Quick and Healthy Thanksgiving Desserts that Won’t Blow Your Diet

Posted on by
A Very Berry Fluff. Image courtesy of Funny Money Mom, who has a similar version.

Thanksgiving is coming soon, and anyone who is trying to stick to a healthy way of eating, is probably concerned about a celebration, focused around food. Let’s face it, family gatherings can be stressful enough, without fighting off tempting treats. Yet, there are ways to compromise: Make a dish or two that has a lot of flavor, without the high fat and calories. Here’s a few tried and true recipes that are low or no fat, low carb, and low calorie. Most can be sugar free, or very low in sugar. But, best of all, they are all high in flavor.

My Favorite Crustless Pumpkin Custard Pie

This recipe, is only 1 point, under a Weight Watcher’s plan. After trying other recipes with low points, I thought this was the winner. Yet, I like to experiment. I’ve even found you can make it, and bake it, in one pan. No extra dirty dishes, yeah! So here is my tweaked version:

Ingredients

  • 1 can of Pumpkin (NOT Pumpkin mix)
  • 1 cup of Fat Free Evaporated Milk
  • 1 box of Sugar-Free Vanilla Instant Pudding
  • A half a box of Sugar-Free Butterscotch Instant Pudding
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 and a half tsp. of Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • A glass or ceramic baking dish
  • Baking Spray

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spritz your dish with the baking spray. Add your eggs to the sprayed dish, whisk the eggs till beaten. Add the entire can of pumpkin, to the beaten eggs, and blend. Add milk and the spice, and blend well. Sprinkle the pudding powder evenly over the pumpkin mix, blend well, ensuring there are no clumps. Place in the oven heated at 350 degrees and set timer for 30 min. To test to see if it is done, shake the dish to see if the middle jiggles. if it jiggles a lot, put in for another 5 min. and repeat, until middle is more solid. Let cool, before serving.

Pumpkin Fluff

There are many versions of this recipe too. I’ve been making this, years before Pinterest came about. I didn’t follow any recipes. I just tweaked the ingredients, until I was satisfied. This also runs about 2 points a serving, depending upon which whipped cream you end up using and milk.

Ingredients needed:

  • 1 Whipped Cream tub container- No Fat or Zero Sugar (found in frozen section)
  • 1 can of Pumpkin (NOT pumpkin mix)
  • 1 box of Butterscotch Sugar-Free Instant Pudding
  • 3/4 cup of No Fat Evaporated Milk or Regular Fat Free Milk
  • 1-1 1/2 tsp. of Pumpkin spice

Directions: Make sure your whipped cream is completely defrosted before attempting to make. Place the whipped cream in a large bowl, pour the pumpkin in, mix well. Sprinkle half of the box of pudding powder over entire top area of mix(not in one little mound). Add half the milk, and mix well again. Add the rest of the powder mix, and milk, then mix thoroughly, to ensure there are no lumps of powder. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

If pumpkin is not your cup of tea, there are so many low fat, low sugar desserts that will satisfy anyone’s dessert cravings.

Some suggestions about turkey, sides, and appetizers

  • Bake fresh sweet potatoes, instead of having sweet potato casserole
  • Make a veggie tray with no or low fat dips, such as black bean, salsa, or hummus
  • Steam string beans, rather than have the string bean casserole
  • Make 2 Ingredient Dinner rolls, rather than the regular pop and bake kind
  • Have skinless turkey breast (0 WW points), rather than the dark meat

I hope these suggestions have helped give you a game plan for the holidays. Yet, we need to be kind to ourselves, and sometimes eat the cake. Remember: moderation, portion control, and love yourself, more than the food. Happy Thanksgiving!

Leave a Reply