Desirable Desserts: Grilling and Picnic Tips
Barbeques, holiday celebrations, and family
gatherings are never complete without dessert.
When planning your next picnic or get-together,
follow this advice for some healthier and still
delicious desserts.
Serve fresh fruit before the rest of
the dessert!
One of the healthiest desserts around is a fresh fruit salad. Use
an assortment of fruit, chopped into bite-size pieces. Create a
more flavorful fruit salad by using in-season fruit and smaller
pieces. Pair the fruit salad with some other whole food-based
desserts, such as dates, figs, and nuts. Try making pitted dates
stuffed with pecans—tastes like pecan pie!
These foods are all high in nutrients and fiber, so you will likely
fill up faster when eating them compared to traditional desserts.
After serving, wait 15 minutes before bringing out the rest of
your dessert.
Buy less and pre-portion highercalorie desserts!
If you want to offer a high-calorie dessert, such as brownies,
cookies, pies, or cakes, only buy or make enough to give
everyone one (or maybe one and a half) portion. Also, preportion the servings, so that everyone gets a piece, but are not
tempted to take too large of a piece. Odds are that some
people will not have their dessert, so those who really want
seconds probably can have them anyway.
Also the fresh fruit, dates, and nuts provide other dessert
options for those who are still hungry for something sweet.
Stuffed Grilled Peaches
Ingredients
Four large peaches
1 cup fresh blueberries
3 Tbsp brown sugar
One-half fresh lemon
Directions:
Wash peaches and cut them in half.
Remove the pit and place peach halves
on aluminum foil. Spoon 2 Tbsp of
blueberries into each peach half. Sprinkle
2 tsp of brown sugar on each and squeeze
lemon juice over the top.
Fold up foil and seal tightly. Place on
medium hot grill and cook for about 15
minutes, turning once. Serve right out of
the foil.
Grilled Dessert Pizza
Ingredients:
Homemade or store-bought pizza dough
8 ounces goat cheese
¼ cup honey
1 pound strawberries or fruit of choice
(bananas, peaches, plums, pineapple)
¼ cup rum
2 Tbsp sugar
Cooking Spray
Chocolate syrup
Directions:
Clean grill. Spray the grill liberally with
0
cooking spray. Heat to 500 F.
Combine strawberries or other fruit with
the rum and sugar. Lest rest for 15
minutes to 2 hours.
Smooth pizza dough into 12” round crust.
Combine the goat cheese and honey with
a fork. Spread evenly on the pizza dough.
Top with fruit, leaving the juices in the
bowl. Place the pizza on the grill. Cook for
9 to 12 minutes, rotating the pizza every
few minutes to make sure it does not
stick. Remove from the grill and drizzle
with chocolate syrup.
http://www.nutrition411.com/component/k2/item/1654-grilling-and-picnic-tips-desirable-desserts
http://www.nutrition411.com/component/k2/item/557-desserts-made-on-the-grill
Victoria Wilson, MSU Dietetic Intern