Jell-o-free, real sugar dessert?

  • Hi everyone,

    I'm hoping someone will have some ideas for me. I am trying to come up with some dessert ideas for weekly family dinners. I am the "dessert girl" of the family and even though I'm dieting, I'd still like to participate!

    I am looking for something lower in calories. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding many recipes that will work for me. My mother is allergic to all sugar substitutes (which I try hard to stay away from anyway) and I keep kosher, so anything with jello-o and/or splenda, etc. is out... but that's all I can seem to find! Are there low/lower-calorie desserts out there that aren't based in jell-o and fake sugars?

    Thanks in advance for any ideas you can come up with!

    ~Charisma
  • options
    It is true that sweeteners are the easiest way for a low calorie dessert, and sugar on the other hand, is what really adds up on the waist. BUT to our comfort, we can look for foods that are naturally sweet in flavor. And if you use just a liiiiittle bit of sugar, it isn't going to be earth shaking. Everything in moderation, right? Well here are soem ideas I have. All of them are 100kcal per serving or less.

    A fruit salad always makes a good dessert. Especially with some youghurt on top.

    Custards and puddings are fairly low cal, and you can make them with corn flour or potato flour. My favourites are ones made of strong coffee or tea, but any fluid is good. Mix in some berries, fruit pieces, or whatever you like.

    1 cup of fluid
    half to 1 tablespoon cornflour(depending on how thick you want it)
    sugar to taste

    Mix everything and heat up stirring on stovetop in a small pan, untill it bubbles and becomes thick.
    Pour into serving glasses.(ontop of berries or other adds) and chill for two hours or untill cooled and stiff.
    I usually make a coffee pudding to the bottom, and then a vanilla pudding (milk+vanilla+cornflour+sugar) to the top for a nice layered pudding Also, if you add the vanilla before the coffee has stiffened, it goes INSIDE the coffee pudding and makes a neat ball that you then break with your spoon, yum!

    Vanilla sauce is made the same way as vanilla pudding (milk+flour+vanilla+sugar), and can be added ontop of other desserts. 1 tablespoon of corn flour contains 70kcal, and you get quite alot of vanilla sauce from it.

    FRUIT is good in desserts, and not only on salads. Here is one thing I often make:

    1 pear
    1 teaspoon of oil
    white wine
    cinnamon

    peel and cut the pear in pieces. stir fry on a pan in a spoonfull or two of white wine and cinnamon, untill soft. You can add a bit of water, if it is about to burn and stick ot the pan. Pears are so sweet in themselves that they don't require sugar, and wine adds a bit more sweetness and taste aswell. You can still add a touch of sugar, though, if you think it needs it.
    Put in a bowl and top with vanilla sauce.

    Also bananas are good for frying. They release glucose when you heat them up, and become sweeter. They contain more kcals, though.

    And everyone loves apples in the oven, right?

    Then there are quik microwave cakes:
    (this recipe should make 2 little cakes or one big 200-300kcal one)

    1 egg
    half a dl/2 spoons of flour (whole meal, ofcourse)
    half to 1 teaspoon of bakign powder
    1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar
    fluid and flavors (coffee, tea, juice, milk, chocolate, spices etc.)
    1 teaspoon of oil

    mix all together. Add enough of fluid so that the dough resembles pancake mix or a very thick smoothie. To get the right amount of fluid and flavor takes a couple of tries, but it's all fun
    Separate in small coffee cups, or make one cake on a wide pan.
    Microwave for 3 mins.
    You can eat them from the cup, or down them and top with something nice for looks and flavor.
  • I've started having just plain old fresh fruit for dessert, and am pleasantly surprised how satisfying it is after a meal.
  • Strawberry shortcake can be very light. Add just enough sugar to partially frozen or (better yet) fresh sliced strawberries, so that the berries make a sauce. Top angel food cake, pound cake, or buttermilk biscuits (made from bisquick mix or ready made in the little cans), with the strawberries. And if you like, add a dollop of light whipped cream or Cool Whip.
  • Hm, I'm not sure how Kosher these are, but you can use the fat free pudding cups (Hunts makes shelf stable ones, Jello brand might have some too, although they mostly do sugar free) and make a banana pudding. A ff vanilla pudding cup has 90 calories, so if you take some vanilla wafers, lightly crush them (you still want fairly large chunks, not dust crumbs), and layer them in a dish with sliced bananas and the vanilla pudding, you can make a fairly low calorie dessert if you don't use a whole lot of the vanilla wafers and pudding. When I use sugar free pudding, it usually ends up being around 150 calories a serving, so with the fat free instead it would probably be 190-200. You could also try it with the recipe for vanilla pudding that Mad Scientress gave and see how it works.

    Also, one dip that goes great with fresh fruit is a creamy liqueur dip that I made that mimics the stuff they use at Jason's deli. It's a mixture of 1 cup sour cream (you can use low fat or fat free, although I've never tried it personally with the ff), 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 4 tsp Grand Marnier. It makes a pretty large quantity of dip and you could cut down on the brown sugar to taste to lower the calories.