Dessert can be tricky to maneuver. It can spell digestive disaster, and it is stereotypically loaded with sugars and fats. Dessert is among the first things people cut out when wanting to trim weight and shed fat. Dessert should not be eaten every day, but sometimes when you have a real dessert craving there are some good options to consider. In The Beauty Detox Solution, I discuss how you can include dessert in moderation into your beauty health plan. Here are some guidelines to healthy desserts:
Raw Fruit should not be eaten as a dessert. I’ve harped on this countless times! Raw fruit goes through your body quickly (20-30 minutes on average) and if placed after a heavy meal it will lead to flatulence and fermentation. Not to mention, your body won’t reap the benefits because it won’t reach the small intestine in time for it to absorb the full spectrum of nutrients. Eating fruit for dessert will actually have negative bodily side affects than if you abstained completely. Have the fruit first, and especially in the morning. Try it for yourself- have fruit only on an empty stomach and notice how any bloating effects of consuming fruit get minimized or eliminated.
Avoid Agave: Although lately it has become a widely accepted alternative sweetener, agave contains high levels of fructose. It is also often highly processed and refined, despite the misleading label “raw”. Instead, try these natural sweeteners in desserts- raw honey (it must be organic and preferably local), dried dates or figs, xyitol or stevia. I’m happy to see restaurants like Quintessence in NYC switch from agave to xylitol.
Eat your nuts: Coconuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts are viable options to include into your desserts. Nuts and dried figs make great pie crusts, toppings, and they help beef up a dessert in fiber content. Unsweetened nut milks are preferable over cow milk or soy milk because they are healthier foods that mimic your favorite dairy products. Coconut milk, hemp milk, hazelnut milk and almond milk are totally acceptable milk alternatives to include in desserts.
Vanilla: Vanilla extract has a number of health benefits such as being associated with reducing stress and anxiety and helping aid weight loss. Vanilla is a natural calming agent and it is great to smell and digest small amounts before bed. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way with vanilla extract. Limit to a few drops in individual servings of warm drinks or baked goodies.
Add cinnamon: It is a great source of magnesium, fiber, iron and calcium. Cinnamon fires up your colon and contributes to colon health while protecting against heart disease and boosting brain function. It also plays a regulatory role in lowering your blood sugar. There are many ways that cinnamon can be included in a healthy dessert. Stir ½ tsp of cinnamon and ½ tsp vanilla into chia seeds soaking in almond milk for 10 minutes. Sprinkle some cinnamon into a glass of warmed almond milk and stevia. Sprinkle a ¼ tsp over a baked yam, sweet potato or carrots.
Be creative with your grains: Experiment mixing the above ingredients with quinoa, millet and other grains may lead to surprising and delicious desserts. Sometimes, the best desserts are the undiscovered ones we whip together at home while experimenting. These would be great to include if you had a starch-based dinner, such as a meal with brown rice.
For more beauty desserts checkout pages 228-230 of the Beauty Detox Solution to learn how to make my Raw Pecan Love Pie, Raw Cacao Truffles, Happy Cow Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate and my Chia Seed Delight.
As with all things, eat dessert in moderation. Following the guidelines outlined in The Beauty Detox Solution should eliminate major cravings for sweets and refined sugars as your body becomes balanced. On the most basic level, cravings are generated when your body is lacking nutrients. In order to compensate, you reach for macronutrients such as a milk chocolate bar when your body really needs micronutrients. These minerals, enzymes and vitamins that your body needs can be found in a wide variety of plant-based foods.
Sometimes you need to do a strict dessert fast for a little while to “reset”. I realized I was having too much dark chocolate for a while, so when I was in Puerto Rico I made myself give it up entirely. Now I’ve been off it for a while, and I don’t plan on having it for at least another month or more. It is good to make yourself fast from certain things, especially if they started off in moderation but then start becoming something you really start craving.
Enjoying a Glowing Green Smoothie once a day is the most powerful way to retain and absorb these nutrients. If you experience cravings on a daily basis, opt for herbal tea with stevia and lemon or veggie sticks dipped in Sally’s Salsa or Green Bean-Miso Dip, and remember how important Probiotic & Enzyme Salad is. Next time you want to indulge, try one of these BDS friendly dessert options to seal your meal with a sweet ending.
What’s your favorite healthy dessert, for there are many good desserts out there!
Hey Kimberly, what is better- coconut milk from a bottle (e.g. So Delicious brand) or coconut milk from a can? What is the difference between the two? Thanks!!
My favorite is almond milk with some stevia and cinnamon mixed in! Just started reading BDS and am halfway through… Can’t wait to get started. I’ve been drinking the GGS for about a year now and I do add 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed. Is this ok or should I avoid this combination? Thanks!
