I need some help with HEALTHY dessert ideas. My wife and I were trying to think of a simple dessert for our dinner company tonight, and our first idea required that I go to the store to get extra butter, flour, and brown sugar. As much as I would love any dessert that requires those three things, I'd like to shoot for something a little more healthy.

Perhaps something with fruit. Any ideas?

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Daniel
PCA
Memphis, TN

Dessert ideas? I hear the Sahara is awfully hot and dry, but the Mohave isn't too bad if you wait until later in the year...

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Tim Phillips
Pastor, Midlane Park Presbyterian Church (ARP)
Louisville, KY
Husband of Scottish Lass
My Blog: Gairney Bridge
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"Wherever the gospel is preached, it is as if God Himself came into the midst of us." ~ John Calvin

Not healthy, but very simple and has fruit (not fresh):

Dump cake.

Open a can of crushed pineapple--spread it on bottom of a 9x13 pan
Open a can of Cherry Pie filling--spread it on top of crushed pineapple. No stirring necessary.
Open a box of yellow cake mix--spread it on top of cherry pie filling. Again, do not stir. Just spread as evenly as possible, keeping dry cake mix on top of filling.
Using one stick of butter, make slices or butter pats and put on top of cake mix. No stirring, no melting. Just cut and put a chunk down, covering cake mix.
Bake 350 for 40 minutes or so. It turns into a cake, don't worry.

Super yummy, especially if you like cake batter as it has that sort of taste. You can use peaches instead of pineapple, or other pie fillings, etc. But my fave is cherry and pineapple, and i typically don't like cherry pie filling.

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Shalom,
jessi
PCA
Steelers fan exiled to Virginia


“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.”
Martin Luther

Strawberry shortcake? You usually find the shortcake right next to the strawberries. Add whipped cream and you're done. Or you could layer the fruit with just the whipped cream to make parfaits (and eliminate the processed sugar in the shortcake).

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Anna
Wife of Tim/Marrow Man
Louisville, KY
Member of Midlane Park Presbyterian (Associate Reformed Presbyterian)

Midsummer there is little better than something like: Grab a bag of frozen blueberries (fresh is better) and thaw; blanch about ten fresh peaches, slice in half or quarters. Make up whipped cream using a pint of heavy cream, and set the peaches out in individual dishes with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle very liberally with the blueberries.

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://inprincipiodeus.solideogloria.com
http://puritanwisdom.blogspot.com

"As God did not at first choose you because you were high, He will not now forsake you because you are low."
John Flavel in Keeping the Heart



Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Jessi, is it possible to make that with something substituted for the pineapple? The Missus can't have citrus fruit, but I think pineapple is a no-no as well...

I just saw the peaches instead of pineapple substitution. That sounds even more yummy! Any suggestions for a different kind of pie filling besides cherry?

We had this very delicacy the other night. Mmmm. . . .

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We shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God's grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Lawrence Underwood, Jr.
Pastor - Providence Family Fellowship / Mobile, Alabama
1644/46 LBC
My Blog - Imprimis

Italian Ice... sugar, water, flavor, good.

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Jacob
Sovereign Grace Ministries
Covenant Fellowship Church
WTS M.A.R. in Theology student
West Chester, PA

"Grace renews nature; glory perfects grace." ~ John Owen
"Grace tried is better than grace, and more than grace. It is glory in its infancy." ~ John Flavel
Blog - The Strasbourg Inn

Here's whats gelling right now to take to my friend and her husband along with dinner since he just came home from having a triple bypass this week.

2 small pkg sugar free, fat free white chocolate Instant Pudding mix
3 cups milk
Stir that up well and then

cut up bananas across the bottom of a graham cracker pie crust
Smooth the pudding mix over this

Top with Lite Cool Whip
Sprinkle the top with toasted coconut flakes

Refrigerate, eat, enjoy the ease of it all! Its really yum!

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Nancy L./ www.foundersbaptist.org
Spring, TX

Your will, Lord Jesus Christ! Nothing more... nothing less... nothing else.

My favorite summertime dessert is a fresh watermelon fruit salad with watermelon, cantelope, honeydew melon, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches or any other combination you can come up with. You can cut up the larger fruit and mix it together in a bowl and serve with whipped cream on top.

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J Baldwin
Keowee Presbyterian Church, PCA
Pickens, SC
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

Check Out My Blog: http://reflectjoy.blogspot.com/

I think a blueberry pie filling with peaches would be a good combo--kind of like blueberry peach cobbler. the best part about this is really the cake batter on top, so I think any combo underneath would be great.

I actually really want to try the blueberry/peach, so if you do, let me know how it tastes!

But I have had peach with cherry pie filling and it was very good. Again, I don't like cherry pie filling, and it was good.

Now I just HAVE to make it!!! Will do!

Here's one. Real simple, not terribly imaginative, but tasty all the same.

Fresh Pineapple
Rum or Whisky or Vanilla Extract
Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut up the fresh Pineapple and place on a roasting tray/ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over some of the alcohol or vanilla, only a small amount needed. Sprinkle some brown sugar over the pineapple. Place in oven until browned and crispy usually 15-20 mins.
Serve with Frozen Yogurt.

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Donnie MacLeod
Crossroads Presbyterian Fellowship (PCA), Maplewood, MO
MDiv Student Covenant Theological Seminary

You filled my heart with greater joy
than others may have found
As they rejoiced at harvest time,
when grain and wine abound.Ps 4:7, Sing Psalms 2003

My wife and I make sugar free puddings with 1% milk. With a little light whipped cream it's a nice dessert.

It can also be put in a pie crust, of course.

