Frozen treats are the best after a long day...especially when they're clean eating. In this post, I’m sharing my favorite frozen desserts for weight loss. Get your ice cream, sorbet, and frozen yogurt recipes here!
I think we can all agree: frozen desserts are a necessity.
And making them clean(ish) is my passion.
Two years ago, I fell in love with creating frozen desserts for weight loss. As a family we made a plethora of homemade sorbets, ice creams, and frozen yogurts.
And you can too! While anything that requires a food processor and freezer may feel intimidating, don't worry. It's super easy to get the hang of. And quite hands-off for much of the process...
Let's begin with my 7 favorite low-calorie, clean-eating, and unbelievably tasty frozen desserts.
These easy recipes will bring out your inner happy kid. I suggest making them with your kids too! It’s a fun way to bond with the family these final days of summer.
Are Frozen Desserts Good For You?
Frozen desserts are good for you if you make them at home (mindfully). Otherwise, generally not! The store-bought stuff available in the supermarket contains saturated fats, refined/ hidden sugars, and other additives our body doesn’t need.
For example, store-bought sorbets may contain granulated sugars and unhealthy preservatives to make them last longer. While store-bought frozen yogurt also contains too much sugar...and may not use 100% whole ingredients.
We will be doing the opposite! Choosing whole ingredients, natural sweeteners, and keeping it simple.
What Is The Healthiest Alternative To Ice Cream?
A healthier alternative to ice cream is what some like to call “nice cream”. This means that it's nice to enjoy and nice to your body. My version of nice cream (a clean-eating, weight-loss-friendly version) involves ditching the saturated fats, refined sugars, and other unhealthy additives.
Quick Side Note: If you want more resources on weight loss and a healthy eating plan this summer, check out my 30 Day Healthy program.
Which Is Better For You, Sherbet Or Frozen Yogurt?
If you’re looking to lose weight and save on calories, frozen yogurt is an optimal choice. Sherbet is made with sorbet (fruit, sugar, water) and ice cream. So, it generally contains higher amounts of sugar and calories.
Plus, frozen yogurt has the additional probiotic benefits from the yogurt cultures (which is SUPER good for improved digestion and weight loss).
Need a strong whack of probiotics? You might wanna read my post on the 7 best kombucha brands.
What Qualifies As A Healthy Frozen Dessert?
To qualify as healthy, here’s a list of ingredients you’ll want to avoid in your frozen treat:
- Refined sugars: Def want to avoid these bad boys. I talk a lot about this and how it can lead to diseases like Type-2 diabetes. I normally swap the refines with raw honey.
- Saturated fats: A typical serving of vanilla ice cream (half a cup) usually contains 4 and a half grams of saturated fat. Eek. This is more than the max recommended intake. Although these fats aren’t completely bad for you, consuming too much of them can raise your bad cholesterol which can lead to heart disease and other illnesses.
There are some healthy saturated fat foods I recommend such as greek yogurt.
- Unhealthy additives: Most store-bought ice creams contain high amounts of additives and preservatives. Carrageenan is an example of an unhealthy additive in ice cream which studies link to inflammation.
- Artificial flavors and thickeners: Artificial flavors are also found in most store-bought ice cream. Some have been linked to hyperactivity in children. While others are shown to cause bloating and cramps.
Avoiding these processed ingredients isn’t the only way to choose and weight-loss friendly frozen desserts. Keep in mind that another aspect is using whole foods with high nutritional value. As well as enjoying treats in moderation.
Can You Make Homemade Ice Cream With a Food Processor?
I get asked this question a lot. And, yes! You can make homemade ice cream with a food processor. They aren’t just for pesto and energy balls, after all.
General rule of thumb: If it can freeze in small cubes, you can likely make ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt out of it using your food processor.
Here are some ideas of fruits that freeze well for your homemade frozen treats...
- Pineapple (This Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream is a must-try)
- Honeydew
- Mango
- Watermelon (SO good in Watermelon Sorbet)
- Orange (Like in these 3 Ingredient Orange Creamsicles)
What Are The Best Healthy Frozen Desserts For Weight Loss?
1. 4-Ingredient Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
Serving: 0.5 cup
Calories: 99 kcal per serving
This strawberry + Greek yogurt recipe is absolute perfection y’all! You’ll get a boost of vitamin C from the strawberries and a protein fix from the yogurt. Weight-loss and sweet tooth approved!
You may also love my Matcha Green Tea Frozen Yogurt.
2. 15-Minute No-Churn Pumpkin Ice Cream
Serving: 0.5 cup
Calories: 158 kcal per serving
It’s vegan, gluten-free, paleo, clean-eating, and dairy-free! Simply prepped in 15 minutes. Plus, you’ll have a good dose of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and potassium from the pumpkin. Very weight loss-friendly.
3. Lemon Blueberry Sorbet
Serving: 4
Calories: 98 kcal per serving
Light, fresh, and healthy with a great dose of antioxidants from the lemon and blueberries. It’s also low-sugar and SUPER delish, you guys.
4. Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Serving: 0.5 Cup
Calories: 84 kcal per 0.5 cup
You need it. I need it. Chocolate ice cream is here to stay. This recipe is low-fat and full of vitamins. All the goodness of ice cream without the high-sugar and processed food guilt? *Chef’s kiss*
5. Fresh Peach Frozen Yogurt
Serving: 0.5 cup
Calories: 65 kcal per 0.5 cup
You’re only gonna need peaches, raw honey, plain greek yogurt, and lemon juice for this. So easy, so yummy, so peachy. Also, it’s super low in calories!? If a delightful summer paradise could be put into a flavor it would be this.
6. 4-Ingredient Healthy Fudgesicles
Serving: 1 popsicle
Calories: 172 kcal per popsicle
These fudgesicles will take you down memory lane! I’ve also removed all the highly processed ingredients and refined sugars that usually come from store-bought ones. It’s clean, super easy to make, and will satisfy your chocolate craving.
7. Cantaloupe Sorbet
Serving: 1 cup
Calories: 93 kcal per cup
If you’re looking for something fresh, vibrant, and sweet, look no further! Summer loving’s bound to happen so fast with this flippin’ easy, low-calorie, and healthy treat.
Here's a bonus recipe for you: PINEAPPLE SORBET! It only uses two ingredients and the color cannot be beat.
Ready to give these awesome desserts a try? Let me know which ones you plan to make in the comments below!
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
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