What’s a body to do when a serious dessert craving kicks in and the house is utterly without sweets (without resorting to eating jam with a spoon, that is)? As much as I love cookies and frozen yogurt, we don’t actually keep them (or any sugary goodies) in the house. And yet here I was tonight, hit hard by a craving for something dessert-like. Foraging in the kitchen resulted in the following, which is working quite nicely as a frozen-yogurt substitute.
Pumpkin Spice Yogurt.
Yep. I took lowfat plain (organic, of course) yogurt, combined it with canned pumpkin, threw in some cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Mixed…y bueno. Pumpkin Spice Yogurt. Quite tasty.
Now, the real question is why I felt the need to share this with you. That’s a question we may never answer. How about a challenge instead?
Your challenge, should you choose to accept: Go to your kitchen and create some kind of relatively healthy dessert-y type thing using only ingredients you already have. Go on. You know you want to. And then enjoy it. Then come back here and tell me all about it.
Is this silly? Bordering on inane? Yeah…probably…but:
1. I actually do want to know.
2. A few minutes’ distraction from the horror of the tsunamis would certainly be welcome.
3. When you’re done eating and reporting back to share your creation, see the post before this one and consider donating, if you haven’t already.
4. MWAH! Big love, cause you’re all so very cute.
This is one I’ve done since childhood:
1/2 c low-fat or non-fat ricotta cheese
1 t of sanka
1 t of water (or a bit more to “melt” the sanka but not “water up” the ricotta
pinch or more of sugar substitute/sweetner of choice
mix and enjoy a coffee-flavored sweet treat!
Posted by: Gina
The stuff in my kitchen on the dessert-y level is nowhere near healthy. Packets of Equal is as close as I get. But, in the past, I’ve been a big fan of the banana-blueberry-strawberry smoothie. Put fruit in food processor and blend. Pour in glass. Voila.
I like Gina’s idea–I’ve done the same with cocoa and vanilla, too.
Posted by: Em
I’m way too lazy right now to actually DO this, but if I were a little more motivated I’d bake an apple sprinkled with a little cinnamon, tea masala and honey.
Good thing we have grapes in the fridge – – they’re usually just enough of a sugar fix, and require minimal preparation.
Posted by: mindy
Ha! I’ll turn all of you into foodbloggers yet. I feel disqualified as I have the house full of cookies. And I don’t feel like dessert right now, so couldn’t come up with anything right this second. Yes, I tried. Also, very often milk coffee qualifies as dessert around here. Mmmhh. Coffee.
Posted by: valentina
There is a giant ring of cinnamon kringler from the Danish bakery sitting on my kitchen counter. It has frosting and a lovely touch of cardamon taste.
Mmmmmm.
Why, I think I’ll get off of the chaise lounge and go have another piece.
Posted by: claudia
a) what’s WRONG with eating jam off a spoon? (done it many times my own self)
2) I do the pumpkin spice yogurt all the time! But I use Silk Cultured Soy (Vanilla) rather than dairy yogurt. Isn’t it awesome?
and
iii) saute a sliced banana in butter, add frozen blueberries, saute very briefly ’til the blueberries are warm, add silken tofu that has been kind of chopped up. Don’t mix too much, so the tofu just gets warm. The whole thing should be blended but not pureed, if you get my drift. If desperate for more sweetness, sprinkle with brown sugar and serve.
Posted by: Norma
I HAVE to have nutella in the house. Jam on a spoon just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
My favorite quasi healthy treat is a banana smothered in nutella. It’s good frozen too.
Posted by: Chelee
Two good ones that I can think of. My first standby is the ole peanut butter and jelly smoothie, made with big heaping teaspoons of peanut butter, grape or strawberry jelly, a banana and some soymilk. My other fave is getting some hot chocolate mix and eating it straight out of the package with a spoon. Yeah, that’s the stuff right there.
