10 Healthy Treats to Cool Off With This Summer
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Written By: Taylor Rao
If your sweet tooth comes out in the summertime but doesn’t exactly complement your bikini body, there are alternatives to waiting in line at the soft serve stand all season long. Instead of gravitating towards the premade sweet treats at the grocery store, do your research online to find new, diet-friendly recipes that are not only tasty, but fit right in line with your summer goals.
We’ve rounded up a healthy start (pun intended) of some delicious summertime sweet recipes and snacks that’ll help curb your cravings all season long. All you need to do is get cookin’.
1. Grilled peaches
There’s nothing better than firing up the grill on a beautiful summer day, and those signature charred marks look better on more than just steak and chicken. Sweeten up your savory meal by grilling up some peaches on the side, or save this sweet treat for an after-dinner dessert.
All you have to do is slice some peaches in half, coat them with a little bit of canola oil and face them down on the grill, cooking them through on high heat until they get that golden brown, charred look. Take it a step further for dessert and sprinkle a light mix of melted butter and cinnamon sugar on top.
2. Mochi ice cream
If self control is a little bit of an issue when it comes to snacking, you want to avoid treats where you can easily add another scoop or handful because that will surely add up. Instead, try a treat that sets its proportions for you, like mochi ball ice cream.
Never heard of mochi ice cream before? It’s made with a Japanese sticky rice called mochi, and just like it sounds...there’s ice cream inside. One mochi ball is around 100 calories and all you need is one to feel like you’ve had your fill. No spoons required, just pop one of these into your mouth and enjoy the tasty, cultural treat.
A pack like Bubbie’s includes six pieces, and you’ll be sure to want to savor them over a week’s worth of having that after dinner sweet tooth.
3. Frozen banana popsicles
This frozen banana popsicle recipe from Skinnytaste is the perfect summertime snack to curb your chocolate craving without the guilt. One banana pop is only 99 calories, what’s sweeter than that?
This recipe is so easy, the hardest part is gathering your ingredients and trying not to dip a finger into the melted chocolate while the bananas are waiting to freeze.
4. Pineapple coconut s’mores
Who thought s’mores could be healthy? In this recipe, you can still get the satisfaction of a summertime campfire s’more without the campfire or the calories. (Warning: it does include a candy bar.)
These pineapple coconut s’mores can be made without igniting a flame and only contain four ingredients: marshmallow, fresh pineapple slices, a Mounds candy bar and coconut thins. The fruity flavor and thin, coconut cookies create a fresh, sweet sensation with the payoff of having a small piece of candy sandwiched in between.
5. Skinny Cheesecake
Two words you never thought you’d see in the same recipe, right? Well, this healthier version of cheesecake will get you the perfect serving size in tiny jars you’ll make it in. Greek yogurt and vanilla bean paste will cut out the extra calories you’d typically find in a slice of this creamy dessert.
Heads up, this recipe from Christina Lane’s Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two cookbook only yields, you guessed it, two servings of this delicious treat --so send the kids out to the ice cream truck while you enjoy this one with your significant other or BFF.
6. 3-ingredient crust fruit pizza
Now, the traditional fruit pizza with a sugar cookie crust isn’t the most healthy dessert out there, even with an assortment of colorful fruit toppings. However, this 3-ingredient crust fruit pizza recipe uses banana and honey to create a crust that doesn’t need even a pinch of sugar to make it sweet.
Once you’ve made your crust, you can choose all the fruity toppings to make your dessert dish stand out on the table at your next get-together. Choose superfood fruits like blueberries, strawberries and kiwi to sneak some extra antioxidants in there.
7. PB&J Smoothie
Who says you can’t have something sweet for breakfast or for lunch? Ditch the two slices of white bread and make a peanut butter and “jelly” smoothie with frozen and fresh strawberries, a banana, some peanut butter and skim milk.
To make it even healthier, try adding in some chia seeds or flax seeds for a little extra boost that’ll make your smoothie a bit more filling to get you through the morning or afternoon.
8. Strawberry Sangria Ice Pops
If you want to catch a few extra hours of rays by the pool and skip happy hour, these strawberry sangria ice pops have a splash of white wine in them that will cool you off and make you the MVP of your pool party.
All you’ll need is water, fresh strawberries and a cup of your favorite Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Oh, and five hours to make sure these frozen pops have time to get nice and icy for your enjoyment.
9. Carrot Zucchini Bars with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting
If you didn’t think vegetables could be sweet, then preheat your oven to 350 degrees right now and prove yourself wrong by making these carrot zucchini bars. One batch makes 36 bars and only takes 25 minutes to bake. AKA, more time for you to spend outside!
With only 125 calories in each serving, this recipe mixes a variety of healthier ingredients, from honey, walnuts and ground ginger to of course the main ingredients of shredded carrots and zucchini. This recipe is the perfect blend of sweet and savory that is kid and grown-up approved.
10. Halo Top Ice Cream
OK, say baking isn’t for you and you just need a healthy snack to curl up on the couch with. Halo Top has carved a permanent space in the frozen food aisle as a low-calorie ice cream with so many flavors you’ll have no shortage of options from fruity to chocolatey, plain and simple to sensory overload.
An entire pint has anywhere between 280 to 360 calories, which is about the same amount of calories as ¼ of a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. (Sorry, the truth hurts!)
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