Pavlova dessert is a delicious meringue based dessert with fruit. You usually see Pavolovas piled high with berries. But a tropical twist to that can be with fruits like pineapple, kiwi, guava, bananas, mango, and cherries to make a rainbow effect as in eat-from-the-rainbow anti-inflammatory healthy.
You can also omit the sugar in your egg-white meringue base. And instead of a traditional meringue base altogether, you can add a grit or oat pie base bottom.
Either way is a way to enjoy the tropics from home, and the healthy benefits of tropical fruits.
Loaded with Vitamin C and fiber, they also have minerals and are high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients. Most tropical fruits are also very juicy to quench your thirst and cooling. Instead of reaching for a beverage with calories, eat healthy tropical fruits.
What’s fun about a Pavlova is you can make it your own swirls and patterns.
This is a lighter pie version with tropical fruits that are high in Vitamin C..
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Equipment
pie baking pan
Ingredients
Tropical fruits, chopped
Meringue (or grit pie bottom)
115 ouncecream of coconut can
Instructions
For Pavolva, whip egg whites to make meringue base. Add to a pan that will be your presenting dish/pan or use a Silpat for easy transfer. Alternatively you can make a grits pie base that's quicker to bake, with grits, egg, and coconut oil that complements tropical fruit flavors. Alternatively, you can grind oats and bake them to use as the base.
Bake in 200°F oven until it feels solid and formed (like packed snow).
Decorate with fruit (dragonfruit, pineapple, passion fruit, and guava). If you want to use less fruit sugar or for a breakfast Pavlova, you can alternatively add berries and green bananas.
Healthy brownie with fiber (and protein) can be made with wheat bran and wheat germ. You can 2XX (and fibermaxx). And have a delicious dessert good for breakfast or anytime.
Oh, and healthy especially with buckwheat flour added that’s in this fudge-like brownie recipe.
Also, learn how each kind of flour impacts your healthy brownie’s texture, and which flour has the most fiber. So you can decide which fiber to add in this healthy brownie. I’ll help you below…
Fiber is plant-based indigestible food that helps digestion. Think of whole wheat and other insoluble fiber sources, like tumbleweed passing through and picking up particles that would otherwise stay longer in your body.
Soluble fiber is good for helping cholesterol and blood sugar. And supporting optimized weight below the belt.
And daily fiber helps you feel leaner and look your best in your jeans… and who doesn’t love that?
So a healthy brownie is a simple way to lace in healthy ingredients that help our health… and satiate a sweet tooth. And in the duo benefits, you have your choice of healthy ingredients.
Here’s the healthy skinny, so you can make your ingredient choice as to which ones you want to include for your brownie this time.
First up is is the wheat germ ingredient, that’s the seed. It’s where it all begins for a wheat kernel…
Wheat germ has more protein and Vitamin E that also is an antioxidant. And wheat bran has more fiber than the good germ which is good for weight management.
Wheat bran is also part of the wheat kernel, like the skin or outer layer that’s super high in fiber. When you buy wheat germ, you’re getting more vitamins and minerals that embryos carry. And wheat bran has more fiber.
Whole wheat flour is more common and balanced with germ and bran in it, but it’s more processed. It includes the endosperm, that’s the middle layer and starchy section that helps make more flour.
Think of whole wheat flour as the more healthy alternative with more protein and fiber compared to or vs. (white) all-purpose flour.
Then there’s buckwheat… that’s a gluten-free flour choice.
Buckwheat is a super food and is actually not a wheat. That’s why it’s gluten-free. It has an even higher amount of fiber for fibermaxxing if that’s one of your heatlthy missions. It’s a good add for most sweet and breakfas-y dessert recipes like a blueberry scone or buckwheat ginger cookie snap.
…So those are the wheat options (both gluten wheat and gluten-free buckwheat flour)… and then there are a couple other good healthy brownie gluten-free options, including coconut flour and oat flour.
Coconut flour vs. whole wheat flour vs. oat flour
For the healthy brownie recipe options, you can decide between whole wheat flour, oat flour, and coconut flour as the main brownie flour. And the others (germ, bran, and buckwheat) are healthy supporting adds.