You should avoid putting flax seeds in it. Seeds and nuts do not mix with fruit (except with banana which is a denser fruit). Remember what we say about fruit “Eat it alone or leave it alone” except with leafy greens 🙂
Good girl!! I see you’ve been learning. 🙂
Hi Kimberly, what do you think about the raw “super cookies” they sell in whole foods? They contain coconut, dates, and sesame seeds. Thanks
Do they have agave? What is the sweetener? The sound pretty dense, so proceed with caution. Very limited quantities. But if they have agave I wouldn’t eat them at all.
Why is almond milk better than cow’s milk? I have been drinking almond milk for a long time now, but my mom always ask “what’s wrong with the organic cow’s milk you got us started drinking last year?” I don’t know how to answer.
Thanks
Bre-
Dairy is nature’s perfect food, but only if you’re a calf!!
It is not meant for humans and is acidic forming in our bodies. It contains a protein called casein that our bodies cannot digest. That is just a couple of the many reasons. Hope that helps.
Yes SarahJey and also Bre, you should refer her to the whole dairy section in The Beauty Detox Solution for an in-depth explanation and studies to refer to.
I’m about six weeks on BDS. I find some evenings if I have to have “something” the Rain Forest Acai Smoothie! I love it, it makes me full and is satisfying. The whole summer has been 100+ degrees and this smoothie is a terrific cool treat!
I have also had the Happy Cow Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate and like it a lot.
Next to try….Raw Cacoa Truffles….!
Great! I’ve been giving it to some of the actors on set of The Avengers and they love it too!
I love to freeze the Raw Cacoa Truffles, gives them extra chewiness!
What kind of chocolate do you eat?
I have found that even simple substitutions like applesauce instead of butter and finely ground whole wheat flour are a really good place to start and most people can’t even taste a difference.
Applesauce is cooked and acidic, and ferments when mixed with grains (it is a fruit). I use coconut oil instead. Also I’m anti-gluten, so I usually advise using brown rice flour mixed with something like xanthum gum for baking.
I love dried dates for dessert, but once I start I can’t stop!! I don’t worry about it though because they’re dates, and even if I eat a dozen of them, they’re still just dates and my body must have needed all of these for a reason! I may be delusional, but that’s my thought process 🙂
Don’t eat too many! Everything has to be in moderation.
Stop after 3.
Hi Kimberly,
I just had my first Glowing Green Smoothie and I loved it!
I’ve noticed you use Stevia in a few recipes. What are your thoughts on Erythritol?
Thanks for a great blog!
The other sweetener I love is xylitol, which is another kind of sugar alcohol, which is lighter than regular sugar. 🙂
Hi Kimerly, thank you so much for your blog and your book and everything.
I have been drinking the GGS for more than 3 weeks now and also have a healty lunch. Feel much better! But not a healty dinner every day (vegetarian + fish).
But the more healhty I eat the more cravings for ugly things like cakes with cream. I didn’t like them or eat them before. I’ve always hated cream! It is only in the afternoon. Maybe I need more fat now when it is more dark and cold here in Scandinavia, north Europe. But it has happend before when I have been eating very healty. What can I do?
Thanks for everything!
Love,
Kristina
HI Kristina! In the afternoon try having some seeds, like chia seeds in almond milk, which have omega-3 fatty acids and are good for your mentality as well as it gets darker and harsher. Listen to your body. Coconuts can be helpful as well, and definitely avocado or guacamole! xx
My favourite dessert is vanilla-carob avo pudding sweetened with stevia. Or I also love cinnamon coconut pudding (made by blending the meat of a young thai coconut with vanilla and cinnamon and sometimes I add some carob too!)
That’s fantastic Kat! More people should explore carob, which doesn’t have the adrenal-taxing quality of cacao.
Hi, Kimberly. Love love love your book and blog. I am curious about the combining of dry fruits (raisins for instance) and nuts, which is a very popular raw dessert theme. How does this not break the food combining rules? Thanks in advance.
Dried fruits have their water dehydrated out, so don’t have the uber fast digestive speeds. They combine well with nuts. 🙂 xx
Are freeze dried fruit ok to eat? I love that they are so portable and they give me the potato chip style crunchiness that I crave. Looking at the ingredient list, they seem perfect, nothing but the fruit that I’m eating but I wasn’t sure if the freeze drying process was good/bad/indifferent….
Thank you for the information! I did research the blog before asking the question. I have been drinking the GGS in the morning after my warm lemon water and at night right before breakfast, I do this because it has been helping go the the (TMI)bathroom more often and that is a major issue for me. I have tried turkey rubar pills ect and nothing has been as effective as the GGS so my question is do you see anything wrong with having the GGS twice in one day?
I give it to my clients all the time several times a day. Be sure to have on an empty stomach though. 🙂
Thank you for the information! I did research the blog before asking the question. I have been drinking the GGS in the morning after my warm lemon water and at night right before dinner, I do this because it has been helping go the the (TMI)bathroom more often and that is a major issue for me. I have tried turkey rubar pills ect and nothing has been as effective as the GGS so my question is do you see anything wrong with having the GGS twice in one day?
Dear Kimberly,
Another great post!!! Also, just I just bought your book and it is AMAZING!
I have a random question though: where do you get your clothes? Are there any earth-friendly or ethical brands you like?
