Fruit crisp with whipped cream? Topping could be made with nuts/nut flours, rather than grains.

I like strawberry, apple & pear mixed together, and you only need a few Tbs. of sweetening.

If you have individual baking dishes, that makes a prettier presentation. Shorten the baking time accordingly.

FRUIT CRISP

4-6 cups sliced fruit of choice

1/3 to 1/2 cup maple syrup, depending on sweetness of fruit

TOPPING

1 cups rolled oats

1 cup flour

3-4 Tbsp sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-5 tbsp margarine/butter melted

1/3-1/2 cup chopped nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Combine the fruits and syrup in an ungreased 8- or 9-inch square baking pan.

3. Mix together the topping ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Distribute the mixture over the top of the fruit, and pat it firmly in place.

4. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is crisp and lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.

I love bringing a strawberry trifle to dinners and this one is not too unhealthy.

https://www.momontimeout.com/lemon-strawberry-trifle-recipe/

Panne cotta with berry compote or sauce?

I can't remember where you live, but I've read it's berry season already some places. If you can get decent strawberries, you could take them (whole) along with a great warmed chocolate sauce for dipping, maybe with a side of whipped cream. Then people can eat just the berries or have the sauce and/or cream if they choose.

Eton Mess is always fun. Or, you can bring chocolate fondue with fruit. Or Ming Strawberries. Fresh whole berries with small bowls of 1)sour cream and 2) brown sugar. Dip in one then roll in the other.

How about cookies made with egg whites, walnuts and Splenda? They are fabulous and almost all protein and good fats. They are almost like meringue but with a nice texture because of the walnuts. I add a tsp of honey to make the cookies more chewy and less crumbly.

Crushed walnuts - 320 grams (put walnuts in a zip log bag, crush well with a rolling pin.)

4 - 5 egg whites

240 grams of sugar (I do Splenda) and 1 tsp of honey

1 tsp of baking powder

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks

Add Splenda/sugar and honey and baking powder to the egg whites. Mix very gently, so as not to lose the stiffness or the peaks

Fold the crushed walnuts into the egg whites and sweetener mix, again very gently.

Scoop with a spoon onto a greased cookie sheet

bake at 300 degrees (adjust for your oven) for 30-40 minutes (check with a fork to see if it comes out clean)

Dessert crepes, which seem like pancakes but contain more egg than flour, making them lower carb. Like this one.

I don't know if you saw this thread about Clementine Cake or not. It's delicious, uses no flour, whole Clementines and almonds ground fine instead of flour. Clementine cake

Lately I've been using monk fruit or a monk fruit & erythritol blend as a sugar replacement in recipes. So if you already have a favorite dessert recipe, maybe make it with a zero-carb sugar substitute. I buy it in bulk here at a health food store, but Lakanto is a brand you can check out if you're interested.

https://www.lakanto.com/collections/sweeteners

Make meringue and pipe it onto 4" circles drawn on parchment paper (circles drawn on back--you can use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off to pipe.)

When baked, serve with fresh berries and mash/heat some berries for a sauce. It is easy-peasy and very impressive. And most of all, so delicious. I would also garnish with mint sprigs. I'm a fan of individual plated desserts--more fancy.

Jo

If you are taking it to a dinner, plating individual pavlovas may be a pain. Eton mess is the same thing but all in a bowl together and with some whipped cream (you can use just vanilla in the whipped cream ,,, no sugar necessary, really). Id take the berries and whipped cream and meringues separately and mix them on site

This is a good recipe below.

https://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/2011/07/easy-summer-dessert-eton-mess-for-forever-nigella-7-iced-dreams/

You don't need sugar w the strawberries necessarily. Depends on the kind of liqueur your use (or use a very good aged syrupy balsamic, all to taste)

The other thing about this is that you don't need to spend time making the meringues pretty, since you break them up anyway. The one place you def have to use some sugar is in making the meringues themselves. I would not use a sugar substitute unless you know for certain that the guests use sugar substitutes. Many do not.

https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/meringue-cookies/

My favorite healthy dessert is a baked pear dusted with cinnamon. Simple, elegant and delicious.

second oly’s clementine cake suggestion. It’s divine and healthy. I thought you meant no sugar and the clementine cake does have the fructose from time he oranges. which is why I suggested the maringue with walnuts version. But clementine cake is declicious and healthy.

I am not a carb person (OMG hated that diet) but doesnt the cake have a lot of sugar? I mean cake would have to wouldn't it?

I don't think any cake can be low carb? IDK

IIRC low carb usually substitutes fat (like whipped cream) for carbs. And berries are a low carb fruit (avoid tropical fruits)

mtn, if you substitute sugar with splenda or monk fruit or other sweeteners, then there are cakes like clementine cake that use no flour, which would be low carb and no sugar. (Leaving aside for now the scientific issue of whether our body metabolism treats artificial sweeteners the same way as sugar, but simply looking at calorie/sugar value from a culinary/diet perspective.)

So did anyone make the clementine cake with no sugar? Aren't there texture issues with baking that way?