If you’re trying to do a fully gluten-free healthy brownie, buckwheat, oat, and coconut flours or a combo of them would be good choices.
Coconut flour is super high in fiber with over 20 grams or more per 1/2 cup (about 100 grams). Coconut flour has more insoluble fiber (and more fiber than oats). Oats has more soluble fiber (overall 3-4 grams of fiber per 1/2 cup or about 100 grams). Whole wheat flour has 6-7 grams of fiber per half cup.
If you’re looking to control blood sugar or cholesterol, then oats would be a good brownie ingredient choice. And the best choice for a healthy fudgy brownie. You can simply grind rolled oats to make the flour.
And besides coconut and oats, another gluten-free alternative is black beans that will give a more lumpy brownie with 6-9 grams of fiber.
It’s a good option if you have extra bean cans around (or kicking the cans deciding which ingredients to choose 😀)… and you want to have a more balanced soluble and insoluble fiber eating experience. For a brownie with black beans, to enhance flavor, you can add black coffee as a flavored liquid instead of regular water.
Healthy Brownie Tastes and Textures
Adding or subtracting flours won’t impact the brownie taste negatively (as cacao powder or chocolate-y flavors is the main brownie flavor and another healthy ingredient).
Unsweetened 100% cacao powder (cocoa baking powder) is anti-inflammatory. It helps to make this an overall low-sugar brownie.
And for a healthier sweetener, honey is also used, but you can substitute for a smidge of healthy monk fruit sugar (that’s better for a cake-like brownie, e.g. with whole wheat flour).
For additional flavor pairing or for no-added sugar, you can use peppermint extract for a chocolate mint brownie or coffee to enhance the cacao flavor tastes.
And besides tastes, you can favorably change the texture of the brownie you choose by the flour choices you make.
Whole wheat flour (a fully gluten option) will help make your brownies flour-cake-like, and a smoother batter (less healthy bumpy or rustic). And if you add baking powder (and/or baking powder), that will help the brownie rise in the oven.
But gluten-free flours like coconut flour will stay about the same height before and after the oven bake. Coconut flour brownies will be more dry for texture: the coconut flour batter will be more dry and the brownies out of the oven will be too.
For coconut flour brownies, I leaned into coconut tastes with shredded coconut here…
…And finely ground oat flour brownies will give more of a fudge-y brownie (like a flourless cake). The baked brownie will look more like the batter, than not at all. Brownies are simple that way. You can kinda predict what they will look like on the other side of the oven. 😊
…Where the brownie batter will be more like a slightly sticky cookie dough with some grainy oat bits. And more like a store bought brownie mix than say with coconut flour.
So, weighing fiber types/amounts and brownie texture differences and what’s priority to you, will help tip the scale toward as to which flour(s) you choose this time for your healthy brownie plate.
And as you’re deciding flours if you haven’t already, this brownie recipe also has egg white and applesauce as healthy binders.
…Which btw I love substituting using any butter or egg yolk with unsweetened applesauce in a healthy brownie. And if you like applesauce in general, you’ll also like a fruit roll up or applesauce cobbler.
Longer Lasting Brownie
Applesauce will help your brownie last longer if you want to make a larger batch. And coconut oil will help that mission too.
You can use another oil like light olive oil or canola oil, but it will not last as long at room temperature. Those oils can grow rancid quicker at (warmer) room temperatures.
And the same goes for liquid choices. Milk (and liquids that need to be refrigerated) will not last as long vs. using water (or an enhancing liquid like black coffee).
…So now that you have all the brownie ingredient notes, are you ready to make this delicious, one-bowl batter recipe?
This is a 2X fiber brownie that has no black beans. It's fudge and less cake-like. This will make 6 small brownie bites or 2 regular size square brownies.
In one bowl, hand combine ingredients with a spoon.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for about 15 minutes. Do not overbake.
Notes
If you want to turn this into a cake-like brownie, add 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1 tsp baking powder.Oat flour is better at blood sugar and lower cholesterol and coconut flour is good for supporting regular digestion. Coconut flour will make a more dry brownie, and oat flour will give a more fudgy brownie.Add enough water (or liquid) to get a smoother batter that fully incorporates the flours of choice.
