Or a moist and fluffy cake that also happens to be filled with vitamin-rich sweet potatoes. For instance: Chocolate chip cookies that look and taste much like the traditional treat, but have a bit more fiber and protein from whole-wheat flour. “There are nutrient-rich ingredients that you can incorporate into baking in a way that doesn’t take away from, but adds to it and makes it more satisfying,” as Rachael Hartley, R.D., certified intuitive eating counselor and owner of Rachael Hartley Nutrition, has told SELF.

(More on how we generally think about healthy eating at SELF below.)Ī better approach to making healthy desserts is to focus not on what you can reduce, but what you can add. The truth is that a genuinely healthy and fulfilling treat-one that’s totally delicious to eat and full of nutrients-often looks a lot like what you’re actually craving. The result? A nagging lack of satisfaction that keeps you hungering for the sweetness you’re really after. So-called healthy baking recipes that are designed to reduce calories, fat, or sugar often result in final products that look better on camera than they taste or make you feel. The thing about these so-called healthy desserts is that they often fail to satisfy your craving.

No matter how many times you put sugar-free frosting on an apple slice and call it a donut, it’s never really going to taste like the glazed donut you actually want. You know exactly what we’re talking about: imitations of your favorite sweets that spend so much time focusing on cutting calories or carbs, they forget to add any flavor. Often when people think of healthy desserts, they picture a plate of uninspiring copycat treats.

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