Yesterday, we ended on the topic of dessert…
Want some?
Please say yes so that I don’t have to call the men in white coats to come pay you a visit. I seriously question the mental soundness of anyone who says that they don’t have a sweet tooth, because everyone does. Even if you think you don’t, you do. Trust me on this one.
There was a time where the nasty little voice in my head managed to convince me that I didn’t like chocolate and ice cream because it was easier to deny myself those things if I believed I didn’t like them, as opposed to facing the truth, which was that I was simply afraid to eat them. “No, I don’t like chocolate and ice cream” sounds a lot better than “No, I’m afraid to eat chocolate and ice cream”, and because I had gone so long without eating them, I truly forgot how much I used to love them, and thus started to believe all of those nasty lies that my ED fed me. At least on the surface, anyway.
But it was all a bunch of bull.
I mean, come on. Who doesn’t like chocolate and ice cream?
Again… don’t make me call the men in white coats… Those straightjackets chafe something fierce. Not that I would know or anything…
MOVING ON
What was I talking about again? Ahh yes.
Luckily for me and my taste buds, recovery knocked some sense into me and reminded me that, yes, I did indeed like chocolate, ice cream, and desserts of all sorts. I liked them verrrrrry much.
The fact that I have a huge sweet tooth is something that never changed. What did change, however, was what satisfied the old sucker. I used to eat cupcakes and candy bars like it was my job, but now? Now those things no longer appeal to me. Now when I think of dessert, I think of something that’s indulgent enough to satisfy my mind, but that’s also healthy enough to fuel my body. I want something that will make me smile and give me steady energy. There’s nothing I hate more than eating something mind-numbingly rich or sweet, and finding myself falling into a sugar coma 20 minutes later. Blah.
But eating something that’s perfectly rich, satisfyingly sweet, and has good staying power? Now we’re talking…
. – . – . – .
For lack of a better name…
. [i've died and gone to] heaven in a bowl .
Ingredients (serves 1)
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use whey)
- 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
- ½ banana
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- [Recommended] Toppings: sliced banana, almond butter, granola, pudding
Instructions
- Throw the cottage cheese, protein powder, cocoa, banana, and vanilla into a blender (I use the Magic Bullet). Blend until a “whipped” consistency has been reached.
- Empty into a bowl and throw on your desired toppings. I highly recommend nut butter for richness, granola for crunch, and pudding for extra sweetness and gooey-ness.
. – . – . – .
To say that I’m a little bit obsessed with this snack would be an understatement. I blame the combination of almond butter in pudding, which I have yet to tire of.
Whatever the case may be, I love this snack because it’s naughty enough for my mind, while being nice enough for my body. Indulgences have their time and place, but desserts like these are an every day kind of thing. And they’re good enough to make you want to lick the bowl…
No shame 
. – . – . – .
Do you have a favorite naughty but nice dessert?
How about a favorite occasional indulgence?
{ 73 comments… read them below or add one }
Anything with chocolate is naughty-but-nice and AMAZING to me
Yum! I love dessert, especially anything chocolatey…naughty-but-nice indulgences: frozen yoghurt, Dreyer’s slow & churned ice cream, my mama’s chocolate chip oatmeal cookie bars heated up with fage and berries!
Occasional indulgence: CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE (like the one my mum just baked for my birthday)
You may need to call the men in the white suits on my childhood self…I actually was never a huge chocolate fan when I was a kid. I would always give away the chocolate bars I got as halloween candy and my mom made her chocolate chip cookie recipe sans chocolate chip for me. Fear not though, because I do admit to having a sweet tooth, and chocolate has greatly grown on me through my adult years!
I love indulgences that can occur daily without putting me on an energy roller coaster. Your heaven in a bowl sounds like such a divine combination of flavors, I got to give it a try
Haha I was actually the opposite. My mom would try to feed me cookies with raisins instead of chocolate chips when I was younger, and I would pick them out and flick them at her in frustration because I hated raisins and wanted my chocolate! These days I still love my chocolate, but I’m fine with raisins too
That looks so yummy~if I had half of those ingredients I’d be whipping that up right now. Good thing tomorrow I’m headed to the grocery store
My favorite naughty-but-nice dessert…any kind of fruit dipped in chocolate. And nut butter. And maybe with a caramel sauce too.
My favorite indulgence…cupcakes! Especially if it has a chocolate ganache.
My beautiful friend Sara Loves the whipped cottage cheese as well! In fact i never heard of it until i went to stay with her, and she made it! I really am going to try it! I usually love a protein ice cream at night or popcorn with peanut flour paste on it and carob chips mixed in too!!!
I hope you found some pretty colors for your condo! Let me know what colors you picked to paint it !!!
Goodnight love!! xoxo <3
I confess: I’m still on the fence about chocolate. I’ve always preferred other sweets (gummy, fruity things) though I do go through phases where I don’t mind it. Lately I’ve enjoyed the good old sprinkling of dark chocolate chips on my bananas & peanut butter
Naughty but nice…banana soft serve. I’m sorry – but I’d take that over ice cream any day. Or maybe I tell myself that because I’m too cheap to fork over $5 for the non-dairy pints :X
I’m a big time gummy lover too, but I can’t deny that I get huge cravings for chocolate
And banana soft serve is delicious in it’s own right, but ice cream is still ice cream.
