…I got to thinking about “healthifying” desserts. You know, calling something “ice cream” when really it’s blended bananas and avocado. Did I just healthify something by making “ice cream” out of bananas and avocado? If so, I take no great pleasure in that. Why not? Most people love it when they find out a dessert is healthy. I do to, but I don’t care if it isn’t healthy, either. I believe that desserts are desserts; they don’t need to be healthy: they’re dessert. Which is inherently not really “healthy” and that’s okay with me. I posted recently that I believe one can eat desserts (daily) and still live a “healthy” lifestyle and be healthy and balanced. I know that’s it’s common among many food bloggers to put bananas into a food processor and call that “ice cream”. I’ve done it. Gena’s to blame. In the best possible way, of course. She called frozen bananas banana softserve way back when. And I’ve done a whole series of softserve variations (all in my dessert recipes) Vegan Peanut Butter Softserve anyone? It’s sure thick like ice cream
And it does taste wonderful! Not sure it’s “ice cream” but it’s a frozen treat. I like treats. And then there’s the other trend of beans in desserts. Some people put garbanzo beans into chickpeas and call them “blondies”. I like my White Chocolate Blondies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting a whole lot. Full fat, fully decadent, fully amazing. No beans in sight. Katie has a recipe for Chocolate Chip Blondies. They look awesome, but I’m scared they’ll taste bean-ey! Some bloggers put black beans into brownies and call them “black bean brownies”. I like my Fudgy Nutella Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting No beans. Just pure, unadulterated dense, sweet, fudgey-ness. The best and richest brownies I’ve ever eaten. Lately I’ve seen hummus or chickpeas in cookie dough all over the place. Christin has a recipe for Baked Dessert Hummus Balls in case you’re curious. And Spabettie made Christin’s recipe And Evan has Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dessert Hummus All that sounds great… But… …I’ll stick with my Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Still “healthy” and vegan and gluten free, but no beans. Why haven’t I tried these “healthy” or “healthified” desserts? Frankly I am scared! I’m scared to waste good cocoa powder, sugar, agave, or other ingredients if the recipe doesn’t live up to my expectations. And they’re high. Not to mention, time and energy are precious commodities and I haven’t those to waste, either. I hate throwing away food from recipes that I am not pleased with and I hate wasting cooking time, energy, and money on ingredients only to wind up with a meh result. So, I’m on the fence about the adding beans to desserts. Like I mentioned, I believe one can eat desserts and be healthy and balanced. But everyone’s recipes who I linked look so good! So when I get back to San Diego, maybe some beans in desserts will happen. You never know. I also believe that healthy desserts can and do taste amazing and can be totally decadent! My raw vegan chocolate mousse comes to mind. Healthy doesn’t have to “taste healthy”. I have the utmost respect for everyone’s recipes, creations, and food choices; whether they’re “healthy” or not, bean-ey or not, and where he or she falls on the spectrum of what he or she chooses to eat. We all have our own path and preferences in life and food and I have respect for everyone’s ability to choose what’s best for her. From my last post, it was interesting hearing what wild animals are in your area. But it was a whole lot more fun reading about if you consider yourself a wild child or not. Questions
- What are your thoughts on beans in desserts? Have you tried any bean-ey desserts? As I said, I’m scared to waste time, money, and energy because I don’t want to “taste the beans”. Twist my arm. Tell me you’ve made something with beans in it that’s dessert-ey and you love it!
- What are your thoughts on “healthifying” desserts? Do you try? Do you care? No, I don’t try or care. I actually almost go over the top the other direction to make things as sinfully rich and decadent as possible. Desserts are treats, extras, and should be treated as such. It’s just not worth my chew to have something less than 100% decadent. I’d rather not have it at all and don’t care if it’s not considered healthy. Life is short, enjoy dessert is my motto. Anyone want a piece of fudge? It’s vegan & GF, though!
- Yay or nay: “Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot?” Yay! With that happy thought, I hope to enjoy the beach for one more day! I’m savoring the last bits of Aruba before we head home.