Posted by: Jenna
This is one I’ve done since childhood:
1/2 c low-fat or non-fat ricotta cheese
1 t of sanka
1 t of water (or a bit more to “melt” the sanka but not “water up” the ricotta
pinch or more of sugar substitute/sweetner of choice
mix and enjoy a coffee-flavored sweet treat!
Posted by: Gina
The stuff in my kitchen on the dessert-y level is nowhere near healthy. Packets of Equal is as close as I get. But, in the past, I’ve been a big fan of the banana-blueberry-strawberry smoothie. Put fruit in food processor and blend. Pour in glass. Voila.
I like Gina’s idea–I’ve done the same with cocoa and vanilla, too.
Posted by: Em
I’m way too lazy right now to actually DO this, but if I were a little more motivated I’d bake an apple sprinkled with a little cinnamon, tea masala and honey.
Good thing we have grapes in the fridge – – they’re usually just enough of a sugar fix, and require minimal preparation.
Posted by: mindy
Ha! I’ll turn all of you into foodbloggers yet. I feel disqualified as I have the house full of cookies. And I don’t feel like dessert right now, so couldn’t come up with anything right this second. Yes, I tried. Also, very often milk coffee qualifies as dessert around here. Mmmhh. Coffee.
Posted by: valentina
There is a giant ring of cinnamon kringler from the Danish bakery sitting on my kitchen counter. It has frosting and a lovely touch of cardamon taste.
Mmmmmm.
Why, I think I’ll get off of the chaise lounge and go have another piece.
Posted by: claudia
a) what’s WRONG with eating jam off a spoon? (done it many times my own self)
2) I do the pumpkin spice yogurt all the time! But I use Silk Cultured Soy (Vanilla) rather than dairy yogurt. Isn’t it awesome?
and
iii) saute a sliced banana in butter, add frozen blueberries, saute very briefly ’til the blueberries are warm, add silken tofu that has been kind of chopped up. Don’t mix too much, so the tofu just gets warm. The whole thing should be blended but not pureed, if you get my drift. If desperate for more sweetness, sprinkle with brown sugar and serve.
Posted by: Norma
I HAVE to have nutella in the house. Jam on a spoon just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
My favorite quasi healthy treat is a banana smothered in nutella. It’s good frozen too.
Posted by: Chelee
Two good ones that I can think of. My first standby is the ole peanut butter and jelly smoothie, made with big heaping teaspoons of peanut butter, grape or strawberry jelly, a banana and some soymilk. My other fave is getting some hot chocolate mix and eating it straight out of the package with a spoon. Yeah, that’s the stuff right there.
Posted by: Jenna
Frozen fruit is a staple in my house. When I get a sweet tooth, I just microwave a cup or two of strawberries or peaches, then top with plain yogurt. Or I will smoosh up the fruit a bit and put it on a whole grain waffle. And when my daughters were babies, I was not above sniping a bit of their apricot puree. Damn, that is good stuff, smooth like pudding and when I put it in a dessert bowl I could pretend like I wasn’t literally taking the food out of the baby’s mouth! Another great “dessert” is oatmeal cooked in milk with chopped apple, raisins and toasted almonds. Yeah, its breakfast but it also fills the craving for oatmeal cookies. Brown sugar only makes it better!
Posted by: Nicole
The other night the same thing happened to me. First I used my juicer to make grapefruit juice sweetened with a little sugar. Then a few hours later when I was dying for chocolate I resorted to drinking a fake Hershey’s syrup directly out of the bottle. I wasn’t proud of myself and it wasn’t good! My healthier alternative is eating a spoonful of molasses. It’s good for you. Once I made quick caramel corn. That was pretty good.
Posted by: kate
I’m a jam-on-a-spoon gal. But having a child means there’s always fruit nearby. And usually homemade pumpkin or banana muffins.
I try not to keep candy around, and I keep several past-their-prime bananas in the freezer for a quick smoothie.
