30 healthy desserts

I love desserts but I want to know that it is good for me. Don't get me wrong, I like a slice of cheesecake but I don't want to eat it every day. My hips would not thank me for that! So, here are some of the desserts that we eat on a regular basis.

1. Wash a bunch of red or green grapes, pick out any that are rotten or too brown. Pick off the vine and put into serving size containers. Cover and freeze. Take out when you want a snack.
2. Add some fresh raspberries to a serving-size bowl. Sprinkle some chopped walnuts on top and add a spoonful of honey. Toss (GENTLY) with a spoon until mixed. Serve.
3. Add some fresh blueberries to a serving-size bowl. Sprinkle with some chopped pecans. Meanwhile, in a small container, mix one tablespoon of honey with a sprinkle of lime juice. Stir until watery then pour over blueberries. Toss gently with a spoon and eat.
4. Cut up a fresh pineapple and chop into cubes. Add some dried cranberries and a handful of walnuts. Drizzle with a little maple syrup and stir together. (note, don’t worry if the fresh pineapple is brown after a day, its like an apple; worry only if it’s brown when you cut it).
5. Add some chopped apricots and raisins to a bowl with a shot of dark Rum and some brown sugar, set aside to plump up. Meanwhile, sauté some chopped pear. Add rum apricot mixture to the pear and toss with some chopped shelled pistachios. Add to a flour tortilla with a little cinnamon sprinkled overtop, wrap up and eat. Add to pan to brown on all sides if desired to crisp it up.
6. Cut up a fresh pineapple and chop into cubes, immediately toss with a little lime juice. Peel and chop a kiwi into wedges, and peel and seed a papaya then chop into cubes. Add all to a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together enough honey and lime for a dressing to suit the quantity. Pour over top of fruit, add some chopped peeled pistachios and a little unsweetened coconut. Toss and eat!
7. Heat up a skillet; once warm, add about 1 to 2 cups of balsamic vinegar, depending on the amount of fruit along with 2 tbsp of honey. On stove, let simmer down until reduced to one quarter and syrupy. Meanwhile, wash some fresh strawberries, hull and cut into wedges. Place into serving sized bowls. When balsamic reduction is ready pour a little into each bowl as a dressing for the fruit.
8. Cut ¼ cup cleaned fresh cherries into half and discard pit and stem: don’t worry if it’s in pieces, you’re only going to eat it. Put halves into a small bowl, add ¼ cup of a nutty granola. Stir together, add honey if desired.
9. Peel a banana and shove a popsicle stick up one end. If it’s a rather large banana, cut in two and shove the popsicle stick up either end. Freeze in the freezer for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, three hours later, heat up some chocolate syrup or chocolate chips, carefully, in a glass or metal bowl over boiling water while stirring (a double boiler). When chocolate has melted, dip the banana into it, let cool and harden. Stick back in the freezer for chocolate pops! (Ok, I know this one takes a little bit of time, but it’s worth it in the end)
10. Grease a purex baking dish. Add 2 cups of fresh washed blueberries. Wash 4 firm nectarines, cut in half and take out pit. Slice into wedges and add to baking dish. Add dollops of sour cream on top. Meanwhile, in another bowl add about ½ cup of brown sugar and 1 ½ cups chopped pecans. Mix together and sprinkle on top of fruit mixture. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 30-45 min, until done.
11. Take a large handful of red and of green seedless grapes, wash them. Add to a bowl. Core and chop up an apple, add to bowl and quickly add the juice of half a lime. Peel 2 or 3 clementines, take off most of the white and any pits, and add to bowl. Peel and chop up a banana as well and add to bowl. Meanwhile, in another bowl add 2 shots of a nice tawny Port, 2 spoonfuls of liquid honey, the juice of the other half of a lime and a little cinnamon. Mix together, add to fruit salad, let set and eat when you want it.
12. Preheat a grill (George Foreman or a real BBQ) to medium, or turn it on. Cut the top and bottom off of a fresh pineapple, then cut down the middle. Cut into slices, rind and all. Meanwhile, in another bowl, prepare equal parts of lime juice and honey, if desired. Brush onto slices of pineapple then place on grill, about 3 min per side or until you see definite brown char marks. Once, there are marks on both sides, serve!
13. Clean an apple, core it. Chop into slices (chop smaller into pieces if you like) and add to a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of honey, a little cinnamon, and a little bit of cardamom. Add syrup to the apple, mix up. Take a piece of candied ginger, two if you like it spicy, and chop fine with a hot knife and add, mix together. Eat!
14. Clean a pear, core it. Cut into slices and dip into chocolate sauce. This works with peeled kiwi as well, or any fruit for that matter.