Goat’s cheesecake is one that’s so easy to make! And you win body points with a more gut healthy cheesecake, using goat cheese. Oh, plus the healthy probiotic piped topping. See the full notes and recipebelow…
…And I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the skinny on the healthy ingredients that make a healthy cheesecake difference.
…That’ll benefit your body and also help you be happy, feeding healthy vibes to your gut (where most happy hormones are made) and mouth (stirring up glee). 😋
With this cheesecake recipe, it starts with the ingredient choice of chevre or goat cheese, that’s higher in protein, calcium, and lower calories (about 25% less than regular cream cheese). Plus, healthy prebiotic notes as fermented cheese.
Despite a French name, chèvre is not to be confused with cheval that means horse in French. 🐐 Fun fact: Horses make milk too. 🐎
And goat cheese has a texture closer to cream cheese so it works great in a cheesecake.
Its calories and fat content is more like a Neufchâtel cheese, a reduced cream cheese, which is what I used to use for cheesecakes before I knew better. It’s French named after the town it comes from in Normandy…
But today, we have other available healthier options, like goat cheese…
And the Mediterranean region was one area of the world that put healthier (the real-deal) prebiotic goat cheese on the map 🗺️ straight from the farms, while cow’s cheese is still what dominates cheeses.
And we benefit with the arrival of goat cheese makers. Montchèvre is one organic brand made in the USA. Specific to Wisconsin, that’s also home to the Cheese Heads (America’s Dairyland).
Montchevre is the organic goat cheese used in this cheesecake recipe. It looks like a packaged small cheese log.
You can find it in many grocery stores that has a premium or specialty cheese section, like Harris Teeter or Trader Joe’s. So it’s easier to source.
…And even easier to find is a thick Greek yogurt for additional healthy probiotics (gut health), protein and B12 vitamins (good for energy), to name a few healthy body benefits.
All for the sake of being healthy (that’s a good cause)… and a tasty, nice textured smooth cheesecake.
Sheep’s cheese is another type of healthy protein cheese, like goat cheese, that is growing in common availability, thanks to places like Sardinia, Italy. The rural green pastures are known for the rustic and healthy cheese tradition.
And for cheesecakes, you can also make a delicious, high protein Basque-style sheep’s cheesecake. Keep in mind: sheep’s cheese 🐑 is generally more firm than goat’s cheese 🐐, so the sheep’s way makes a better rustic cheesecake shape.
But with Montchevre goat cheese in this recipe, you should get a smooth batter like mousse that makes a rounder shape. And this means you can use one piece of baking paper effectively (instead of cutting scrapbook strips like I did with sheep’s cheese in a cheesecake).
💡An idea for if you don’t have baking paper: if you use a small half-size 4″ springform pan where the cake pan sides pop off, then you can use one cupcake paper holder and it will fit perfectly at the bottom.🧁Flatten it out and that can be the baking paper you use.
And then to complete the goat’s cheesecake batter to pour into the cake pan:
Bring in the egg yolk that helps the structure in the recipe, and will add more protein/B12 healthy notes. But instead of probiotics (like in yogurt), it’s prebiotic to feed the healthy bacteria probiotics.
And for some FUN batter flavor variety, you can add easy flavors to your goat’s cheesecake like chocolate (via cacao powder).
…Or cherries and chocolate for a delightful pairing. That’s where the HAPPY dials up for me, but your flavors are up to you. You can also add in chocolate chip morsel bits for a little added crunch.
Then when you’re good with your batter in your pan, bake your cheesecake in the oven. It’s a timed event (and not one where you have to keep checking the oven).
After it’s well-baked, the goat’s cheesecake should come out of the cake pan pretty easily in one cake piece, after it’s cooled. The sides will shrink a little to help that effort, because a cheesecake usually sticks to the sides.
Tip: I have tested butter and oil directly on the bottom and sides of the pan before, and nothing seems to have worked better than baking paper and oil. Since this will be a smoother, less dense, and almost pudding-like batter you pour into the circle pan, you can use one piece of baking paper instead of little strips and pieces, and the shape of the cheese cake will remain close to a circle (without weird geometric angles for a rustic look).
And then for the final zhugh and topping (fun), I saved the best for last… where it’s thick Greek yogurt again!
