Ahhh, dessert.  Isn’t that reserved for the days when you “deserve” it or have been so “good” that you just need to be “bad”?  Or maybe it’s something you splurge on…and then beat yourself up for going off your plan?  Or perhaps you get mad at yourself for even craving a gooey caramel brownie because aren’t you more enlightened than that? You might be thinking: how can I possibly stay on track and feel good in my body if I allow myself to eat dessert.

If you’ve been searching for a way to eat that is both healthy and sustainable, not a quick fix that will get you into your skinny jeans temporarily, then eating pleasurable foods, including dessert, is the key ingredient to support you in your efforts over the long haul.  (Trust me. I know!) It may seem counterintuitive, but deprivation doesn't work. It backfires.

Diets that are devoid of pleasure and joy may work in the short term, but over time it can impact your relationship with food and create all sorts of unwanted behaviors from having an all or nothing eating approach to slipping into patterns of binge eating and/or overeating.  Or if you are able to abstain from any “fun foods” and think that your meals should be a joyless activity, then chances are you might be irritable, miserable and sometimes even resentful. Whoa!

Are you still thinking: Okay,  I’m just going to spiral out of control if I allow myself to eat foods that I enjoy?  I’m not suggesting you just go wild and succumb to all your food desires with little or no restraint, but when you build in the occasional treat (especially those that have some nutritional value) in conjunction with an eating lifestyle that is comprised of whole, real foods, you have a winning formula for eating habits that stick. I have seen it happen time and again: if you give yourself permission to go ahead and eat <super decadent and enjoyable goodness>, the dessert suddenly loses its strong hold and power.

A true personal story:

When my son, Noah, was a toddler, he loved to devour dessert.  In fact, he would ask us “what’s for dessert” the minute we sat down to dinner. (Hello, I just slaved over an entire meal and all you care about is the afterthought.) I knew that I didn’t want to make dessert the “prize” at the end of the meal, but I already saw the pattern developing.

At the time, I did some research and decided to follow some of the advice I read.  I started serving dessert with the meal. Yep.  He had chocolate cake, ice cream, sorbet or whatever dessert toddlers ate back then alongside his chicken, broccoli and brown rice.  Of course, the grandmothers both disapproved of such unconventional parenting, but I had a suspicion that by not making the dessert the “reward” for being “good”, I might have been onto something.  Sure enough, after just a few dinners, the dessert had the same “value” as the broccoli.  He would eat a bite of cookie then move on to whatever else was on his plate and then go back and forth from salmon to green beans to oatmeal pecan cookie. When we gave him permission to eat the dessert right alongside his meal, it no longer had the same power. (Come to think of it: this may have been where the seeds were originally planted for the philosophy behind Kale & Chocolate).

While we can’t go back and undo the messages that we learned about not deserving dessert until we “cleaned our plate”.  Or we can’t erase whatever other conditions (whether in childhood or more recently) we’ve attached to dessert to make it so coveted, we can change some of our patterns now so that we’re able to experience pleasure without guilt and still eat more optimal choices most of the day while enjoying the occasional treat.  In other words, you can have your cake and eat it, too…and in an ideal world, make it with high quality, nutrient-dense and unrefined ingredients.

Here are a few mindset shifts to reprogram your thinking:

• Food is not “good” and “bad” and something that you “deserve”.
• Saying never and don’t just makes you want it more.
• Thinking that you need to deprive yourself in order to be healthy can lead to unwanted behaviors around food and will most likely set you up for failure.
• Finding the healthiest version to satisfy your sweet tooth is not an impossible feat.  See the Healthy Chocolate Mousse recipe below.
• Enjoying the “real deal” on occasion is part of any sustainable plan, but it only works when you eat without guilt and truly savor every morsel.
• For the other 90 percent of the time when you’re making sound choices, practice mindful eating strategies so that you can not only enjoy all food fully, but also learn to tune into the wisdom of your body.

To get you started, try my latest double ‘thumbs up’ teen-approved luscious dessert. It’s loaded with antioxidants and heart healthy fats and tastes like the more refined, sugar-filled versions of chocolate mousse. It also goes along with my theme of pairing greens with chocolate…yes, I am cheating on kale here with the creaminess of the avocado.  It may sound strange, but once you taste this silky, smooth and delicious treat, you’ll forget about the secret greens hiding beneath the chocolate.

And just in case you’re curious:  Noah enjoyed his dessert with the rest of us after dinner.

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

INGREDIENTS

2 ripe avocados
½ cup cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
¼ cup coconut nectar*
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Splash of coconut or almond milk to desired thickness
Optional toppings: shredded coconut, fresh berries, cacao nibs

METHOD

Place all ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender. Slowly add in a splash or two of almond or coconut milk until the mixture reaches desired consistency.  (This is a thick dessert.) Place mousse in refrigerator for at least an hour to let the flavors set before serving.  You can store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Serve in individual small bowls and top with shredded coconut & fresh berries.  Enjoy!

*NOTE: While the recipe is decadent, rich and delicious as is, two of my “tasters” said that it could be a little sweeter.  If you prefer a sweeter taste, then add 1-2 tablespoons of coconut palm sugar. (Coconut sugar seemed to enhance the sweetness more than using additional coconut nectar.)