Healthy strawberry desserts will satisfy all of your sugar cravings without loading up on calories. The strawberry season is now in full bloom and it is worth using it because the inconspicuous fruit is a real superfood. Strawberries have very little calories (32 kcal/100 g), plenty of flavour and healthy anti-oxidants. They are one of the easier fruit to sneak into a weight loss diet, and even in a keto diet. You do not need to start following a strawberry-only diet right away; instead, why don’t you just make strawberries a part of your daily menu – make strawberry oatmeal, healthy smoothies or these simple and healthy strawberry desserts. You can make most of them using frozen strawberries, so make sure you stock up on your berries while they are in peak season.
How to make a delicious low-calorie strawberry dessert?
You don’t need to add multiple toppings and sweeteners to whip up a delicious low-calorie dessert with strawberries. Forget the caloric mascarpone and whipped cream. To lower the caloric value of strawberry desserts and increase the protein content, it is a good idea to use universal toppings with the low-calorie desserts. For example, strawberries go very well with low-calorie dairy products that you can use to make cremes and desserts:
- Ricotta – a delicate compact Italian cheese that provides little calories. You can use it instead of mascarpone for all cremes.
- Skyr – a yoghurt rich in protein without any fat which is well-known to all health nuts. An excellent base for healthy desserts, snacks and breakfasts.
- Natural yoghurt or Nonfat Greek yoghurt – no surprise here. Replacing cream with yoghurt will lower the caloric value of all recipes considerably. When using Greek yoghurt instead of cream, make sure you are not using the classic 10% Greek yoghurt. That one has quite a lot of calories (although it is actually very good for some recipes).
- Tofu – if you want to get that mousse texture in your desserts, you might want to consider adding natural tofu to a blended creme. You will get an extra bonus as you will also get quite a lot of protein and healthy sterols.
- Fromage frais – while many vanilla-flavoured or cream-flavoured fromage frais contain sugar, they are still low in calories compared to mascarpone or whipped cream. It is an excellent base for low-calorie cremes. If you are on a strict weight loss diet and the dozen or so calories matter to you, try to find a vanilla Skyr with sweeteners – it is available in many discount stores.
- Cream cheese, such as Bieluch – this cheese is often underestimated, yet it is excellent in desserts. The “light” version is only 81 kcal/100 g.
- Erythritol and Xylitol – these sweeteners are indispensable when it comes to replacing sugar in low-calorie desserts.
A recipe for low-calorie “whipped cream” that is a perfect for a strawberry dessert
Many people are of the view that fresh strawberries taste best with whipped cream. However, it is hard to balance that version of a strawberry dessert when you are on a weight loss diet. Whipped cream means a lot of fat, a substantial amount of sugar and, first and foremost, a lot of calories. A spoonful of whipped cream is around 20 calories and you can easily sneak that amount into a weight loss menu. However, hardly anyone eats a spoonful of whipped cream in a serving (ten spoonful is more likely!).
If you feel like a full serving of strawberries with whipped cream, try to prepare a light version of the dessert. Low-calorie whipped “cream” is fluffy enough, sweet and vanilla-flavoured. However, it is not as stiff as classic whipped cream. Make sure you consider that if you intend to use it in your healthy desserts.
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 100 g of vanilla-flavoured fromage frais or vanilla Skyr,
- 2 egg whites,
- a pinch of salt,
- 2 tsp of erythritol.
Preparation:
- Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until they are stiff.
- Add erythritol while you continue beating the egg whites (powder erythritol works best).
- When the egg white foam is stiff, slowly add the fromage frais.
- Your whipped “cream” is ready. It tastes best right after it’s been prepared. If it sits too long, it may start to stratify.
- Serve with strawberries of course!
Macronutrients (serves 1):
- Energy: 39 kcal
- Protein: 3 g
- Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
Hint: As you can see, we use raw egg white in this recipe. Is it healthy? If you carefully pour the eggshell with boiling water, you can go ahead and use raw beaten white eggs in desserts from time to time. You will not get salmonella. Admittedly, raw white eggs also contain avidin, a biotin-binding protein that prevents its assimilation. However, the amount of avidin in a single raw egg white is not sufficient to hurt you. Avoid eating raw egg whites on a daily basis but you don’t need to worry about that if you eat raw white eggs from time to time in low-calorie desserts.
Strawberry Low-Calorie Tiramisu
A serving of this strawberry tiramisu has only 267 calories, yet as much as 27 g of protein. Due to a high protein content, you can consider it a post-workout meal.
Ingredients (serves 1):
- 50 ml of freshly brewed coffee,
- 6 small round sponge biscuits (“Wrocławskie” brand),
- 80 g ground quark, 0.5% of fat content,
- 100 g vanilla-flavoured Skyr yoghurt,
- one tbsp of erythritol,
- ca. 100 g strawberries (or more),
- 1 tsp of natural cocoa.
