Celebrity dietitian and motivational life coach Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of www.ffactordiet.com and founder of www.skinnyandthecity.com, has helped thousands of people lose weight and keep it off with her program. Her philosophy? Tanya believes you should never sacrifice taste, even when you're eating healthy foods. Send us an email to reciperehab [AT] thatsfit [DOT] com to submit a recipe for a makeover!

Recipe may vary from photograph. Photo: Mark Thomas, jupiterimage

One of my favorite desserts is fruit crisps, especially during the summer months. I love going to the farmers market, where the freshest seasonal fruits are at their peak. Fruit crisps usually contain a variety of fruits blending sweet and tart flavors. Unfortunately most crisps usually contain close to 400 calories and well over 10 grams of fat, so although it's my favorite dessert, it's an infrequent indulgence.

I was determined to create a healthy alternative. It tastes decadent, but is surprisingly low in calories and fat. Plus, it packs a nutrition punch: Blueberries contain the highest amounts of antioxidants of any food, which has been shown to help fight cancer and cardiovascular diseases. They also contain high amounts of vitamin E and C. In a study published in the American Journal of Nutrition, vitamin C was associated with fewer wrinkles, which are frequently caused by soaking up too much summer sun. This recipe can be used with both fresh or frozen fruits,making this summer time favorite a year-long one!

Cutting desserts to lose weight? Here's how to feed that sweet tooth without any damage.

Source

Baking up goodies for parties, gifts and Santa is a terrific part of this festive holiday season -- even for me, your loving fitness trainer. Baking doesn't have to be bad for your body though, nor does it have to contribute to that traditional December weight gain.

If I weren't a fitness professional, I'd be a baker. It's fun and allows me the ability to be creative while making people happy. I love making people happy. I don't, however, enjoy putting fat on my hips or the hips of others. This has lead me to be really creative.

I've got a few suggestions for you to follow and a link here to my favorite baked treats in my online recipe book at Fitzness.com.

• Substitute eggs for an egg substitute like Egg Beaters.
• Substitute butter/oil for a sugar free syrup like the ones sold a DaVinci Gourmet. (Use equal amounts as the ones given for the oil/butter.)

Source

Cat Cora, star of the Food Network's Iron Chef America and author of Cooking From the Hip writes in Parade magazine about her love for desserts and her lack of love for what desserts do to her hips.

So that she can have the best of both worlds -- decadent desserts and happy hips -- Cora has learned to create healthy dishes that still taste like the original sin. Her secret? Substituting lighter ingredients like yogurts, light puddings, soy, or light ice creams. Less fat and calories are the end result, with taste and flavor still intact.

Check out these four delights -- Kiwi Parfait, Affogato, Baked Apples, and Clafouti -- by clicking here. Read the recipes word for word or watch video clips of Cora as she prepares each one.

Want to have your cake and eat it too? Cora says it's possible. Just follow her lead.

Source

I just took a spin through Fitzness.com, the website belonging to my friend and fellow That's Fit blogger, Fitz. While there, touring all the hot spots, a scrolling news listing caught my eye. Today's featured news includes a notice from Fitz that she has one training vacancy available, a reminder to a check out her low-fat desserts and for those seeking quick and easy exercise tricks, a fitness tip for the day.

"Do 50 push-ups throughout the day," writes Fitz. "All at once, or ten at a time. It will tone your entire upper body!"

Simple, isn't it? If you want a fit upper body, drop and do 50. Every day. I'm game. Are you?

Source

I definitely have a sweet tooth that I fight on an almost a daily basis, so any article that promises a healthier way to satisfy it always has my immediate attention. And this one had something I didn't really think of before: figs.

Figs have been around for centuries, and amazingly there are over 150 different kinds. They are a good source of dietary fiber, and when used in dessert recipes can be just as satisfying and decadent as more traditional sweets like chocolate and ice cream.

Want to give 'em a shot? Try this recipe for Figs with Port and Toasted Almonds. Sounds good to me!

Source

Tis the season for baking and sweets, that's for sure. Unfortunately, typical white table sugar most commonly used in cooking, along with corn syrup usually found in store-bought sweets, is stripped of its few nutrients during the refinement process. In the quest for healthier alternatives without sacrificing flavor or the indulgent spirit of the holidays, you might want to consider some natural and slightly more nutritious sugar substitutes in a few of your baking recipes this year. Naturally milled sugar, for example, goes through a much simpler refinement process -- therefore several of the trace nutrients from the cane sugar are still present. Molasses is a byproduct of making sugar and can make for rich flavor in desserts and entrees alike. It's rich in potassium and also has calcium, iron, and magnesium. And of course there's honey, the most common and versatile sugar substitute with antibacterial and enzyme properties.

I don't know that I'll try molasses instead of sugar in my next batch of chocolate chip cookies, but the idea of a more nutritious sweet dessert inspired me to look up a new recipe to try this year. There were lots out there, but one easy looking one that caught my eye was honey brownies, I'll have to give it a try!

Source