Americans love dessert so much that some of us eat it before the meal instead of after. Chocolate brownies, gooey layer cake, saucer-sized cookies – we savored them all. But these desserts are high in sugar, fat, and calories. Is there such a thing as a healthy dessert? Yes, and it’s fresh fruit.

“The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook” recommends fresh fruit as a regular dessert, and for good reason. Fresh fruit contains fiber, something we need to eat every day. Our bodies also need vitamin C, and fresh fruits are packed with it. Some fresh fruits, like red grapes, can protect your body from heart disease and cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic.

There are other reasons to eat fresh fruit. An article at http://www.MyPyramid.gov says that fresh fruit can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, protect the body against colon and rectal cancer, and reduce the risk of kidney disease. When the government and the Mayo Clinic recommend fresh fruit, they mean the fruit alone, not something under a mountain of whipped cream.

You must store the fruit properly to reap its health benefits. The University of California, Davis says that some fruits should be stored at room temperature. Bananas are an example. If you put bananas in the fridge, they get black spots and the flavors diminish.

Honeydew melon, cantalope, and other fruits that can be refrigerated should be chilled after they are ripe. Store fruit in a separate container, away from vegetables and meat. Fresh fruit should be washed just before eating.

Choosing fresh fruit for dessert satisfies your craving for sweets and helps you get the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. These desserts are the perfect ending to a casual or fancy meal. They are also healthy, so if you want to have a dessert before dinner, go for it!

RED AND GREEN GRAPES WITH FRENCH CREAM. Wash grapes, towel dry, and place in a large bowl. For the French cream, combine 1 cup fat-free sour cream, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup Splenda, 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Arrange the blended grapes on serving plates and top with a dollop of French cream.

ORANGE FLOWERS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE. Carefully remove the peel from four oranges. Using a serrated knife, cut three-in-a-row slices across the top of each whole orange, being careful not to cut all the way through. Arrange oranges on serving plates. Separate the orange “petals”, leaving the center “stamen” intact. Combine 1/2 cup low-sugar raspberry jam with 2 tablespoons hot water and 1 tablespoon honey. Drizzle sauce over orange blossoms and garnish with mint.

PERFECT STRAWBERRY DELIGHTS. Wash and cut 1 pint of strawberries. Sprinkle with Splenda and set aside. Break apart the mini vanilla wafers until you have 1 cup of crumbs. To make parfaits, layer strawberries, fat-free and sugar-free strawberry yogurt, sugar-free topping and crumbled wafers in parfait cups. Stick a whole wafer on top of each parfait before serving.

BAKED APPLES WITH CINNAMON CRUMBLE. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel 4-5 Granny Smith apples. Slice apples and arrange in concentric circles in a 9″ pie pan coated with cooking spray. Combine 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 /2 teaspoon cloves, 3 tablespoons extra-light olive oil, and 1/2 cup sliced ​​almonds Sprinkle crumble mixture over apples and bake until top is golden brown, or about 30 minutes Serve warm with a tablespoon fat-free, sugar-free vanilla yogurt.