Low Fat AND Yummy

I like dessert.

This is a bummer, since high-fat foods usually trigger GI distress symptoms for me. So I search diligently for lower-fat versions of yummy things. I find that if I keep the percentage of the calories from fat below 30% in whatever I am eating, I feel better than when I don't. And although tempering fat grams by making sure to eat them with fiber is generally a good-health tip, it doesn't work for me, since high fiber is another one of my triggers.

Here are some of my low-fat dessert favorites:

Frozen yogurt - with or without toppings. But if I REALLY want higher-fat toppings, I make sure the yogurt is non-fat and that the yogurt portion WAY outweighs the topping. It is amazing how a little peanut butter topping can dress up a bowl of chocolate frozen yogurt. Also, read the labels on toppings to use at home. I'm often surprised by the low fat ration in some hot fudge and caramel toppings.

Chocolate-banana smoothie made with fat-free milk, Instant Breakfast, ice cubes, frozen banana and a little honey or agave nectar. Sometimes this is breakfast.

Low-fat chocolate cookies with vanilla chips - The only fat in this recipe is in the vanilla chips. Yum.

Fortune cookies--yummy and usually fat free.

Slush made in my ice-cram freezer from Torani syrup and water (1/2 ratio).

Angel food cake with berries and fat-free Cool Whip.

Jello pudding (I like chocolate and vanilla) made with fat-free milk, served warm with fat-free Cool Whip.

Tapioca pudding made with fat-free milk

Ginger snaps

Gingerbread cookies with royal icing (the crunchy kind made from egg whites and sugar)

Meringue tarts filled with fat-free pudding or fruit and fat-free Cool Whip

Meringue cookies

100-calorie snacks (pricier, but great in a hurry once in a while)

Cinnamon or orange rolls (especially the ones my sister-in-law Glenda makes) without icing, or when I add my own, fat-free icing

Rice Krispie treats

Low-fat apple crisp or peach cobbler with fat-free Cool Whip or vanilla frozen yogurt

Banana chocolate chip cookies (more fat than the chocolate ones, but still a low fat ratio)

Fat-free brownie muffins

Reduced-fat pumpkin or banana bread

Yogurt-dipped pretzels

OK, there are some days when I REALLY want a chocolate candy bar. Most of them have way more than half of their calories in fat. But there are a few exceptions.

The lowest-fat chocolate bar I've found is a York Peppermint Patty or Junior Mints.

Next in line is a Three Musketeers bar (not the mint kind).

Then, a little higher in fat than 30%, but way lower than most other candy bars, is Butterfinger. The fat content can be diluted by having it with another fat-free calorie source (like a glass of fat-free milk).

A lot of candy is completely fat free, including most hard candies, Gummi Bears, Swedish Fish, Smarties, Sweet Tarts, and many others.

Now you know how I keep from feeling deprived - and why I don't weigh less.

Life can still be yummy with a few adaptations. :-)