15. Peel an apple and core it. Cut into rings, sprinkle with some lemon juice. Meanwhile, heat up a skillet with some butter. Add the apple rings once the butter has melted and stir fry for 4 min until golden and tender and put in a plate. To the same wok, add some finely ground almonds and brown sugar and let brown a little bit while stirring constantly; sprinkle on top of the apples when done and serve.
16. Cut a croissant from the larger end into the middle, but not into two halves. In the pocket, spread on some ricotta cheese and your favorite kind of jam like strawberry, blueberry, raspberry or marmalade. Close the pocket and grill, while pressing down lightly, on a hot grill for 2-3 min per side.
17. Cut a papaya in half and scrape out the seeds. In a small bowl mix some melted butter, brown sugar, a little ground ginger and dark Rum then brush it on to the papaya. Grill, fruit side down on a grill until grill marks ensue or bake in the oven for 20 min at the most, until golden and soft. This can be done with nectarines, mango slices, pineapple and other fruits as well.
18. Take a cleaned firm nectarine and cut in half, take out the pit. Fill the cavity with marscapone cheese then sprinkle with some crushed gingersnap cookies. Place on a grill for 3-5 min or until they are hot and the cheese starts to melt.
19. Make a fruit salad with some apples and raspberries. Sprinkle with some lemon juice and a little brown sugar and a drop or two of rosewater or orange blossom water.
20. Clean some peaches, take the skin off by blanching the fruit if desired. Cut in half, take out the pit, then cut into slices. Heat up a skillet with some butter until it begin to brown. Add some brown sugar, the peaches and a shot of Bourbon, turn up the heat (beware of flames!!) and cook until the peaches are soft. Remove to a dish and sprinkle with whole raw pecans.
21. Add ¼ cup of Greek yogurt to a small bowl. Meanwhile, take a can of apricot halves in juice and drain off the juice. Place the apricots in a blender and add a shot of Grand Marnier. Blend together until smooth. Add ¼ cup of the blended apricots to the bowl then top with chopped pecans.
22. If you have a variety of melons around, make use of them! Cut a cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon in half, seed them. Go nuts with a melon baller and add the balls to a bowl in a variety of colors. In a separate bowl, mix together a shot of Grand Marnier with 1/4 tsp orange blossom water per serving. Add to the melon and mix lightly.
23. Chop up some pineapple into bite-sized pieces and clean a handful of hulled strawberries, then chop up into pieces of the same size. Toss in 1 tbsp maple syrup per serving. Mix, add to fruit and let merry in the fridge. (In other words, make this before preparing supper).
24. If you are in the mood for something a little different, take a cantaloupe, peel it and seed it. Cut into large wedges. Brush with a melted butter and honey mixture and place on the grill until char marks ensue on either side. Meanwhile, chop up a handful of cleaned fresh basil leaves. When the wedges are finished, chop into smaller pieces, sprinkle with the basil and serve.
25. Preheat the oven to 350 or 400 if you want it to go faster. Take an apple, or as many needed, and cut the top off. Cut out the stem and with a spoon or melon baller removed all of the seeds and some of the inside of the apple. In the cavity add a pat of butter and a spoonful of brown sugar, along with a sprinkling of your favorite spice like cinnamon, nutmeg or cardamom. Put the top back on the apple and bake until soft, about 35 to 45 min depending on the temperature
26. Preheat the oven to 350. In a bowl, whisk 2 egg whites, a splash of vanilla, a pinch of your favorite spice like nutmeg (or cinnamon) with a splash of lemon zest, half a cup of sugar,  and 1 ½ cups of unsweetened shredded coconut. Mix until well coated. Form into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet in balls. Bake until golden brown, about 15 min (when they are firm but still soft in the middle). Be careful in removing them from the tray, they will only be crumbly for the first 20 min.
27. Cut up a fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into bite-sized cubes. Add to a bowl. Meanwhile, in a blender, throw in a few handfuls of cilantro leaves along with half a cup of sugar until it is a gritty green paste, like pesto. Toss the pineapple with the cilantro sugar and sprinkle with some unsweetened shredded coconut.
28. Take some pudding cups, whether it’s the packaged Jell-O pudding that you’ve made or a Hunt pudding cup, and stick it in the freezer. Wait for about four to five hours and eat one. It’s just like ice cream and so much healthier, especially if it’s the packaged jell-o one in fat free that you’ve made with skim milk.
29. In a bowl add some of your favorite frozen berries. Add a little maple syrup and some lemon zest and toss together. Top with some prepared whipped cream, whether you have made it with cream, dream whip, or the canned stuff…or, you can leave it out!
30. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar, and ¼ tsp of these ingredients: salt, pepper, ground cayenne, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon. In another bowl add 3 tbsps of maple syrup. Heat up a skillet and toast 2 cups of whole walnuts, constantly turning them for five minutes, or until they are hot. Immediately add to bowl with maple syrup then stir in the spice mixture. Coat all of the nuts and then spread out on a baking sheet in one layer until cool, about 20 min.