Dessert items can be some of the unhealthiest items on the menu or for purchase at restaurants and grocery stores. This is primarily because they are ‘over sweetened’ with cheap, commodity sweeteners that are low cost but bad for our health. I have found that by making dessert items at home and modifying the recipes I can make them tastier and much more healthy then versions you would buy at a store or restaurant.
As an example a typical recipe for pecan pie calls for 3/4 or 1 cup of corn syrup, along with a cup of white sugar and/or additional brown sugar. This is a horrific amount of corn syrup and sugar to get in one pie! Is it a pecan pie or a corn syrup pie?? If you buy a pecan pie at the store this is typically what you are getting. I don’t usually make the pie crust from scratch and I buy the wholewheat pie crust they sell at many supermarkets. This is because I don’t usually eat the pie for the crust anyway. It is a container so I focus on the pie in the middle. I have found and pulled a recipe that doesn’t use corn syrup which is a step in the right direction. I also modified it to cut out some of the sugar and to use almond flour. For me the taste is just as good and it is much healthier and enjoyable.
Below is a comparison of the modified recipe versus a typical one you find online (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pecan-pie-v/). I’ll be interested to see if it works for you! Whether or not, the most important thing is not to get on a path to bad health because of unhealthy recipes that over emphasize syrups or sweeteners. You can experiment as necessary taking out bad ingredients and replacing with quality ingredients.
| Best Online Pecan Pie Recipe | Jays Modified Version |
| 1 cup light brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped pecans |
1/2 cup light brown sugar 2 tablespoons white sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 1 tablespoon almond flour 1 tablespoon milk (optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans |
I have the same experience with Key Lime Pie. Most Key Lime Pie recipes call for 2 14 oz. cans of condensed sweetened milk. Again, this is a horrific amount of an ingredient that is bad for health. In my modified recipe, I use all fresh squeezed key limes and only one can of light condensed sweetened milk. It does have an effect on the consistency so I have to leave it in the refrigerator a little longer but the taste is good and the recipe is much healthier. If you are used to over sweetened Key Lime Pie you may not find my version sweet enough. In this case perhaps you back down to 1 1/2 14 oz. cans instead of 2. This is still better. Anything less is an improvement!
For apple pie I tend to do the same thing. Store bought apple pies are full of corn syrup and sugar. They should call them apple ‘artery clogging’ pies. This recipe below is by Grandma Ople (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-pie-by-grandma-ople). I’m not sure who Grandma Ople was but by the amount of sugar I suspect she may have been diabetic. I cut the amount of sugar down in the modified recipe and focus on the apples. I find that the taste is still good and it still makes the whole house smell delicious.
| Online Apple Pie Recipe | Jays Modified Version |
| 1/2 cup unsalted butter 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 1/4 cup water 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced |
1/2 cup unsalted butter 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup white sugar 1/4 cup packed brown sugar Enough sliced apples to fill pie |
If you have a dessert recipe that you have been able to modify and make it healthier please post it here! Would be interested in any feedback as we work together to come up with better options for ourselves and our families.
Jay