Posted by: Iris
Being of a house that really never runs out of chocolate straight up, this is hard to imagine, but…
as an alternative, I go with apples drizzled with honey and sprinkled with nutmeg.
Posted by: Cassie
Heat oven to 350
mix: 2 cups sour cream, 1 cup sugar and 1 can drained cut peaches. Put in shortbread pre prepared crust (hey, you were looking for easy!) bake until edges are golden, about 1/2 hour.
Peaches and Cream pie.
Posted by: Amber
ok, i’m hungry now, lol.
Posted by: froggy
Lemon curd on just about anything. Fingers, spoons, but especially spread on a nice piece of Walker’s shortbread… Actually, as far as relatively healthy, I do find that a teaspoon of lemon curd or Nutella eaten very slowly satisfies my sweet tooth but is not that caloric.
Poached pears would be my other fave. You can poach them in cranberry juice diluted with a bit of water – yummy and great for you!
Posted by: Liz
hey that kind of sounds like my pumpkin pie smoothies. Soy milk, canned pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spices … it’s very yummy, but the amount of brown sugar I put in probably makes it not so healthy.
Posted by: Jordan
Remove grapes from fruit bowl. Wash. Put in freezer. One to two hours later, savour!
Posted by: Danielle
this is a big fave for many years….in a crust made from McVittie digestive biscuits(my brit husband always keeps them around)with a tad of butter, add vanilla yogurt with 2 tbsp softened lightcream cheese ……YUMMMM!
Posted by: Martha
Frozen fruit is a staple in my house. When I get a sweet tooth, I just microwave a cup or two of strawberries or peaches, then top with plain yogurt. Or I will smoosh up the fruit a bit and put it on a whole grain waffle. And when my daughters were babies, I was not above sniping a bit of their apricot puree. Damn, that is good stuff, smooth like pudding and when I put it in a dessert bowl I could pretend like I wasn’t literally taking the food out of the baby’s mouth! Another great “dessert” is oatmeal cooked in milk with chopped apple, raisins and toasted almonds. Yeah, its breakfast but it also fills the craving for oatmeal cookies. Brown sugar only makes it better!
Posted by: Nicole
The other night the same thing happened to me. First I used my juicer to make grapefruit juice sweetened with a little sugar. Then a few hours later when I was dying for chocolate I resorted to drinking a fake Hershey’s syrup directly out of the bottle. I wasn’t proud of myself and it wasn’t good! My healthier alternative is eating a spoonful of molasses. It’s good for you. Once I made quick caramel corn. That was pretty good.
Posted by: kate
I’m a jam-on-a-spoon gal. But having a child means there’s always fruit nearby. And usually homemade pumpkin or banana muffins.
I try not to keep candy around, and I keep several past-their-prime bananas in the freezer for a quick smoothie.
Posted by: Iris
Being of a house that really never runs out of chocolate straight up, this is hard to imagine, but…
as an alternative, I go with apples drizzled with honey and sprinkled with nutmeg.
Posted by: Cassie
Heat oven to 350
mix: 2 cups sour cream, 1 cup sugar and 1 can drained cut peaches. Put in shortbread pre prepared crust (hey, you were looking for easy!) bake until edges are golden, about 1/2 hour.
Peaches and Cream pie.
Posted by: Amber
ok, i’m hungry now, lol.
Posted by: froggy
Lemon curd on just about anything. Fingers, spoons, but especially spread on a nice piece of Walker’s shortbread… Actually, as far as relatively healthy, I do find that a teaspoon of lemon curd or Nutella eaten very slowly satisfies my sweet tooth but is not that caloric.
Poached pears would be my other fave. You can poach them in cranberry juice diluted with a bit of water – yummy and great for you!
Posted by: Liz
hey that kind of sounds like my pumpkin pie smoothies. Soy milk, canned pumpkin, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spices … it’s very yummy, but the amount of brown sugar I put in probably makes it not so healthy.
