After a good meal, there's nothing quite like satiating the palate with a good dessert. However, with all the health-conscious rhetoric flying around, the sweets after the feast can be frowned upon. They don't have to be though. So long as you're not topping off your meal with Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream (1,600 calories, 78 g fat, 215 g carbs), you can still indulge in the sweet delights.
Don't believe it? Thank Men's Health for their list of the healthiest desserts a few of your favorite sweet shops and restaurants have to offer:
Cold Stone Creamery:
Cold Stone offers their Sweet Cream ice cream flavor in a fat and sugar-free variety making it an ideal beginning when you start to add in fruit and nuts. But if the Sweet Cream isn't your thing, try this:
Cake Batter Light Ice Cream with Chocolate Shavings Mix-in (6 oz. Like It size). Only 330 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 39 grams of sugars.
Dairy Queen:
Ordering a small chocolate sundae has only 280 calories and 7 grams of fat, half the fat of a small chocolate-dipped cone.
Ben & Jerry's:
Ordering a 1/2 cup of B&J's Strawberry Original Ice Cream will only pack an extra 230 calories and 13 grams of fat onto your night of food intake. If you must have chocolate though, set your sights on the Chocolate Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt with only 190 calories per serving.
Baskin Robbins:
Four ounces of the Maui Brownie Madness Low-Fat Yogurt contains 210 cals, 4 grams of fat, and only 34 grams of sugars, 1/3 of the fat that the Rocky Road contains.
Macaroni Grill:
At the Macaroni Grill, the Italian Sorbetto with Biscotti is the only acceptable option, unless you plan on sharing a different dessert with at least 3 or 4 other people. The 330 calories and 4 grams of fat in the Sorbetto should leave you feeling fine after the meal.
Chili's:
Despite containing some of America's unhealthiest food items, Chili's can still boast a relatively healthy dessert to your meal.
Order the Dutch Apple Caramel Sweet Shot (230 calories, 6 g fat, 280 mg sodium) for a nice ending to your dining out affair.
T.G.I. Friday's:
Do people really eat here? We thought it was more of a theory place. At any rate, The Chocolate Raspberry Mini Dessert has only 220 calories. The "mini" is a good indicator of a meal for one, though sharing is always a good idea.
Supermarket Desserts:
Your local grocery store gets in on the game for those nights you opt to stay in and cook for yourself. If you want an ice cream sandwich, try the delectable Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Sandwich (160 calories, 2.5 g fat, 16 g sugars). In the way of the ice cream itself, aim for Edy’s Slow Churned Rocky Road (per 1/2 cup - 120 calories, 4 g fat, 12 g sugars).
If you're more of sorbet and fro-to lover, try Ben & Jerry’s Sorbet Berried Treasure (per 1/2 cup - 110 calories, 0 g fat, 24 g sugars). On the frozen yogurt front, Stonyfield Farm's Nonfat Frozen Yogurt After Dark Chocolate only contains 100 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 18 grams of sugars per 1/2 cup.
So next time you feel like supplementing your meal with some sweets, get rid of the guilt with these diet-friendly and almost downright healthy options. After all, the occasional indulgence in the land of sugar can help maintain a healthy weight.
Complete list: Men'sHealth.com