Dietitians eat dessert, too. And they make a pretty good case for incorporating sweets into your diet.
"There's a preconception that dietitians don't do treats or snacks or fun kinds of food, but that is not true," Grace Derocha, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.com.
"I start thinking about what am I going to have for dessert around midday," Whitney Linsenmeyer, Ph.D., assistant professor at Saint Louis University and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.com.
"I'm planning for it as much as I would plan what I'm going to make for dinner," she says.
Dessert can be a “great way to finish off a meal,” Derocha says. And "it’s a lovely time to gather with friends or family to enjoy something delicious," Frances Largeman-Roth, a registered dietitian and author of “Smoothies & Juices,” tells TODAY.com.
"My mom was from Germany and they’re big on coffee with cake or pastry at the end of a meal, so I was raised with a love and appreciation for ending a meal with dessert," she explains.
Whether you're a fan of fruit-forward treats or rich chocolate, dessert can be part of any health eating plan, the experts agree.
“I just never, ever want people to chastise themselves for wanting desserts,” Derocha says. Although these foods are often called empty calories, “If something brings you joy, is it really empty?” she says.
Why you should let yourself have dessert
There's a tendency in our culture to demonize sugar and restrict ourselves from eating foods that aren't necessarily nutritionally dense, like sweets. But that approach can backfire.
"We know that when a certain food or group of foods is considered to be off limits, it only serves to make those foods more desirable," Largeman-Roth explains. "And this often leads to people binging on 'forbidden' foods."
When she works with clients, she tries to help them normalize eating dessert, "which is often a huge challenge because they’ve been told to avoid ice cream and cupcakes for so long by diet culture," Largeman-Roth adds.
Of course, there's a balance of portion sizes and keeping any health goals or medical restrictions in mind, the experts say. But that doesn't mean you should keep yourself from eating foods you genuinely enjoy.
"Even my patients that have diabetes, we can make any food fit," Derocha says. "You just have to plan for it as part of that overall meal plan and balance it with medications, if that is the case," Linsenmeyer agrees.
Instead of avoiding all added sugars all the time, “my mindset is really limiting added sugars throughout the day and saving them for dessert, which is where they belong,” Linsenmeyer says. You don’t need added sugars in bread or salad dressing, for instance, but you can appreciate a sugary treat at the end of a meal.
What do RDs eat for dessert?
Homemade cookies
As an avid baker, Linsenmeyer always has homemade cookie dough in the freezer that’s ready to go.
“I make a batch of cookie dough, scoop it and then freeze the cookie dough balls,” she explains. That way, she can bake two at a time in her small, countertop oven “so that they’re fresh.”
In particular, she’s a fan of Christina Tosi’s recipes. “Everything that she does — especially the cookies — are all-star recipes,” Linsenmeyer says.
Ice cream with seasonal fruit and honey
“I love enjoying fresh, seasonal fruit with ice cream,” Largeman-Roth says. “Right now, California figs are in season and they’re absolutely amazing quartered and served over vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of honey.”
The combination is “sweet and satisfying,” she says. And it’s a reminder to savor the opportunity to eat seasonal foods when the chance comes along.
Anything ube
For Derocha, who is Filipino-American, desserts made with ube are a consistent favorite. The bright purple yam has a sweet but earthy flavor and is a fixture in Filipino cuisine.
Derocha enjoys it in ice cream and milkshakes and just made ube brownies for her daughter's birthday. "It's fun to have that tie into my heritage and my favorite color," she says.
She also enjoys sharing turon with her family. This Filipino dessert is "a sweet, caramelized banana wrapped in an egg roll wrapper and then deep fried," Derocha explains, adding that she usually serves it with coconut, ube or pineapple ice cream. Sometimes, her kids will also add chocolate or peanut butter chips to the filling.
Nice cream made with bananas and other fruit
Derocha has been pleasantly surprised with homemade "nice creams." These are made from fruit that's peeled and frozen, then blended into a creamy texture.
