Healthy-ish Valentine’s Day Desserts

These recipes include some not a lot of sugar. No artificial sweeteners or colors. Using mostly whole food ingredients for a little something sweet.

Many people (myself included) enjoy homemade desserts that are a bit healthier. These healthier desserts are a good place to start. Notice that I say healthier, not healthy. And there’s a reason for that.

Merriam Webster defines dessert as “a usually sweet course or dish (as of pastry or ice cream) usually served at the end of a meal.” The key word here is “sweet.”

There are 3 main ways to sweeten desserts:

Sweeten with fruit. Dates and bananas are particularly good at this. Using dates in a food processor with nuts is a smart way to add sweetness and to help mixtures stay together. You can also use raisins, applesauce, and ripe fruit like pears to satisfy a sweet tooth.
Add sugar. When I say sugar, I mean all forms of syrups and granulated sugar from brown to white sugar, turbinado or coconut sugar, to maple syrup and honey. All of these are forms of added sugar. And in my opinion. These work better than anything else to add sweetness to a dessert.
Use a zero-calorie or artificial sweetener. This category includes sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame, and sugar alcohols, but also stevia. It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of this option. I am not telling you to eat or not eat them (most are fine in moderation). However, I don’t personally enjoy these sweeteners nor the questionable side effects. So, this roundup doesn’t include any.

You’ll find recipes below that use less added sugar, grain-free options, and desserts that add in fruits and vegetables for a hidden nutrition boost!