Posted by: Jordan
Remove grapes from fruit bowl. Wash. Put in freezer. One to two hours later, savour!
Posted by: Danielle
this is a big fave for many years….in a crust made from McVittie digestive biscuits(my brit husband always keeps them around)with a tad of butter, add vanilla yogurt with 2 tbsp softened lightcream cheese ……YUMMMM!
Posted by: Martha
Firt time I’ve been to your blog~~and I love your dogs!!! I have a retired x-racing greyhound!! My DD has an IG that she rescued here in western NY!!
Great Dogs!!
Now to go for that dessert!! Actually I think I’ll hit the ice-cream!!!
Posted by: Marianne
Easy. Quick. But does require cooking time.
Take fruit of choice and cut into appealing slices, bits, whatever – preferably stone fruit like peaches or figs (yeah, right, like we all have that lying around the house, but I’m giving you all options), strawberries, apricots etc, whatever takes your fancy. In a bowl, combine a fair thwack (a cup?) of sugar, and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Then lay your fruit appealingly in a baking tray so Martha will be impressed (you never know, she might turn up), and spinkle/spread the sugar over the fruit. Ideally you let them sit in the fridge for a few hours, but you could put them straight in a hot oven till they turn brown and the sugar caramalises. Serve with cream, or go the full fat version and use mascarpone (another handy thing we all have lying around…) with a little rum, castor sugar and fresh grated nutmeg added into it.
Posted by: Alison
My breakfast yesterday (which would make a good after dinner snack too) was plain nonfat organic 9of course) yogurt with rasberries, blueberries and blackberries and a handful of Kashi Golean crunch.
Posted by: patricia
blend 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp honey, and 1 1/2 tsp creme fraiche or sour cream. broil some fruit cut side up (figs, peaches, apples, bananas) until it’s warm and juicy. drizzle.
Posted by: J Strizzy
In order of descending healthiness:
Fruit of all kinds.
Ditto – spoonful of molasses.
I love vanilla milk – tiny splash of real vanilla and a couple tsp of sugar in low fat milk. Yummmm!
The real thing: 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar cooked until brownish and poured out to cool, then cracked. Some pour it over saltines. Some sprinkle, melt and spread chocolate over the top while still hot. AKA: Christmas Crack
Posted by: Janet
Cook some rice (or heat up leftover from chinese take-out)
Add milk (or cream or soymilk or ricemilk)
Add sugar (or brown sugar)
Add butter (or margarine)
mix, eat, yum!
My other, faster option is honey squeezed straight from the little plastic bear.
Posted by: Katy
Hi! I also never have refined sugar or any items made with refined sugar in my house. I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian sydrome) about 1 year ago and one of the first things you have to do is cut out all sugar and grains until your insulin levels normalize. So, I have come up with a couple of items to help ease those cravings. Here is one of them–
I used to eat cool whip, but it has some really weird ingredients, so I now use silken tofu for this recipe. *note this is a great item for those who prefer dark chocolate.
4 tbls cocoa (dutch processed)
1 1/2 tbls cocoa butter (food-grade)
*you can substitute veg. oil
1/2 tsp. Stevia (or sweetening agent of your liking)
1 tsp milk (soy milk, if you like)
2-3 cups cool whip (or silken tofu)
Mix dry ingredients with cocoa butter (or oil) until well blended, add milk, continue blending, fold into whipped cream.
This makes quite a few servings–honestly, I just threw things together, but, here, I tried to put everything into a recipe form. **Note–if you want a more intense flavor, decrease the amount of whipped cream (tofu). Be careful of the caffeine content–I once made this around 9pm and proceeded to vacuum the entire house from ceiling to floor–drapes, nooks, crannies, crevices, etc. Enjoy!
