Healthy Holiday Dessert Recipes

Thanksgiving pie image via shutterstock

Thanksgiving and Christmas can be daunting for anyone dedicated to a healthy lifestyle. Pie! Stuffing! Anything with whipped cream! The unhealthy choices are just a table away. Instead of missing out on the celebration start planning your healthy holiday meal now. And let’s be honest, is there anything better than starting with dessert?

1. Protein Pumpkin Pie
via Delicious by Dre

One way to make dessert less of a chore is to sneak in some added protein. This recipe uses vanilla protein powder and almond milk to help make the pie calories almost as good for you as a pre-workout protein shake.

2. Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie
via Girl Makes Food

This recipe swaps out the heavy cream for silken tofu, and the results are a creamy chocolate pie with all the flavor and none of the guilt. The tofu will absorb the chocolate flavor and lend a creamy texture similar to an egg custard.

3. Spicy Pumpkin and Apple Bundt Cake
via The Healthy Foodie

This cake uses spelt and arrowroot flours in place of all purpose flour which helps sneak in some extra vitamins to your dessert. The topping has a lot of ingredients, but you can cut out the protein powder and date paste if you don’t have them on hand.

4. Individual Pear and Apple Crisps
via Cookie and Kate

Making individual desserts are a good idea when you don’t want any extras laying around for post-Thanksgiving snacking. The crumble topping in this recipe does use a little butter, but it’s spread out over eight desserts. You can also swap the butter for coconut oil instead.

5. Pear Galette with Brandied Cranberries and Raisins
via Cooking Light

This recipe includes the steps for making your own tart dough. Pastry dough does include butter, in this case a little over half a stick, but you can buy pre-made doughs with alternatives to butter at specialty health food stores.

6. Sweet Potato Pie with Hazelnut Streusel
via Cooking Light

Here’s a reason to bake a couple extra sweet potatoes. A good thing about this pie is that it uses a graham cracker crust instead of pie dough which helps cut down on calories. When buying hazelnuts, look for nuts without the skin, to save cleaning time in the kitchen.

7. Gingerbread Cake
via Simply Recipes

A ginger dessert at Thanksgiving is the perfect spicy end to a chilly holiday. The recipe originally calls for a stick of butter, but try using only half a stick and a quarter cup of fat free sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.

8. Whole Wheat Macadamia Nut and Cranberry Cookies
via Wishful Chef

Here’s a recipe perfect for a host/hostess gift. These cookies will serve you well throughout the holidays.

9. Orange Cardamom Chocolate Mousse
via Oh My Veggies

Citrus and chocolate is a classic combination, and the addition of earthy cardamom gives this mousse and holiday kick. When using tofu, dry off any excess moisture by putting the tofu brick between two paper towels and then gently press. This step will make sure the mousse isn’t too watery.