Three Healthy Dessert Recipes For The Holidays

The very first step is to preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

While the oven is heating, take a large bowl and mix all of the ingredients together. Stir the bowl until everything is well combined and crumbly.

You can then spoon the mixture into the baking dish and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. The crumble will come out hot and bubbly and absolutely delicious!

You can either serve your crumble straight away or you can leave it to cool and then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Super Nut-Butter Cups

Growing up in America, my hands-down top treat was Reese’s peanut butter cups; they are so good. However, they are also unhealthy in just about every way!

So, I set out to invent my own super-healthy version of this childhood favorite that, in my mind, tastes just as good, if not better, than what I ate as a kid!

Chocolate sauce:

• 200g cacao butter
• 150-180g cacao powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tbsp. lucuma powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp. carob powder
• 1 tsp maca powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Almond butter filling:

• 120g almond butter
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 tbsp. lucuma powder
• Cupcake tray, lined with 12–16 paper cupcake cases

Start by melting the cacao butter in a saucepan over a low to medium heat. Add the rest of the chocolate sauce ingredients and mix together until well combined.

Next, spoon in enough chocolate sauce to cover the bottom of each cupcake case set in the cupcake tray. You will only need to use about one-third of the sauce for this and you can then set the remaining sauce aside. Transfer the tray to the fridge for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce has solidified.

For the almond filling, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl until it looks like a dough. Take good heaped teaspoons of this dough and roll them into balls. Then, use your hands to flatten the balls into discs to just less than the diameter of the base of the cupcake cases. Add these almond-butter discs to the cases and spoon the remainder of the chocolate sauce over the top, covering the almond butter fillings completely.

Return the tray to the fridge for 1 hour to set. Once set, you can remove the cases from the tray and either enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.

Key Lime Pie

This is quite possibly one the greatest desserts ever. Whenever I see recipes for pies, I think I can’t make them because they will take forever. But this recipe is totally different, as there is no baking involved. It’s just a lot of good, wholesome ingredients mixed together over two layers to make a nourishing and eye-catching dessert!

For the base:

• 90g rolled oats
• 45g ground flaxseed
• 40g hazelnuts
• 2-3 dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp. lime juice

For the filling:

• 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 2 limes, juiced
• 3 tbsp. maple syrup
• 45g coconut flakes
• 23cm pie dish, greased with coconut oil

Optional: For an even ‘greener’ Key Lime Pie, add a teaspoon of spirulina powder when you are mixing the filling.

The first thing you will need to do is place the two tins of coconut milk in the fridge the night before you make the pie!

Begin by combining the rolled oats, flaxseed, hazelnuts and dates in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the coconut oil and lime juice and pulse again until the mixture is combined. Next, press the mixture into the base of the prepared pie dish.

The next step is to wash the food processor ready to make the filling. Remove just the cream from the tins of coconut milk (save the water for a smoothie or soup) and blend with the avocados, lime juice, maple syrup and coconut flakes until smooth. If you’re using spirulina, add it now. Pour the filling over the base and freeze for one hour.

You can either serve your pie right away or place in the fridge until you want it. This pie will remain good in an airtight container for two to three days.

Baking At Home

As well as helping you to make healthy dessert options for yourself, baking these dishes at home can also double up as a seasonal self-care activity.

Making tasty meals for yourself that are also nutritious and fun to share is such a good way to lift your mood.

To make these recipes and more at home you can check out my very first cookbook – Superfoods: The Flexible Approach To Eating More Superfoods – available on Amazon!