Posted by: michelle
One thing to whip up if you have powdered sugar in the hose is a batch of frosting…very dangerous, but delish. Homemade rice pudding is easy if you have a quart of milk and some sugar along with 1/4c of rice. Frozen rasberries are great in late spring, I keep a stash in the freezer.
Posted by: rachel
Firt time I’ve been to your blog~~and I love your dogs!!! I have a retired x-racing greyhound!! My DD has an IG that she rescued here in western NY!!
Great Dogs!!
Now to go for that dessert!! Actually I think I’ll hit the ice-cream!!!
Posted by: Marianne
Easy. Quick. But does require cooking time.
Take fruit of choice and cut into appealing slices, bits, whatever – preferably stone fruit like peaches or figs (yeah, right, like we all have that lying around the house, but I’m giving you all options), strawberries, apricots etc, whatever takes your fancy. In a bowl, combine a fair thwack (a cup?) of sugar, and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Then lay your fruit appealingly in a baking tray so Martha will be impressed (you never know, she might turn up), and spinkle/spread the sugar over the fruit. Ideally you let them sit in the fridge for a few hours, but you could put them straight in a hot oven till they turn brown and the sugar caramalises. Serve with cream, or go the full fat version and use mascarpone (another handy thing we all have lying around…) with a little rum, castor sugar and fresh grated nutmeg added into it.
Posted by: Alison
My breakfast yesterday (which would make a good after dinner snack too) was plain nonfat organic 9of course) yogurt with rasberries, blueberries and blackberries and a handful of Kashi Golean crunch.
Posted by: patricia
blend 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp honey, and 1 1/2 tsp creme fraiche or sour cream. broil some fruit cut side up (figs, peaches, apples, bananas) until it’s warm and juicy. drizzle.
Posted by: J Strizzy
In order of descending healthiness:
Fruit of all kinds.
Ditto – spoonful of molasses.
I love vanilla milk – tiny splash of real vanilla and a couple tsp of sugar in low fat milk. Yummmm!
The real thing: 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of sugar cooked until brownish and poured out to cool, then cracked. Some pour it over saltines. Some sprinkle, melt and spread chocolate over the top while still hot. AKA: Christmas Crack
Posted by: Janet
Cook some rice (or heat up leftover from chinese take-out)
Add milk (or cream or soymilk or ricemilk)
Add sugar (or brown sugar)
Add butter (or margarine)
mix, eat, yum!
My other, faster option is honey squeezed straight from the little plastic bear.
Posted by: Katy
Hi! I also never have refined sugar or any items made with refined sugar in my house. I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian sydrome) about 1 year ago and one of the first things you have to do is cut out all sugar and grains until your insulin levels normalize. So, I have come up with a couple of items to help ease those cravings. Here is one of them–
I used to eat cool whip, but it has some really weird ingredients, so I now use silken tofu for this recipe. *note this is a great item for those who prefer dark chocolate.
4 tbls cocoa (dutch processed)
1 1/2 tbls cocoa butter (food-grade)
*you can substitute veg. oil
1/2 tsp. Stevia (or sweetening agent of your liking)
1 tsp milk (soy milk, if you like)
2-3 cups cool whip (or silken tofu)
Mix dry ingredients with cocoa butter (or oil) until well blended, add milk, continue blending, fold into whipped cream.
This makes quite a few servings–honestly, I just threw things together, but, here, I tried to put everything into a recipe form. **Note–if you want a more intense flavor, decrease the amount of whipped cream (tofu). Be careful of the caffeine content–I once made this around 9pm and proceeded to vacuum the entire house from ceiling to floor–drapes, nooks, crannies, crevices, etc. Enjoy!
Posted by: michelle
One thing to whip up if you have powdered sugar in the hose is a batch of frosting…very dangerous, but delish. Homemade rice pudding is easy if you have a quart of milk and some sugar along with 1/4c of rice. Frozen rasberries are great in late spring, I keep a stash in the freezer.
Posted by: rachel