Preparation:
- Prepare a bowl, a cup or any other dish for one serving of tiramisu.
- Soak the sponge biscuits in coffee.
- Line the bottom of the dish with three sponge biscuits.
- Cut the strawberries into pieces. Put the strawberry pieces on the sponge biscuits.
- Blend the Skyr, the cottage cheese and erythritol. Pour half of the mixture on the strawberries.
- Put a layer of sponge biscuits, then a layer of strawberries and a layer of cottage cheese mixture.
- Dust it with some cocoa on top. If you have any strawberries left, you can put them on top.
Macronutrients:
- Energy: 267 kcal
- Protein: 27 g
- Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
Chia strawberry pudding
Chia pudding is a fail-proof and universal low-calorie dessert that is filling thanks to a high fiber content without providing too many calories. You can serve it with a strawberry mousse or with whole fruit.
Ingredients:
- 15 g chia seeds,
- 120 ml milk (2%) or plant-based beverage,
- 10 g xylitol,
- strawberries (ca. 200 g).
Preparation:
- Warm up the milk or plant-based beverage, add xylitol and stir until it dissolves.
- Add the chia seeds and mix well.
- Pour the pudding into a mason jar or a glass.
- Put the pudding into the fridge for at least 2 hours. Mix the pudding now and then so that it sets evenly.
- Serve it with strawberries. You can blend some strawberries into a mousse.
Macronutrients:
- Energy: 185 kcal
- Protein: 7 g
- Fat: 7.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
Low-Calorie No-Bake Cheesecake with Strawberries
A serving of this no-bake cheesecake will provide as much as 35 g protein; however, a part of that is gelatin which is not considered a complete protein. It is a very low-calorie dessert. You can make it either in a cup as a single portion or prepare a regular cake by increasing the ingredient amounts accordingly. Don’t be afraid of the sugar in the strawberry jell-o. This amount of sugar will not “ruin” your diet, and it will make it easier for you to prepare a delicious dessert.
Ingredients (serves 3):
- 500 g semi-fat cottage cheese,
- 200 g full fat Greek yogurt,
- 4 tbsp erythritol,
- 10 g gelatin,
- a packaging of strawberry jell-o,
- ca. 300 g strawberries.
Preparation:
- Use a cottage cheese grater to process the cottage cheese or give it a good blend. Add the Greek yoghurt and erythritol and mix until they are combined.
- Dissolve the gelatin powder in 150 ml hot water. Whisk it carefully to avoid any lumps.
- Combine the gelatin with the cottage cheese mixture.
- Put some strawberries at the bottom of a deeper glass dish.
- Pour the cottage cheese mix on the strawberries.
- Put the desserts into the fridge for about an hour.
- Prepare the jell-o according to the instruction on the packaging.
- Put the strawberry pieces on the top of the lightly set cheesecake. Pour the jell-o over the strawberries.
Macronutrients (serves 1):
- Energy: 344 kcal
- Protein: 35 g
- Fat: 13 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
Easy Low-Calorie Sponge Cake with Strawberries
If you prefer desserts in the form of classic cakes rather than mousse, cheesecakes or puddings, you will love this recipe for a low-calorie sponge cake with strawberries. Since we are using a sweetener, the strawberry cake has much lower caloric value. A serving of the cake provides many simple carbohydrates – it is the perfect pre-workout snack or a light brunch.
Ingredients (serves 8):
- 5 eggs,
- 75 g rice flour,
- 75 g wheat flour,
- 1 tsp baking powder,
- 100 g erythritol or xylitol powder,
- 15 ml canola oil,
- 250 g strawberries.
Preparation:
- Beat egg whites until they are stiff. Add egg yolks and erythritol steadily. Continue beating for 10 minutes.
- When the mixture is fluffy, start adding flour and baking powder. Add the oil.
- Mix at a low speed until the ingredients get combined.
- Line a round cake tin (with a diameter of ca. 25 cm) with baking paper.
- Pour the mixture into the cake tin. Add strawberries (in whole or cut into quarters).
- Bake the sponge cake for approx. 35–40 minutes at about 175 C degrees.
Macronutrients:
- Energy: 164 kcal
- Protein: 6 g
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
5-Minute Low-Calorie Strawberry Ice Cream
Strawberries are also excellent in bringing out the flavour of healthy and super easy ice cream from frozen bananas. You can even use brown, overripe bananas for that recipe. You can call this dessert zero-waste ice cream.
Ingredients (serves 2):
- 2 frozen ripe bananas,
- ca. 3 tbs natural yoghurt,
- 300 g (fresh or frozen) strawberries.
Preparation:
- Put a half of the strawberries into a high-powered blender.
- Add frozen bananas and natural yoghurt (until you get the desired consistency).
- Give it a nice blend at a high speed.
- Serve the ice cream with fresh strawberries.
Macronutrients:
- Energy: 170 kcal
- Protein: 3.5 g
- Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g