Healthy Dessert Makeovers

Healthy Dessert Makeovers

Chocolate-loving runners have had a lot to celebrate in recent years. In 2011, the University of Cambridge reported that eating dark chocolate can lower rates of stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease, thanks to its high concentrations of antioxidants called flavonols. 

The same year, a study published in The Journal of Physiology found that moderate chocolate consumption may cause muscle changes that improve athletic endurance. And a study published in 2012 discovered that people who eat chocolate frequently weigh less than those who rarely eat it. No wonder runners go crazy for the sweet stuff. This are just the healthy dessert recipes.

If nutty, chocolate candy bars are your go-to treat, try making homemade dark-chocolate bark. Mix chopped dried fruit (like cranberries or currants) and nuts (such as walnuts, pistachios, or almonds) into melted dark chocolate and pour into a rimmed wax paper-lined baking sheet. (Reserving a handful of the mix-ins to sprinkle over the top of the bark provides a more visually appealing treat.) Once cool, break the bark into pieces. Or make chocolate the supporting player in a crunchy dessert by dipping a banana in melted dark chocolate and rolling it in chopped nuts.

It's not hard to make a brownie from scratch that's more satisfying and nutritionally sound than your go-to boxed mix. The secret ingredient? Black beans. Typical brownies contain too much saturated fat, says Claudia Wilson, M.S., R.D., but by substituting pureed black beans for half the butter in a recipe, you can create a dessert that's still dense and moist but higher in fiber and lower in fat. "With the rich flavor of the cocoa powder, you can't taste the beans at all," she says. "Just be sure to blend them in a food processor until they are completely smooth." Don't like black beans? Try the same trick using unsweetened applesauce or pureed prunes.

Classic chilly treats like milkshakes are notoriously high in saturated fat. Fortunately, you can easily lighten a milkshake by using fat-free milk or low-fat frozen yogurt in place of whole-fat dairy. Bearden makes a sweet-tooth-satisfying and protein-packed shake using fresh fruit, skim milk, vanilla-flavored whey protein, Greek yogurt, and a few tablespoons of antioxidant-rich cocoa powder. Gleason's recipe blends together frozen bananas, raspberries, ripe pear, cocoa powder, Swiss chard, and coconut milk or coconut water. The addition of Swiss chard and coconut milk or water is particularly good for runners, since these ingredients are rich in magnesium, a mineral that may help relieve muscle cramps or muscle soreness.