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What Are the Different Types of Low-Fat Sweets?
Many types of fat-containing sweets have low-fat alternatives available, including cookies and bars. Low-fat sweets also include a variety of cakes, pies and cobblers. Even cheesecakes and puddings are offered as low-fat sweets, and they often feature low-fat ingredients and flavorings.
Many pies can be made low-fat simply by swapping out high-fat ingredients for low- or non-fat alternatives. Traditional pumpkin pie can lose some fat by using fat-free sweetened condensed milk in the filling. Another option with pumpkin and similar, custard-style pies is to do away with the crust and simply bake the crustless pie in a dish, thereby losing any fat from the crust. Classic cherry cheese pie is made with a reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust, low-fat cream cheese and light cherry pie filling.
Low-fat sweets include a variety of flavors of pudding, where skim milk is typically substituted for the higher fat, whole milk version. Pineapple pudding features sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix, crushed pineapple and plain low-fat yogurt. Tiramisu pudding is made with fat-free Swiss mocha flavor coffee mix, fat-free cream cheese and fat-free, sugar-free instant vanilla pudding and pie filling.
Frozen low-fat sweets include pineapple sherbet, strawberry Italian ice and frozen pumpkin squares. Fresh peach sundaes feature peaches, cinnamon and frozen vanilla yogurt. Cantaloupe sorbet features granulated sugar, lime juice and diced cantaloupe. Vanilla orange yogurt pops feature frozen orange juice concentrate, vanilla extract and plain, nonfat Greek yogurt. Strawberry granita is made with sugar, sliced strawberries and fresh lemon juice.
A variety of cookies and bars are available as low-fat sweets, including pumpkin spice bars and cherry pecan biscotti. Coconut macaroons are made with egg whites, shredded coconut and nonfat condensed milk. Italian almond cookies feature almond paste, egg whites and sliced almonds. Oatmeal raisin cookies are made with pureed prunes, brown sugar and quick-cooking oats. Raspberry splits are made with raspberry preserves, powdered sugar and almond extract.
Cobblers and cheesecakes can be made in low-fat versions, including plum cobbler, chocolate raspberry cheesecake and sugar-free blueberry cobbler. Apple cobbler features dried plum puree, nonfat milk and apple pie filling. Blackberry cobbler features frozen blackberries, sugar and skim milk. Swirled chocolate cheesecake is made with Neufchatel cheese, egg substitute and almond extract. Mini berry cheesecakes are made with crushed vanilla wafers, fat-free cream cheese and red raspberries.
There are many low-fat versions of cakes, including gingerbread cake, angel food cake and lemon poppy seed cake. Pumpkin cake roll is made with canned pumpkin, artificial sweetener and cinnamon. Fresh peach cake features plain nonfat yogurt, honey and fresh peaches. Pineapple angel cream cake is made with instant sugar-free vanilla flavor pudding and pie filling, crushed pineapple and fresh raspberries.
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![Low-fat oatmeal raising cookies.]()
Low-fat oatmeal raising cookies. -
![Glasses of skim milk, which can be used to make low-fat desserts.]()
By: chris32mGlasses of skim milk, which can be used to make low-fat desserts. -
![A cherry pie made with light filling.]()
By: Elena BlokhinaA cherry pie made with light filling. -
![Pumpkin pie can be made with low-fat condensed milk.]()
By: Lisa F. YoungPumpkin pie can be made with low-fat condensed milk. -
![Cobblers can be made with low-fat ingredients like dried plums.]()
By: margo555Cobblers can be made with low-fat ingredients like dried plums. -
![Sweetened granola bars may provide a low-sugar, low-fat alternative to candy bars.]()
By: stieberszabolcsSweetened granola bars may provide a low-sugar, low-fat alternative to candy bars. -
![Low-fat yogurt can have a sweet taste and make for a nice snack.]()
By: Anton MaltsevLow-fat yogurt can have a sweet taste and make for a nice snack. -
![Some low-fat desserts are made using apples or other seasonal fruit.]()
By: CandyBox ImagesSome low-fat desserts are made using apples or other seasonal fruit.
Discussion Comments
@bythewell - Most of the time when a product advertises itself as low fat or fat free they never had fat in the first place. I see that advertising statement on packets of marshmallows for example and they have only ever been made out of sugar and starch without any fat added.
But in some cases it is actually better to get a lean version of a product. Something that has been baked instead of fried, for example.
@KoiwiGal - Honestly, I would rather avoid anything that calls itself low-fat because they almost always make up for the taste by increasing the sugar content, or adding something else that has nothing to do with the food. Yogurt makers, for example, will often fix the texture of their low fat yogurts by adding gelatin, which is usually made from animal or fish skins and bones. I'm not a vegetarian, but I really don't like the idea of eating meat products in something I expect to be made from only milk.
And most nutrionists have come to admit that sugar and refined flour are worse than eating fat (except trans-fats) so in terms of health you really aren't doing yourself any favors by switching to a low-fat version of a product.
Now remember that all a company needs to do in order to call something "low fat" is to make sure that it has less fat than the average version. If we're talking about something like cheesecake, that doesn't necessarily mean that it has become fat-free, but that maybe it has gone from 70% fat to 60% fat.
This is where you really have to check the labels to see what is actually going on with the ingredients and the percentages.
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