I’ve lost 100 pounds with lots of serious calorie counting. Holidays are the hardest times for dieters. So how about decadent diet desserts that actually burn fat instead of create it? Here are fat-burning 4th of July dessert recipes with a patriotic, red-white-and blue theme.
Red, White and Blueberry Cream Pie: Cream pie—on a diet? No way. Yes way. Swap non-fat sugar-free Greek yogurt for sour cream. Blend with instant sugarfree, fat-free Jell-O cream cheese or vanilla pudding, sugarfree vanilla almond milk, sliced strawberries and blueberries. Line pie tin with reduced-fat crushed graham crackers blended with milled flax seed (omit butter or shortening; crust will be looser,but doable). Arrange berries on top in star shapes. Make star patterns with spray whipped topping.
All-American Apple Upside-Down Pie: Spray pie tin with zero-calorie cooking spray. Pare and slice tart Jonathon or Macintosh apples. Arrange in pan. Dot with light margarine. Sprinkle with zero calorie Ideal sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Blend oats, Ideal sweetener, flax seed and Bob’s Red Mill 7-grain pancake mix. Bake till crust is browned.
RWB Super-fruit Parfait. Make applesauce leaving skins (for color) on and milling. Cook raw cranberries with one cup water and Ideal sweetener to taste. Cook cubed rhubarb with water and Ideal. Alternate layers of fresh blueberries, spray whipped cream and fruit sauces in fluted or dessert glass,
Chocolate Indulgence Cake. Prepare boxed chocolate cake mix with homemade applesauce instead of oil and flax seed for eggs (three tablespoons per egg), half cup Greek yogurt and cold coffee. Melt unsweetened dark chocolate (70-percent or higher cacao). cold coffee, coconut or almond milk, sea salt and Ideal sweetener to glaze consistency. Serve over cake. Top with shaved sweetened dark chocolate, raspberries, and spray whipped topping.
Rocky Road Trifle. Cut angel food cake in squares. Melt dark chocolate (70 percent cacao), Before chocolate hardens, blend cake cubes, peanuts and spray whipped topping. Allow to set and top with sliced strawberries. Angel food cake (says Nutrient Facts) has only 70 calories per serving, no fat and less sugar than regular cake.
Almond Joy Trifle. Follow procedure for Rocky Road Trifle, but substitute unsweetened shredded coconut and almonds for peanuts. Omit berries.
Capitalize on antioxidant goodness of red and blue berries, apples and dark chocolate and fiber-plus-fatty-acids in almonds, coconut and flax seed. These recipes are so yummy you’ll have non-dieters begging for some!