I am totally anti no-calorie sugar substitutes, but I get your point.

OTOH if you use monkfruit or other natural sweeteners, aren't you back to carbs again? from a carb standpoint, just because it isn't refined white sugar, it's still an issue if it is a type of sugar, yes?

Monk fruit is considered zero net-carb. It's sweetness doesn't come from fructose or glucose.

I have never heard of monk fruit. Off to look it up!

I would not suggest sugar-free Clementine Cake. I think you could lessen the amt of sugar a bit without consequence, but not too much. It's fairly low carb because of the lack of flour compared to other cakes and most desserts, maybe less sugar than meringues, especially if you have to sweeten the berries. And, because it makes a fairly large cake and it's so dense and flavorful, serving sizes can be small.

I’ve been baking the clementine cake with either splenda or monk fruit. The first time I used a Splenda sugar blend, but after that no sugar. No difference. Just made it last night.

Second the Eton mess...But I buy the meringues as I simply have zero luck making them...

There are a couple of recipes online but I've only tried Nigella's...It's way more delicious than it seems it would be...

I'd like to try the one that has vinegar in it as it's seems wrong somehow :)

I was also going to suggest trifle. You can use angel food cake, which is not a bad option for dessert. You can make your filling low sugar/low fat, and use fruit.

I've made this a couple of times:

TOFU CHEESECAKE

4 ounces whole wheat honey graham crackers
(pre-made pie crust)

3 tablespoons corn oil margarine at room
temperature, plus margarine for greasing the pan _Use a pre-formed graham
cracker crust pie shell and forget about all of the above steps.

1 1/4 cups pineapple juice

2 tablespoons gelatin or 1 1/2 tablespoons
agar-agar

1
pound soft tofu

5 1/2
tablespoons honey

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon candied ginger, minced

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly
grease a 9-inch pie plate with margarine.

2. In a food processor, or by hand, crumble
the graham crackers, add the margarine and work to a fine crumb. (If the
mixture is too dry add a little more margarine.) Press the cracker mixture onto
the bottom of the pie plate until the surface is smooth and even. Bake for 10
minutes. Cool.

3. Heat the pineapple juice to a near boil.
Stir in the gelatin or agar-agar gradually and simmer until it is dissolved,
about five minutes. Cool for at least five minutes.

4.In a blender or food processor, combine all
the other ingredients with the pineapple juice mixture and blend one minute.
Pour into the baked crust. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.

Yield: Eight servings.

I don't know how common it is but DH and I both have unpleasant side effects from tofu.

Penny - where do you find meringues pre made?

As far as the vinegar... I was out to lunch w my DDs once, they were like 10 and 11, at the MOMA as it happens, and the dessert menu had strawberries w balsamic and mascarpone. They both ordered it, and after the waiter whisked away i asked the girls if they knew what balsamic vinegar was. We called over the waiter and asked if they could hold the vinegar. Shortly after, a second waiter delivered the desserts... with, you guessed it, balsamic. My girls loved every bite.

The key is *aged* syrupy balsamic. If it costs a bazillion dollars a bottle, you found the right one.

mtn, I think Whole Foods has them but I have luck at Home Goods, though everything is sporadic there.

Balsamic I get from a store that has 25 year old yummy syrupy goodness...I am so addicted to anything vinegar...and agreed it's pricey. I have discovered, though that balsamic reduction is surprisingly easy to do and is inexpensive, so I make that and use it on everything (I've decided that a lot of "food" is, basically, just a vehicle for the really good stuff.... :)

Thanks for all of your suggestions and recipes. They all sound delicious!!

I wound up making a sort of cheesecake with fruit like a parfait and no crust. It is whipped cream (which I made) and cream cheese... and whatever fruit you like. I did use real sugar because I can not stand any of the substitutes. I did not need much. You could likely use a healthy alternative such as agave or a good maple syrup.

Thanks so much again for all of your ideas!!

I just went to a friends and she made apple pie in a paper bag. It was delicious and quite conversation piece! I looked it up on line and there a few variations. Probably not as healthy as some but fun.

I just

Trader Joe's has meringue's (cookie size) in their cookie aisle.They are very good and I think just egg whites, sugar and maybe vanilla? No junk chemicals or anything, if I recall correctly.

Ohhhhh, I know the kind you mean, they are pretty widely avail under a diff name. Forgot about them IDK to me they are to meringues what Lorna Doone is to shortbread.

Cheesecake parfait sounds yummy! What kind of fruit?

Is there a recipe?

yes, id like to see the recipe too atk!

I need a dessert for Easter and son's fiance is Celiac. I;m going to try that Clementine Cake as it sounds perfect.

I'm not in the habit of making healthy desserts as I seldom make dessert so I wasn't going to read this thread - sure am glad I did though.

Here is the recipe I mostly followed. You can use whatever fruit you like. I simply used some confectioner sugar instead of stevia. You can spoon it into pretty stemmed glasses.

https://mymontanakitchen.com/cheesecake-berry-salad-thm-s-sugar-free/