Better Than Cheescake Factory: Decadent Desserts Get A Healthier Makeover

If you want a cheesecake at least as good as the one your grandmother used to make, a trip to the Cheesecake Factory may be in order. With hundreds of fantastic desserts on the menu, your taste buds will soon be dancing merrily about. But, if eating healthier and weight loss are your goals this year, why not find an alternative. Yes, you can have your cake and eat healthy, too. Plan ahead, take a few minutes, and create a healthier alternative in your own kitchen - with a few little tweaks, you can make your own versions taste just as good, but they'll be a lot better for you!

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake in pan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The average carrot cake has almost 1500 calories per slice. Yes, you read right. More than half of the daily intake of calories for an adult male football player in one delectable slice of what sounds like a healthy dessert! There has got to be a way to enjoy this moist, delicious dessert without adding all those calories to your day's intake.

To start with, a simple substitution of buttermilk can make a world of difference. Rather than adding oil when making the cake as it calls for in the recipe, you can substitute buttermilk. Buttermilk sounds fattening but it actually has much less fat and calories than oil.  In fact, buttermilk even has less fat and calories than regular whole milk which makes it a healthier choice for the icing, too - and it will add a richer, fuller flavor at the same time. You'll end up with a moist cake and tasty frosting with fewer calories and fat. So, yes, this is one classic cake you can enjoy with less guilt if you tweak the recipe and make it at home.

Warm Apple Crisp

What about that wonderful warm apple crisp topped with creamy rich vanilla ice cream?  Of course, substituting frozen vanilla yogurt is the most obvious substitution for a healthier dessert (although watch out for nasty substitutions which turn up in lowfat ice cream substitutes, such as chemical sweeteners and propylene glycol - aka antifreeze), but there is something else to consider. The biggest culprit of added calories is the apple crisp itself. This healthy-sounding dessert has almost three times as many calories and grams of sugar than that topping of real ice cream.  So we want to start from the bottom up when talking about making a healthier alternative to this tasty dessert.

apple crisp (Photo credit: elana's pantry)

To put the skinny on your apple crisp, start by eliminating that can of apple pie filling. Instead, simply cut up fresh ripe apples. If that sounds like too much work, an apple cutter that slices the apple into wedges in one motion would be just the ticket.  They can be found in many stores and are very inexpensive. For an even tastier creation, choose a variety of apples. You'll find different tastes and textures in different apples.  And, using a sweeter apple will allow you to reduce the sugar in your recipe even more. There's nothing better than homemade from scratch apple crisp - even the Cheesecake Factory's version can't stack up!

Cheesecake

In order to keep your cheesecake on the healthier side at home, try using low-fat cream cheese, and make your own crust from graham crackers. Low-fat cream cheese is one of the few reduced fat items which actually taste as good as the full-fat version. In fact, I actually like it (Neufchatel) better, because it's softer, so it's a bit easier to work with. You also don't need nearly as much sugar in cheesecake as many recipes call for. Cutting down some of the sugar will in many cases actually make it taste better - not to mention much better for you. Being able to control your ingredients is the biggest way to manage your healthy diet when it comes to desserts.

Just because you want to eat healthier doesn't mean you have to skip out on desserts all together. You can have the best experience possible by taking the time and experimenting to find what works best for you and your health goals. Whether it is carrot cake, warm apple crisp, or the all-time favorite classic cheesecake, when you use the proper ingredients and make it yourself, you can enjoy these desserts without ruining your healthy diet. You may even find these newer versions of the classic desserts actually taste better!