Heart-healthy desserts are a delicious way to get nutritional benefits from your favorite sweet treats. Whether you're hoping to prevent heart disease or looking for delicious ways to manage your heart health, desserts are still part of the equation.
“A healthy diet can include anything,” Teresa Gentile, a registered dietitian in New York City and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told TODAY.com. In fact, Gentile eats dessert almost every day, and it's usually in the form of chocolate.
Choosing the right dessert foods, along with other lifestyle strategies like getting good sleep and staying physically active, can help you reach your heart health goals.
“Incorporating your favorite desserts from time to time or on a regular basis is possible with a little thought and planning,” says University of Georgia Clinical Professor and Director of the Nutrition Education Program and Academy Spokesperson says Dr. Emma Lane. Nutrition and diet science, she tells TODAY.com.
Part of that planning includes choosing a satisfying dessert. It also includes “thinking portion wisely and eating slowly and mindfully without too much distraction,” Lane adds.
Even if you don't have heart problems like high blood pressure or cholesterol, it doesn't hurt to eat with heart health in mind, Gentile says. Heart disease is common and reported to be the leading cause of death in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Therefore, heart health “should be a concern for most Americans,” she says.
What to look for in a heart-healthy dessert
In general, experts recommend making desserts yourself whenever possible.
“The more you can make desserts at home, the more you can minimize the unhealthy oils and hydrogenated fats that can be found in commercial products,” Gentile says. You can also buy desserts at a local bakery, she says. They're more likely to have healthier ingredients than pre-packaged sweets.
She recommends looking for ways to incorporate fiber into your desserts, especially since fiber is such an important nutrient for heart health.
For example, try substituting whole wheat flour when making quick breads such as pumpkin bread, or incorporating oats in cookie recipes, fruit crumbles, and crunchy toppings. Also, look for desserts with fruit, since “fruit is rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber,” says Gentile.
In general, experts recommend looking for desserts that incorporate the following heart-healthy ingredients:
- Fruits rich in antioxidants such as berries, citrus fruits, apples, and grapes.
- Whole grains that provide dietary fiber.
- Olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil.
- Nuts and seeds that contain healthy fats and fiber, such as peanuts, tree nuts, and flaxseed.
- avocado and avocado oil.
Ingredients to limit in heart-healthy desserts
If you want to be conscious about your heart health, there are some ingredients that experts recommend avoiding or limiting.
They include:
- Tropical oils such as palm oil and coconut oil.
- Alcohol (think frozen watermelon margarita pops, sparkling rosé floats, and wine-based granita, Lane says).
Dietitian-approved dessert ideas for heart health
baked, grilled, poached fruit
Both experts suggest using fruit as the main ingredient in desserts.
Especially in the fall and winter months, Gentile likes to make grilled pears topped with warming spices like cinnamon, or sometimes poached pears in apple cider. In fact, for Thanksgiving this year, her family made baked apples stuffed with brown sugar, pecans, and a little butter for dessert.
“It was a great dessert with a little vanilla ice cream,” she says. “I felt like it had dietary fiber and sweetness.”
yogurt bark
A consistent favorite among nutritionists, this frozen treat has tons of customization possibilities. Spread the Greek yogurt on a baking sheet and top with your favorite combination of ingredients. After a few hours in the freezer, you can break the bark into small pieces.
Try sprinkling some with chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or berries. Or follow Gentile's suggestion and use pomegranate seeds or dried he fruit.
black bean brownie
Brownies made with black beans get a great deal of healthy fiber and protein from the beans. While the concept may seem a little strange at first, “it's better than you think,” Gentile says. “And whoever created it can verify it.”
oatmeal raisin cookies
“I love incorporating oats into desserts,” says Gentile, and classic oatmeal raisin cookies provide the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Both rolled oats and raisins provide heart-healthy fiber, and raisins are even richer in antioxidants.
oat and banana cookies
Another way Gentile uses oats in desserts is in easy cookie recipes that incorporate bananas, oats, walnuts or chocolate chips.
She explains that the recipe contains “good soluble fiber from both oats and bananas.” It is said to be very nutritious, so they give it to children for breakfast or put it in their lunch boxes.
Other variations include adding peanut butter for more healthy fats and protein, or even forming the mixture into an easy-to-use ball shape.
mini matcha cake
Because matcha contains particularly high levels of antioxidants and amino acids, regular consumption of matcha has been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, explains Lane.
“Adding matcha powder to smoothies, ice cream, and baked goods enhances the flavor and increases the antioxidant content of these products,” she says.
She has a recipe for mini matcha cakes with fresh strawberries. american heart association. Or you could try a classic Chinese bakery sponge cake filled with tea-infused whipped cream and infused with matcha.
Chocolate clusters with fruit and quinoa
If you're craving something sweet and crunchy, try chocolate-nut chunks, says Gentile.
Make it with your favorite nuts, dried fruit, or even cooked or toasted quinoa and cover with melted chocolate. Of course, chocolate, nuts and dried fruits make delicious and nutritious snacks on their own. But quinoa adds crunch and “boosts the fiber and protein content,” Gentile says.
matcha ice lolly
Another easy matcha dessert is to make popsicles. Specifically, Lane suggests: AHA approved recipestarts with a smoothie-like blend of avocado, banana, nonfat Greek yogurt, and matcha powder sweetened with honey.
beet brownie
Lane says beets are rich in heart-healthy nutrients, including fiber, folate and potassium. “A fun fact about beets is that the leaves are also edible, and you can blend whole beets, juice them, or add them as a powder to desserts like cakes, cheesecakes, and brownies,” she says.
In beet brownies, the root vegetable adds a subtle accent of earthy sweetness and extra moisture for an even fluffier consistency.
Fruit crisps made with apples, bananas, berries, etc.
A simple oatmeal-topped fruit crisp or crumble is also a great way to get the benefits of fruit and fiber in a dessert, Gentile says.
Desserts like this allow you to enjoy the season by using fruits that are in season at the time, such as peaches, apples, pears, plums, and berries.
fruit and yogurt parfait
A simple but delicious parfait is an easy way to pack in lots of heart-healthy ingredients without any preparation required. Simply sprinkle your favorite fresh fruit or chopped nuts onto plain yogurt. You can also add chocolate chips or make a simple chocolate drizzle with sugar, hot water, and cocoa powder. AHA says.
