Why think of dessert as a guilty pleasure when it's the perfect time to indulge and work extra vitamins into your daily diet? Here are some no-bake desserts, from cookout-friendly cheesecake bars to the quintessential banana split, made over with a healthy twist.
Healthy No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars
The best part of these creamy, sweet-and-salty bars is the crust: Melted chocolate and just a little bit of butter make it crunchy without baking. Plus, you can skip the full-fat sour cream in the cheesecake layer. Buttermilk adds just the right tang.
News flash: Dessert can be the perfect place to add calcium to your diet. You can do just that by using ricotta cheese in these sweet little tartlets (8 percent of your daily value, so not too shabby!). The apricot jam does double duty: It's a sweetener for the ricotta and a glaze for the berries.
The flavors of summer and strawberry shortcake have found their way into your favorite crunchy childhood treat. Try decreasing the amount of marshmallows (aka sugar) and stir in some almond butter and freeze-dried strawberries. Each sweet-tart bar is a generous size.
These healthy frozen pops are salute-worthy since they are packed with vitamin C and have even a little fiber (2 grams per pop) thanks to the fresh berries. And the best part is that you can get your red, white and blue fix without using artificial food coloring.
These pops are uber-fudgy, thanks to a combo of chia seeds and cocoa powder. If you don't have the patience to wait for the frozen version, no problem — the pudding is just as delicious.
The banana split's days of lounging around are over. This vertical version of the fountain classic is healthy for a reason: Gravity helps the ice cream melt into the fruit and nuts below, so you only need a small scoop per serving.
