A general rule of life is that when something tastes good, it probably won’t be good for you. The healthiest things in life tend to also be bland and tasteless (like quinoa). What this means is that it can be fairly difficult to balance, especially when your loved ones are getting on in years and no longer as likely to be open to the latest greatest ‘superfood’, the desire to have foods that taste good for dessert, and foods that are healthy.

When it comes to helping to encourage an aging loved one, someone who may need to be paying a bit more attention to their health, to make better decisions when looking for dessert, it can be a difficult task. Today, let’s take a look at a few dessert recipes that are easy to make, fun to make and look at, healthy, and most importantly, tasty.

The Crepe

A crepe is a very thin French pancake that can be stuffed with anything. For example – the decadent combinations of Nutella and strawberries with a dusting of powdered sugar to eggs benedict.

Directions

  • In a bowl, whisk together one cup of all-purpose flour (or a substitute) and two eggs. Gradually add in ½ cup of water and ½ cup of milk while whisking.
  • Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Pour about ¼ cup of the batter into the pan, tilting the pan with a circular motion to make sure that it is evenly distributed and coats the surface.
  • Cook the crepe for 2 minutes until light brown. Lift the crepe with a spatula to loosen, then flip, cooking for another two minutes. Choose the crepe filling of your choice, and serve hot.

The Fruit Parfait

easy fun dessertTake vanilla yogurt, add in the berry or berries of your choosing, add some granola for the texture, and the end result is a fantastic desert. And you can continuously layer it to turn it into a full breakfast, too, if that’s the desire.

 

 

Directions

  • In a glass, place a layer of berries of your choosing at the bottom (I suggest strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries).
  • Atop the layer of berries, place about ½ cup of granola.
  • Atop the layer of granola, place 1 cup of yogurt.
  • Repeat as desired. Serve cold.

Strawberry shortcake

You can work with your loved one to cook shortcake, and to get it just right, but it might be easier to get the shortcakes that are sold at most supermarkets and begin with those. This allows you to take what could have been a two hour process and turn it into something that will let you eat your shortcake in a few minutes.

Directions

  • Slice a cup of strawberries and place them in a container. Atop this, sprinkle about ¼ cup of granulated sugar. Mix with a spoon, and leave it in the fridge overnight.
  • In the morning, spoon about ¼ of the container into a shortcake or onto the top of a piece of homemade shortcake. Atop this, place a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or whip cream. Serve cold on a warm summer day.

These are just a few great ideas for making sure that you can get the most out of your dessert, that your older family members will enjoy it, and that you will still manage to have a dessert that is fairly healthy. Make sure that you listen to what your older family members have to say about what they enjoy and don’t enjoy eating, and make sure that you incorporate fresh fruit as often as you can, and your desserts will be just fantastic.