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Curt Lovelace
Pastor, Covenant Baptist Church (CBA)
Acton, Maine
Director, Lifework Forum
Sermons at SermonAudio.com/CBCActon
Blogging at Coffee with Curt

This time of year, you almost can't beat angel food cake with fresh berries spooned over it. Fat free, and not nearly as much sugar as something you'd get with pie fillings.

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JWithnell
Member Bethel OPC
Virginia
http://learningyesican.blogspot.com/

Jessi, I made the peach/blueberry combo this evening, and it was YUMMY! You should try it. I did cut up the peaches with a fork first, though, so that they would be chunky bits.

My wife says: Life's too short for sugar-free and fat-free foods.

She makes the berry thing that Mr Pedlar was talking about but serves it on her home-made custard, which involves many egg yolks, some half and half, and butter. It's served in a dish with a defibrillator close by.

Yum.

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Kevin, husband of a truly angelic woman, and father to ten.
Zion United Reformed Church of Sheffield
Ontario, Canada

I am with your wife. Life is too short for healthy desserts. I say, eat as healthy as you can for your square meals, and let dessert be dessert. Sorry, OP.

That said, some of the fruit + cream ideas here sound pretty tasty.

You could start playing around with whole grain flours, subbing up to half whole wheat flour for the white flour, so that your dessert has something nutritious in there somewhere. I like this apple cake recipe, which is so moist it doesn't need icing. It's kind of autumny but you can serve it with ice cream (or nonfat frozen yogurt ) to make it more summery.

2 c. all-purpose flour (or 1 c. each all-purpose and whole wheat flour)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. packed light brown sugar
8 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 large eggs, at room temp.
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced (about 2 cups)
1/2 c. dried fruit (cranberries or raisins are good)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, and salt in medium bowl. In another larger bowl, cream brown sugar and butter together until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Beat in the eggs until incorporated, then beat in applesauce and lemon zest. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet mixture til no streaks of flour remain. Stir in apple pieces and dried fruit. Pour into a greased 8" square baking pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for about 2 hours before serving.

Also very good: berry "dessert soup"
Serves 6 generously (when I quartered the recipe it made plenty for four!)
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled
1 c. orange juice
1 c. lime or lemon sorbet
4 c. plain whole or low-fat yogurt

Blend orange juice, berries, and sorbet. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and stir in the yogurt. Freeze for about 1 hour. Remove and stir vigorously to break ice on top. If it's too thin, leave in the freezer until desired consistency is reached (it's best partly frozen, partly liquid).

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Laura
member of Geneva OPC, Woodstock, GA
"Christ has done great things for his people, and he has suffered great things for his people, and he has purchased great things for his people, and he has prepared great things for his people; yet many of his own dear people are so taken up with their own hearts, and with their own duties and graces, that Christ is little eyed by them or minded by them! This is the great reason why so many Christians, who will certainly go to heaven—do walk in darkness, and lie down in sorrow." - Thomas Brooks

Sweet! Next time I go to the grocery store, I will get some blueberry pie filling. Thanks for being the test kitchen!
Did Anna like it as well?

Another fruit and cream idea: Chopped up strawberries and raspberries sprinkled with a small amount of sugar and served with whipped cream. Its especially good if you let the berries sit in a bowl in the fridge for a bit before topping with cream and serving.

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Kathleen M
nondenominational
Montana

Anna doesn't really do fruit. Aaron, our RPCNA student from Purdue, loved it though!

Pastor Phillips, I made the peach/blueberry dump cake and it was good! I still like the pineapple/cherry better, but my husband prefers this one. The only problem with either of these, if you aren't making it for a party, is how much you have to eat of it!!

Thank you Jessi,
So, I made the cobbler dessert yesterday. I used Blueberry Pie Filling and Pears (which I chopped up) and did the cake mix/butter combo. Everyone loved it, including myself. Not a drop was left. I am thankful for that as I would no doubt have eaten all the rest.Several wanted the recipe. One guy went home and made it last night.

So blueberry and pears? Hmmm. I may be trying that next! I really think it doesn't matter what the combo inside is--it's the whole package that tastes great! And is it not the easiest thing ever?? Glad you enjoyed it!!

Yes, it is super easy to make. That's the beauty of it. Though I am concerned about things like high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors/colors, etc. But it is easy and tasty. It will be made again I am sure.
Here's a not quite so quick recipe for Raspberry Cobbler.
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup skim/2% milk
(Optional: 1 tsp Vanilla extract/paste)
Whisk together until blended (I just use a balloon whisk)
1 stick melted Butter
Add the melted butter.
Pour all into a greased/sprayed 8" x 12" baking dish.
Snip the top off a 1lb bag frozen raspberries and add 1/4 cup of sugar to bag. Shake it about a bit then pour on top of cake batter.
Oven 350F for about 1 hour.

Now that looks good and somewhat healthy (at least all real food products that I can pronounce). YUM

If you can make a basic pie crust, or even purchase one pre-made, make a fruit pie (e.g. rasberry or blueberry).

Pecan pie is also excellent.

Maybe there is a "healthy" pie out there but we ought not kid ourselves about "dessert."

A good sugar baby watermelon is always appreciated!

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Scott
PCA
North Carolina


"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)"
Hebrews 10:23

hmmm, not sure if you can be needing any more ideas, but about the quickest and most popular dessert we ever had consisted in:

bananas
cream
meringue halves, all broken up doesn't matter

Get as much as you can of all three. Chop the bananas, throw it all into the biggest dish you have. Mix it up a bit. Put it on the table and stand well back.

I didn't say it was healthy, but at least it has bananas.

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JennyG
Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)
Fife, Scotland