You can add other ingredients, like vanilla extract, milk or peanut butter, for more flavor. Or you can keep it simple with the single-ingredient version.
Her kids are fans of the frozen banana version, which they know as "banana swirl" from the show "Daniel Tiger." But Derocha also enjoys doing the same with seedless clementines, which give the treat a more lightweight sorbet-like texture.
Chocolate
“If I don’t have any baked goods lying around, I’ll always have some chocolate,” Linsenmeyer says. She usually gravitates toward chocolate bars with added ingredients, like those with sea salt, orange, nuts or crunchy bits mixed in.
Derocha also says she’ll sometimes enjoy a few pieces of high-quality chocolate. These are mindful moments during which she lets the chocolate melt in her mouth and has a "breathing moment between work, kids and everything going on," she says.
Largeman-Roth similarly satisfies her chocolate cravings with Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and always keeps them on hand.
“I feel good about enjoying them because the chocolate is organic and Rainforest Certified,” she says. “And the cups are made without any hydrogenated oils or preservatives.”
Smoothies and, later, smoothie popsicles
"It's so nerdy and so dietician-y, but I do love a smoothie," Derocha says.
In the mornings, she often makes a green smoothie with kale and spinach as well as fruit, such as mango, peach or pineapple. She'll also typically add Greek yogurt, a milk substitute or coconut water. Sometimes, she'll even add tofu because it "gives you some protein and picks up the flavor of anything you mix it with," she says.
But she's always careful to make extra servings of her morning mix, which she then puts in a popsicle mold to freeze for later.
Her other go-to smoothie recipe is a chocolate peanut butter concoction with banana, Greek yogurt and nut butter or PB2 along with dark chocolate and honey or chocolate syrup. "When I freeze that one, I will usually add chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. So there's a texture difference," she adds.
Nostalgia-filled soft serve
Largeman-Roth has a nostalgic love for soft-serve from classic chain Tastee-Freeze, which brings back memories of going there with her parents.
“I always order a chocolate and vanilla twist with cherry dip,” Largeman-Roth says. “It’s not remotely a health food, but I love it, and the whole family can’t wait for our annual stop for cones.”
Frozen yogurt bark
This is another Derocha family favorite: Frozen vanilla Greek yogurt spread out on a baking sheet with a section that each member of the family can top however they want and break off later.
"I like putting on some nuts, like pistachios, and berries," she says, while others might top their corner with drizzled honey or chocolate chips.
Cannoli dip
Derocha's husband loves cannolis, she says, "but I'm not the best at making them, so I cheat and I make cannoli dip, which is so much easier."
This is essentially a bowl of cannoli filling that the family can dip whatever they want in, such as cinnamon pita chips or broken cannoli pieces purchased from a local bakery.
"It's like dessert nachos," Derocha says.
What desserts do RDs avoid?
The only type of desserts that the experts avoid are treats that claim to be healthier or "lighter" versions of the real thing, which often contain artificial sweeteners.
Largeman-Roth agrees: "I’m not a big fan of light ice creams that are made with artificial sweeteners," she says. "While people can enjoy more of them for fewer calories than real ice cream, I don’t think they’re satisfied in the same way."
In general, the experts agreed that they'd rather have their clients have the real version of treats they enjoy in normal, mindful servings.
However, that approach may be easier for some people than others, Linsenmeyer notes. "There are some people who are just going to be more successful and feel less stressed out if they can use some of the sugar substitutes, and that's fine, too," she says.
Additionally, people who are simply used to eating larger portions may find it challenging to eat a smaller serving size of something like ice cream. In those cases, Linsenmeyer suggests gradually reducing the portion size or adding fruit or nuts to the smaller serving so that it feels like more.
But remember: If you're not someone who's satisfied with the classic diet recommendation of fresh fruit or a single piece of dark chocolate for dessert, "it's not a moral failing by any means," Linsenmeyer says. And you're definitely not alone.