat we've been enjoying lately is fresh peaches sliced up in a bowl of half and half and sprinkled with stevia. Yum! I also do a lot of baking with almond flour with recipes from this site. http://elanaspantry.com I still use a sweetener, usually agave or honey, but almond flour is pretty nutritious and a great substitute for refined white flour.

 

One of my favorite recipes is brownies made from almond butter. One 16 oz. jar, whip it up with beaters. Then mix in two eggs, a cup of agave, one tsp vanilla, and I think a half tsp each of salt and baking soda. Mix in one cup of chocolate chips and sprinkle some on top. Bake at 325 for 35 min. This recipe is on the website I linked in case I remembered it wrong. So good!

 

Good luck! I hope you find some things you like.

[Sevilla]

We have fruit for dessert. Sometimes homemade popsicles too made with whole fruit (not just juice). Sometimes I make 'ccoconut whipped cream' to go with the fruit (whip a can of refrig. coconut milk).

[SwallowTail]

The most important thing, in my opinion, is keeping the balance of protein/fat/carbs leaning heavily toward the fat and protein. I make flour-free peanutbutter cookies, and they are a huge hit around here.

• 1 cup peanutbutter (the kind with no sugar added)
  
• 1-2 eggs (more eggs = more protein)
  
• 1/2 cup gluten free oats
  
• 1/2 cup nuts (we like walnuts)
  
• sugar - you can add a whole cup or brown sugar, turbinado, or add a lesser amount of honey, or use half sugar/half stevia.
  
• I like to add a touch of salt, but this is optional
  
• dark chocolate chips, or half dark/half semi-sweet (I haven't measured how many I put in, maybe 1/2 cup?)
  
• spoon onto cookie sheet, flatten with fork, bake at 350°F for ~12 minutes.
  

[ColoNative]

I am more interested in giving my kids really good nutritional foods rather than just cutting back sugar or fats. Here are a few recipes my kids love:

 

Raw Chocolate Pudding

4 frozen bananas

1 avocado

3 tbsp. cocoa

3 tbsp. agave syrup

1 tbsp. vanilla

1/2 cup coconut milk beverage (not raw, but makes it blend easier)

 

Put this in a blender and blend until smooth.

 

Lemon Pudding

2 avocadoes

4 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp. agave (or to taste)

 

Blend in blender until smooth. We top this with fresh or frozen raspberries and it's awesome!

 

Raw Peach Crumble

4 peaches, chopped

mix with 1 tbsp. vanilla and put into a pan

Topping:

In food processor, combine 1 cup pecans, 1/2 cup pitted dates, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. salt. Pulse until crumbly. Sprinkle over peaches and spoon into dishes. You can also top this with a cashew cream vanilla sauce (1 cup cashews, soaked in 2 cups water for at least 2 hours; 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 cup agave - blend until smooth).

[lllll]

..

[Laura Corin]

I don't bake, so the nearest we get to desserts is a couple of biscuits (cookies) or berries with cream.

 

Laura

[Sevilla]

I am more interested in giving my kids really good nutritional foods rather than just cutting back sugar or fats.

Cutting back sugars made room in our diet for more 'good nutritional foods'. I love healthy fats and don't worry about those (like coconut milk or avocados). I talk to my kids about how sugary desserts are 'sometimes treats' that they have at birthday parties and special events like that - basically 1x/month or maybe twice if it's the holiday season. Daily foods eaten are ones that are nutritionally dense and healthy. They also know that it's ideal to aim for 20g or less of added sugar per day (total) and our diet is structured to support that. We didn't always eat this way but gradually transitioned.

 

One thought - would your DS be interested in a square of very dark chocolate as dessert? If you get 85% or higher it's low in sugar and low in processed ingredients, yet feels very rich and satisfying to eat. Ghiradelli makes individually wrapped squares of dark chocolate called 'midnight' that we enjoy over here :). I'd probably make that available twice a week and aim for fruit as a dessert other times, or designate just 2-3 nights per week as 'dessert night' instead of a nightly thing.

 

Check out the ingredients on weight watchers ice cream bars:

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=667295

 

Yuck! Very little real food, very high processed ingredients.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Sevilla

[NancyNellen]

I recently found a honey flavored frozen Greek yogurt. We have that with fresh berries if we have dessert.

[besroma]

:lurk5:

[JoLuRu]

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garbanzo-bean-chocolate-cake-gluten-free/

 

This garbanzo bean (gluten free) chocolate cake is high protein and really tasty (you don't taste the garbanzo beans!) I cut the sugar in half and it's still plenty sweet. I add a bit of vanilla and baking powder, use egg whites only, and half semi-sweet, half baking chocolate. It's plenty sweet and has a nice texture. My kids love it.