Oh giirrrllll you are not teasing me with cottage cheeeeeessseeeeeeeeeeeee!
Wah.
I really ought to try adding it back into my diet, at least to have every once in a while. Though I’m afraid if I tried this I’d eat it every. Snack. Every. Day. I just know it. Especially considering our strikingly similar tastes. Eeep!
My favorite “naughty but nice” dessert is coconut milk ice cream melting into a hot deep chocolate vitatop. Or coconut milk ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate trail mix! Oh my gosh. OH MY GOSH. So good. Dessert can’t come fast enough tonight… har.
I’m with you on the sugar overload thing. I used to adore cloyingly sweet icings and cookies, but I’m all for less (but still very) sweet things mixed with rich things. Preferably nut butter, please. Nomnomnom.
Occasional indulgence? Hm. I adore cheesecake, but I’m not sure how that’d agree with my stomach nowadays. Tied with cheesecake for my favorite cake is this stuff our grocery store makes. Yeah, grocery store. No fancy bakery needed. Take a gander:
Layer of chocolate cake. Layer of chocolate icing. Layer of chocolate mousse. Layer of chocolate cake. Layer of chocolate icing. (etc.), all in a dome shape and covered with chocolate ganache like a giant truffle.
DIED. AND. WENT. TO. HEAVEN.
Oh, my.
It’s a bit too much for every day, but MAN is it good when we get it once a year. Eeee!
<3<3 Love you. And your sweet tooth. And your genius creations to please said sweet tooth.
Oh my gosh, ganache and truffles are soooo good. Like, swoon-worthy, I’m-going-to-cut-off-my-right-arm-for-a-piece of that worthy.
Wow. Sometimes I wonder about myself. Maybe you do need to call the men in the white coats, haha.
ive never had coconut milk ice cream but it sounds sooo intriguing. do you recommend a certain type? i must try it!! ♥
That really does look like heaven in a bowl!
My favorite naughty but nice dessert… Dark chocolate. I eat [multiple squares of] it every day without fail. It’s so wonderfully rich and perfectly sweet, and you know… they say you need your daily dose for antioxidants, right?
My favorite occasional indulgence… Hm. Probably cheesecake or any kind of complicated dessert made by someone else/ a restaurant (so I don’t ‘healthify’ it.)
I so need to get a magic bullet! they seem ideal for compactness and doing loads of yummy deserts. How do you find them? are they easy to work and clean?
Know what you mean about saying that you didn’t like chocolate and icecream. It has taken me a long time to work out what foods I do like and what my ed likes. I have always had a sweet tooth and even when deep in the ed i would majorly over sweeten my foods with splenda and eat those gross artiical yogurts! ewww anyway. I unfortuntly have not been very experimental on making naughty but nice deserts,a lthough I do have dark chocolate coated dried fruits I think if I were brave enough to mkae it would be a muffin of some sort probably cherry one
Magic Bullets are probably the easiest blender to work with and clean, which is why I use it for pretty much any blending that I have to do. I love it! And I bought mine at Costco, but a lot of other stores carry them as well, just have to look around in your area.
Well I know what ill be having for one of my( maaaaany) snacks tomorrow – this looks like a deliciously satisfying combo.
I used to be the exact same way telling people I didn’t like chocolate( I’m actually not keen on ice cream though! Don’t hate me)= craziness. I now eat REAL chocolate everyday.
Naughty but nice dessert= banana split down the middle & spread with nut butter sandwich style, then dip the whole thing in dark chocolate and freeze it!
Fave occasional indulgence? Probably a big squidgy , frosted cinnamon roll ,mmmm
Xxx
Ooo! You just reminded me that I need to try the frozen banana dipped in chocolate snack. I’m gonna go whip one up really quick and throw it in the freezer before I go to sleep
That looks freaking delicious!! My nighttime snack is my healthy indulgence with cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, protein powder, and some variety of nut butter, so good I am always terribly sad when it’s over haha and for the record, I lick the bowl too woo!!
that. looks. amazing.
dessert tonight. or snack tomorrow. maybe both. i like to live on the edge.
thanks for the idea love. ♥
Chocolate and ice cream are life. Haha not really, but life is sure better with them!
Blended cottage cheese is so good! I pretty much make this same thing every night for dessert. It tastes like fudge…I don’t think I could ever get sick of it. And oh yes, nut butter is definitely a must on top.
Umm I am so so glad I just read this post! This dessert looks AMAZING… and naught but nice
aka perfect for me!
I was going to have something else, but after drooling over this recipe, I abruptly changed my mind. Thank you Amanda
I love frosting.
SO MUCH. Im pretty sure its a naughty but naughty dessert..haha
Frosting is amazing. I could take or leave the cake part, but the frosting? MINE!
Mmmm… I will definitely give that recipe a try!
Favorite naughty but nice dessert: fruits with whipped topping! So simple yet the lightness and cream-flavor of the whipped cream pairs so nicely with otherwise typically more tart taste of fruits.
