Top 10 Healthy Desserts: Made With Fruit

Photo: Ralph and Jenny (Creative Commons)

1. Chocolate-covered strawberries

2. Caramel apple

3. Peaches and cream

4. Banana split

5. Berry/yogurt parfait

6. Strawberry shortcake

7. Fresh fruit w/cream cheese dip

8. Apple crisp

9. Pumpkin pie

10. Carrot cake

If you like sweets yet need to cut calories, this is a perfect combination! Some of us have the willpower to cut out desserts completely from our diet for weeks-months or more, but the rest of us need at least some healthier options to choose from.

One of the single, best ways to lose weight is to eat more fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories and high in nutrients! So why not fit in that extra serving of fruit as you feed your sweet tooth? My husband, kids and I go to the mall (Village at Sandhill) at least once a week for dinner and dessert, so we are very familiar with all the local ice cream shops (Rita's, Marble Slab, Yogenfruz), cafes (Nestle Tollhouse, Panera, Books a Million, Starbucks), and my 3-year-old's favorite: candy stores (The Peanut Man). So whenever we end up at The Peanut Man (they sell popcorn, boiled peanuts, snow cones, candy, chocolate, etc), I have quite a decision to make! Thankfully, they sell chocolate-dipped strawberries and caramel apples, which I love! They taste great and have some nutritional value! 

For those ice cream lovers out there: Marble Slab has a lot of fruit toppings to choose from and even serves frozen yogurt. Yogenfruz sells frozen yogurt that actually tastes like yogurt (not ice cream), so if you are in the mood for ice cream, it may not satisfy your craving. Rita's and Nestle Tollhouse likely do not sell anything with nutritional value, but their desserts are pretty awesome, and you can always order a kid-size serving, which should be enough to make your sweet tooth happy.

The last strategy for dessert-lovers like me is to modify your dessert recipes to add fruit. Bake a cake with applesauce instead of oil (it turns out fluffy and light). Add mandarin oranges (without the juice) to a yellow cake mix. Bake oatmeal raisin cookies instead of sugar or chocolate chip. Let fresh fruit be the star of your dessert tray; no one will turn down juicy strawberries with a dark chocolate dip!

Health/Fitness Review: Gold's Gym

My review of Gold's Gym (Village at Sandhill in Columbia, SC)

The facility is a good size, with 3 main workout areas. The largest one has around 15 treadmills, 15 elliptical machines, 8 stationary bikes, 3 stair climbers, 1 upper body bike and a lot of machine weights. 

The second area has around 8 treadmills, 8 elliptical machines, machine weights, small dumbbells (2-15 lbs), exercise balls, medicine balls and mats.

The third area has all the free weights plus some machine weights. Very few women exercise in that area of the gym. Next to the free weights area is a basketball court.

There is a 3-lane pool, which is a comfortable temperature for swimming laps or doing water aerobics. When the water classes are in session, there is only 1 lane for lap swimming.

There is 1 large room for classes, including Zumba, body pump, aerobics, yoga, etc. The Zumba class (at least in the evenings) is always jam-packed! Classes are offered various times of the day and appear to be sufficient for the demand.

Another workout space is the cinema room, which plays movies and stays very dark. So bring your flashlight so you can see the buttons to start the treadmills. This room includes around 5 treadmills, 5 ellipticals and 5 recumbent bikes.

There is a small spinning room, which I have not yet used. It does not appear to get over-filled though.

For the more athletic type, there are 2 raquetball courts, which stay booked every evening and frequently at lunchtimes also. They can be booked ahead, if you call first! Good luck beating the veterans to the calendar!

The non-exercise areas include tanning, water massage table, whirlpool, steam room, sauna room, locker rooms, and the huge Kids Care room. I have been 100% pleased with the childcare providers there! The childcare hours are reasonable.

The staff are friendly and helpful. And there is a large staff of personal trainers available for an added cost.

The location of the gym is good, with easy access from Two Notch Rd, Clemson Rd or North Springs Rd. It is located in the Village at Sandhill mall, which makes it close to shopping and eating venues.

So...do I recommend Gold's Gym? Yes! The membership price is comparable to the other gyms and if you pay up-front for 1-2 year memberships you get quite a good rate. The price may even be lower than other gyms, depending on which specials you catch.

Is there a down side? Yes. The gym is very full in the early evening hours, making it difficult to find your cardio machine of choice. But that is expected, and you can always vary your workout by using a different machine until a treadmill opens up.