5 Secretly Healthy Chocolate Desserts
1. Individual Orange and Chocolate Cheesecakes (above)
Two words: Portion control. This cheesecake recipe has all the good stuff -- ricotta, cream cheese, butter -- but it's made in mini-muffin tins so you can scale back. (Obligatory friendly reminder: The "portion control" concept doesn't apply if several are hoovered at a time.)
Three of the most indulgent words in the English language, all for under 300 calories a serving? The trick is to do a dairy double-take: Swap out some of the classic cream cheese for low-fat cottage cheese, and you'll still have all the requisite creamy texture.
Low-fat yogurt in the batter helps cut back on fat and calories, but it also adds an addictive tangy flavor that helps balance out the two (two!) types of chocolate in these rich brownies that are just 160 calories each.
For junior Valentines, these sweet treats are just what the doctor ordered after a near heart-shaped candy overdose.
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These cupcakes might be the most deceitful dessert of them all: Pureed prunes and low-fat Greek yogurt take the place of some of the butter usually found in the cupcakes, yet the sweets remain moist and fudge-y. Meringue as a frosting sounds fancy, but break it down and it's really whipped egg whites and sugar -- again, no butter in sight.
Kang Kim