Thank you Jackie!
I was going to do a post on that. I like to wear a lot of organic cotton shirts. Let me see if I can get that post together!
I make the chia Seed delight with coconut milk and I swear it tastes like Coco Puffs! So Delicious!
Hi Kimberly,
This is an interesting post. I didn’t realize that sweeteners like xyitol (sounding like a chemical) were a natural alternative to agave or honey. Thanks!
You often mention coconuts in your posts and I absolutely LOVE coco milk, but I read recently that we should adjust our diets to the climate we live in and eating foods that are not seasonal might be harmful to our bodies, e.g. coconut milk and other tropical fruit in the winter might be too cooling to the body and might not digest well…is it true? i understand the mileage non-seasonal fruits and veg cover and that it’s bad for the environment, but can it also be harmful to our health?! it’s hard to imagine a day without a mango though….;-)
thanks,
jo
Hi Kimberly,
I think you skipped my question above, so I wanted to re-post:
Hey Kimberly, what is better- coconut milk from a bottle (e.g. So Delicious brand) or coconut milk from a can? What is the difference between the two? Thanks!!
Hi Kim,
So are DRIED fruit for dessert ok?? Just not fresh? I ask mainly for my 3 yr old. I had thought I was doing good by her by giving her fruit after dinner =(
What about avocado w/ honey or banana w/ honey for dessert??
Thanks!
Hi Priscilla,
Dried fruits are ok for dessert after a raw vegetable based meal, but I wouldn’t have them after cooked food because this will digest more slowly. Bananas are ok for dessert after a raw vegetable meal with avocado, because it is a dense fruit.
I hope that helps!
Marlena 🙂
Thanks Marlena. It does and doesn’t help. My daughter does NOT eat a raw dinner meal. I’ve only begun going raw maybe about 3 weeks ago and I don’t know how to incorporate it into my family’s life. I’ve begun w/ making her a fresh fruit/ veg juice before her meal. Trying to get her to eat her fruit before a meal. But she wants “actual” dinner (pasta, rice…). Luckily, she’s never been much of a meat eater. It’s just a little tough to get my husband on board and if she sees him eating it…
So many great ideas here! Cinnamon on some almond or homemade coconut milk with vanilla stevia is one of my favorite desserts. Absolutely delicious. 🙂
Hey,
This is random..but the other night i made a little salad, it was cabbage,radishes,onions,and a little bit of nutritional yeast. im not sure if it was the radishes or me not chewing well, but i felt Very sick and ended up throwing it up like 3 hours later!:( do u think it was maybe a bad radish???
I am very guilty with this: “Raw fruit goes through your body quickly (20-30 minutes on average) and if placed after a heavy meal it will lead to flatulence and fermentation.” I never knew that raw fruits could harm me in a very subtle way. I thought they are beneficial right after a meal. Hmmm.
I am really trying to figure out if I can have beans with rice or beans with Quinao?
Rice are also a starch, and beans are starch and protein, so technically both are okay.
Yaaaay! Thanks 🙂
Just for clarity, i can have rice or Quinoa with beans,right?
I would love to mix all those.. very indulgent desserts.. however, I shouldn’t because of health implications. Nice post.. This is quite a good read and I enjoyed it.
xylitol is a good substitute for humans, but is lethal to our pets, so be careful! even small amounts, apparently, can cause serious health issues or death in dogs.
Hi Kim,
Thank you so much for this wonderful post!
How long should you wait after dinner before eating a dessert?
I’m looking for Raw Cacao but at my local health food store I only see Raw Cocoa.
Is this the same? I really want to try those truffles. I’m a huge fan of deserts. Been doing the GGS for 6 + weeks at 32 ozs a day. Eating fish, shrimp and cooked veggies only 3-4 times a week. I’ve gone down in weight even though I’ve had my white wine at least once a week plus the boyfriend is all of a sudden a baker, Carrot cake, brownies and this week home made nestle chocolate cookies, (for others) yeah right. That reminds me…… If you were to choose over meat or sweet, what is the better of the two? Please say sweets. I’m thinking sweets obviously! If I love these truffles I should be good to go. Oh, I haven’t given up my organic coffee with organic half and half either. I’m approaching 50 and on a mission to help plump up my face and get the sheen back in my locks.. not too mention keep away the potential health issues in life. Thanks Kimberly! XO
I see that many recipes include rice flour as a healthy substitute to glueten. Recently, rice and derivitives of rice had been receiving bad press for containing worrying amounts of arsenic. Kimberly, what’s your take on the recent media attack of rice and rice products?
Xanthan gum presents all of which performance near a single molecular structure, which is put to use to hold fluids when you do not interrupt the water; while you the liquid flows, the attraction power between the molecular gets significantly less so that the fluid can flow easily.
Hey kimberly, i just read your book and doing this diet for some weeks and i am allready seeing results. I just wanted to ask if i Could have organic amaranth crunchy with some fruits and Rice milk or what would you recommend? Thanks !