Easy Goat's Cheesecake - Protein and Low-Sugar Cacao Healthy
This will make a 4" size cheesecake about 2" high. Double the ingredient amounts for an 8" cake pan.
Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 55 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Equipment
springform or cake pan
baking paper
Ingredients
3/4cupGreek yogurt, thicker portions (2% or higher/reduced fat milk)
1/4cupchevre goat cheese
1largeegg yolk
1Tbspcacao, unsweetened or cocoa powder (for chocolate cheesecake)
1Tbspcherries, halves (optional)
1-2tspmini chocolate chips (optional)
1Tbspadditional Greek yogurt (for piping on top)
1Tbspmelted chocolate (optional)
Instructions
Make the cheesecake batter: combine goat cheese, yogurt, and egg yolk ingredients in a bowl. Add in any flavors like cacao powder.
Coat neutral oil to the bottom and sides of a springform pan. Add a rectangular cut piece of baking paper to the middle. Two opposing sides should reach the top. Tip: if you don't have baking paper, an easy trick is you can use paper cupcake holders. Flatten out and add to the bottom of your springform cake pan.
Pour-spoon cheesecake batter to the pan.
Bake at 350°F/180°C in the bottom oven rack for 55-60 minutes. The cheesecake sides should be a little darker and slightly pull away from the pan that will help you to pull out of the pan.
Let the cheesecake fully cool (and firm up) before removing from pan.
Pipe Greek yogurt and melted chocolate if desired. Rounded star tips work best to make a "diner whipped cream" topping look.
Berry lavender tea scone can be a low-sugar healthy dessert. When I don’t know what to bake, and have a sweet craving, it’s a scone!
Whether you pronounce it sgonn or scone, it’s a score that will be gone soon!
…Like this raspberry lavender tea scone plate that’s irresistible during heart month and for a Galentine’s dessert 💕
Pair heart healthy raspberries and dark chocolate (with flavanols that improve blood flow) for a tasty anti-inflammatory effect.
And if you’re wondering what separates a scone apart, here’s my take…
A scone is a breakfast pastry, a sweet snack like a cookie, and more elevated than a bar. It’s also an EASY bake you can make low-sugar and healthier with your delicious flavors!
Cut round like a pie, but looks flat like a pancake (before the oven)… a scone comes out of the oven wedge heel-raised elevated, puffs up in the center, and crunchy inside and around in all the right places.
You can be creative and dream up your own easy scone flavors to life. This is the new food wheel… with berry and white chocolate. 😊
And if you cut the wedges before it goes in the oven, like this…
…You’ll have less crumbs on the baking board and more in your mouth.
Plus with cut wedges, whether you share or not, you’ll know how many wedges are left… before it’s sgonn. 😋
That I’m sure is fast. It’s a good idea to go ahead and make 2 scones side-by-side to anticipate its appeal.
And if you have an event you need or want to bring a dessert to, a scone is a smart, foolproof one!
You can’t mess it up, and it will be a hit 🙌
On that note, the reason I really like a scone is you don’t have to do any prep work.
For starters, the few, small pats of butter you use can be straight from the fridge or freezer and works better.
Because cold keeps the fat separate with small pieces in the dough, so that when it goes into the magical oven, steam happens and creates air pockets so you get an airier scone like you expect in breakfast pastries.
That’s the fascinating baking science part.
And with the texture working for your easy berry tea scone, you can add almost any sweet food ingredient that inspires you.
Think of the variety of tasty, healthy anti-inflammatory flavors (aka flavanols).
…Like spices, healthy smoothie powders, extracts, berries, honey, tea, and fruit. And for the wet ingredients, you can use tea like Early Grey bergamot or lavender that I added.
Perfect pairings for weekend Sunday brunch or afternoon tea! 🫖
A technique I like: in a mug, add warm tea water to honey to liquefy, plus the tea all together. Let it cool and then add to the dough mixture.
You can also shredded coconut or zest like in a low-sugar orange scone (that’s like confetti 🎉).
Think also of healthy cake ingredients you can use.
…But without any egg or milk (if you choose).
Which means a easy berry tea scone can live longer if you want it to last on a room temperature plate.
All in all, this is a delicious dessert for any occasion that no one will know there is very little sugar (and no table sugar) if you choose.
