While a stay-at-home Valentine’s dinner may consist of your special someone’s favorites, go ahead and get creative with the desserts! Try these sweet, delicious recipes that are satisfying without packing an unhealthy punch.
Broiled Peaches and Yogurt
This recipe is the simplest of simple! Instead of yogurt, you could also use mascarpone cheese or some crème fraiche. For an extra special touch, pipe the yogurt out of a pastry tip and onto or next to the fruit. Garnish with mint leaves if desired.
Serves 2
2 fresh, ripe peaches
About 1 tsp sugar
½ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp honey
Preheat your broiler to HIGH. Cut the peaches in half and remove the pit. Sprinkle a thin and even layer of sugar on the cut side of each peach half, and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, use a fork or whisk to combine the yogurt and honey.
Arrange the peaches on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, sugar-side up, and pop into the oven about 6 inches away from the broiler. Leave for about 3-5 minutes, keeping an eye on the peaches, until the sugar on top has caramelized to a deep golden brown. Remove and let cool slightly before spooning the yogurt mixture on top of or next to the peaches. Serve while warm, two halves and a fork and knife to each person!
Nutritional info per serving: 138.4 calories, 1 g fat, 3.8 mg cholesterol, 38 g sodium, 322 mg potassium, 31 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 3.3 g protein. 10.5% RDV Vitamin A, 11.6% RDV Vitamin C.
Raspberry Sauce with Orange Frozen Yogurt
You can use frozen raspberries here in the place of fresh if you wish. The sauce can be made up to a week ahead of time and drizzled over anything you like.
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 tbsp sugar
1 10 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
1 ½ cup natural vanilla yogurt
Arrange the mandarin oranges on a small baking sheet and place in the freezer for 2-3 hours. Meanwhile, you can start the raspberry sauce. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat, and add the raspberries and sugar, stirring gently as the raspberries release their juice. When bubbling, remove from heat and give it a final mash with your spoon. Pour through a sieve into a small bowl.
Remove the mandarin oranges from the freezer, and place in a food processor along with the vanilla yogurt. Pulse, pausing often to scrape down the sides, until it has reached the consistency of sherbet. Spoon into bowls and top with the raspberry sauce.
Nutritional info per serving: 178 calories, 1.6 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 258.9 mg potassium, 38.5 g carbohydrates, 4.2 g fiber, 21 g sugar, 4.1 g protein. 26.6% RDV Vitamin C, 14% RDV calcium.
Cinnamon Candied Nuts
These are perfect as some decadent munchies or sprinkled over some vanilla ice cream or yogurt. And again, the fat content is from all those healthy omega-3 oils, so no worries there! Enjoy these while snuggled up with a movie and each other.
Serves 8 as a snack/garnish
½ pound almonds, walnuts, or pecans
½ cup sugar
¼ cup milk
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
Combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking until the sugar is dissolved. Let stand without stirring for about 5-10 more minutes over the heat. If you have a candy thermometer, it should read 235 (soft-ball) when the mixture is done. Otherwise, wait until the syrup reaches a honey-like consistency, or until it reaches the soft-ball stage (read more about that here!).
At that point, remove from heat and pour in the vanilla extract, stirring to combine, then add the nuts of your choice, stirring with a large spoon to make sure every nut is coated. When done, turn the nuts out on to wax paper, separating them as you go. Let cool before munching or using on top of ice cream, yogurt, or whatever you like!
Nutritional info per serving: 219 calories, 14.5 g fat, .6 mg cholesterol, 3.6 mg sodium, 223 mg potassium, 19 g carbohydrates, 3.5 g fiber, 14 g sugar, 6.3 g protein. 37% RDV Vitamin E.
Dress Up a Plain Suit