Shhh!… unless you tell ’em.
Because honey and butter alone are a delicious pairing that is enough for a delicate and decadent pastry.
But why leave it there? Healthy tea and fruit in an easy berry lavender tea scone adds an elevated taste.
And while I pulled 13 pantry and fridge ingredients in total (in the recipe), you can make this with half as many ingredients or less if you want to keep it simple… starting with some flour, butter, liquid, and sweet.
And to keep it healthier, use a healthier flour blend (e.g. almond or gluten-free flour), less butter, honey, and brewed tea. Up to you!
One thing in common is your easy berry tea scone will be delicious. See what you can come up with using my recipe as inspiration. 🍥
This is a berry tea scone that you can make your own flavors and ingredients with the instructions provided
Course afternoon tea, Breakfast
Cuisine American, british
Servings 8pieces
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
3/4cupalmond flour
1/2cupall purpose flour
2Tbspbutter, cold small pieces
1tsplavender tea (brewed and cooled)
1-2tspraw honey
1Tbspblueberries
1Tbspraspberries, dried or fresh
additional berries for tops
1/4tspcinnamon spice
1/4tspsalt
1/2tspbaking powder
1Tbspwhite chocolate (optional)
1tspvanilla extract
Instructions
Fully hand mix ingredients into a 4" dough disc. If you find that the scone dough is too dry (and won't stick together), add a little inspiring liquid that can be water, or flavored teas to get a dough that sticks together and slightly moist to the touch. If you find the scone is too wet or sticky, add some dry ingredients like spices, almond flour, and/or healthy powders.
Press additional sweet ingredients like berries randomly to the tops.
Cut 4" scone into 8 pie wedges.
Bake at 325°F/165°C for about 35 minutes (or until browned all around).
Cottage cheese in a cheesecake sounds like a lot of cheese, like this oozing over cake you can see below. But it’s actually a healthy way to get protein.
And a way to hide the cottage-y cheese texture (especially if you’re not a natural cottage cheese fan). And in this dish, you’ll get a smooth texture you’ll love!
Use your Magic Bullet or food processor and add 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and one egg.
Pulse the blender with cottage cheese and egg a few times to smoothly blend. This will make enough for an individual portion.
You can bake into an oven-safe mug if you don’t have a baking vessel that’s the exact right size.
Anyone can make this! 😊
It’s a quick (quiche?) way to get protein that’s sweet or savory delicious and healthy.
You decide!
And this is where it gets fun because you get to decide if you want a sweeter cheesecake (dessert) or savory cheesecake with healthy veggies or more proteins, like that you would add to a quiche.
Either way, it’s about 14 grams of cottage cheese protein and much lower in calories and fat… in case that’s important to you. And the egg adds another 6 grams, so this one individual portion has 20 grams of protein, plus any other proteins you add.
The Breakstone’s 2% milk fat cottage cheese I used had 13 grams of protein, but was only 100 calories. Some creamy cheese can be more than double or triple those calories.
I went sweet (the blueberries are a hint) and I added 1 tsp of maple syrup and some berries and surprise-inside cherries. That’s it.
The bottom was brushed with coconut oil. And if you go the savory route, you can make this a Mediterranean diet olive oil serving as an option.
Oil helps for a non-stick bottom that’s baking-desirable and improves the overall bake texture.
And since I used an under 2-inch low baking vessel (that’s shorter in height than a drinking mug), I got the anticipated dramatic spillover effect that’s fun and adds a lava effect.
Like an oozing fall “lava” cake or a French Onion soup that’s baked in another baking pan to catch the flow. I used a cake pan and carried over the spill to the plate (that was scrumptious too 😋).
And you can simply cut off the baked lava or leave on for an ahhh…
After exiting the oven, you would think this dish is made with fancy cheese like Gruyere (or other fondue cheeses) that are usually more expensive per ounce and higher fat calories. You’d never think it was easy-to-source cottage cheese.
And you may at first think that using cottage cheese as the main ingredient doesn’t give a delicious bake… but not here in this cottage cheese cheesecake where it’s controversially satisfying.
Give it a try yourself. Your friends will never guess it’s cottage cheese… unless you tell them. 🧀