Best occasional indulgence is something I know you can agree on! Tiramisu. My mom first discovered it and said it was delicious, but at the time I was not yet a coffee drinker so I was skeptical because of the hint of cofee flavor… Oh man. The taste, the texture… It’s probably the best kind of cake out there! (But really, I love all kinds of cakes and have yet to come across one I don’t like! Haha. So I guess cake in general is my go-to occasional indulgence!)
This dessert is right up my alley! I love cottage cheese abnd anything with chocolate and nut butter- delicious! Now i know what my new night snack will be!
Dessert is a necessity. I have to satisfy my sweet tooth after every meal. My favorite naughty but nice dessert is muffins and yogurt /cottagecheese mess type things. So I’ll definitely be making this because this fits the bill. Though it’s so healthy I might just have it for breakfast instead!
My sister and I just indulged in my personal favorite “real dessert” ever – gelato. We got spumoni flavor and it was faaaabulous!
I don’t have much of sweet tooth actually, but I definitely do enjoy some sweet stuff on occasion! That cottage cheese bowl is like the one I had today! It was SO good!
Hmm, never thought to whip cottage cheese! My Sailorboy would surely love that!
Yummy looking dessert! My favorite naughty dessert is a banana with nut butter and carob chips stuck all over. It doesn’t require too much and its perfectly filling and satisfying. At one time I didn’t have a sweet tooth, I thought strawberries and cereal were too sweet. Now it’s hard for me to make it through the day without some kind of sweet like chocolate.
I remember the days when strawberries were too sweet for me, too. I don’t miss those times.
Oooh I like your dessert! I do a kind of similar “every-day-dessert” type thing but with Greek yogurt – I blend some 2% vanilla with whatever I want it to taste like (favorites have been pistachios, almonds, raspberries, pumpkin, and sweet potato), and then I freeze it, stirring every ten mins or so to keep it soft. It’s like greek yogurt ice cream! I usually top it with berries, granola or cereal, and chocolate chips…and I have toast with peanut butter on the side
For an occasional indulgence, I love me some self-serve froyo, cannoli, scones, and pie!
Um, yes, I want some. These kinds of ‘whip everything together’ desserts are my absolute fave!
My favorite indulgence is definitely a bowl of ice cream! When it comes to dessert, I’m an ice cream girl all the way. That picture of the bowl of ice cream with a cone sticking in it…mouthwatering. Vanilla ice cream is my favorite. Simple, but sweet! By the way, LOVE the idea of blending cottage cheese. You’re a genius.
I need cottage cheese! I am seeing it everywhere! It is in your recipe, it is all over Alexandra’s blog, in my dreams! It will probably be involved in next weeks naughty but nice treat (cause it changes all the time). For right now though, it is greek yogurt with chocolate protein powder aaaaand my pb & chocolate oats. Of course.
My occasional indulgence would be brownies and ice cream. My family adores the combination and the smell of the triple chocolate brownies wafting into my room brings out the monster in me. The chocolate monster!
My desserts are all naughty all the time.
I have to get some vanilla protein powder! I’ve seen so many good recipes with it lately.
I most definatley have a sweet tooth, I always have something sweet with my meals/snacks.
Fro-yo, or gelato, are my go-to treats. & I always love fruit!
This is our new yumminess.. http://thehinzadventures.blogspot.com/2011/07/marshmallow-peanut-butter-chocolate.html
send those white coats to my moms house, she seriously lacks a sweet tooth. She is crazy and has hated chocolate her whole life, she doesn’t even really enjoy fruit all that much (besides tomatoes, and those aren’t sweet). Dessert for her is toast and lots-o-butter or chips and salsa, haha crazy I tell ya. But lucky I did not inherit her lack of a sweet tooth, I actually have many
your dessert looks fabulous!
Oh my gosh. I SO want this! And I just got some vanilla protein powder today! YAY! Do you know of anything I could use in place of the cottage cheese? I HAVE TO MAKE THIS!
Hmmm. I suppose you could try tofu? But then I suggest adding a pinch of salt as well.
I have such a sweet tooth! I used to convince myself too that fruit was cutting it, but as much as I love fruit, it just doesn’t do it for me when I want dessert.
Lately, my favorite naughty-but-nice dessert has been gelato topped overnight oats. I actually do eat them for dessert, not breakfast, but they totally hit the spot, especially mint chocolate chip gelato on dark chocolate oats! I love gelato so much and it’s even better as an oats topper.
That looks good! Although personally I’d replace the cottage cheese with yoghurt. I’m much of a cottage cheese fan (please don’t kill me!!).
I don’t really have naughty but nice desserts. If I want something sweet as a dessert I have the naughty and no nice kind
I just had a slice of banana cake with chocolate icing as a snack. That kind of thing is a regular occurrence for me, though. I really should be eating “healthier” but meh.
xxx
I lóve dessert, but I don’t like eating cottage cheese straight up. I only like it on sandwiches.
My favourite kind of dessert must be something with chocolate and vanilla. My indulgence is Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream. I almost love all their flavours!
Banana smoothies thickened with xanthan gum defo help me satisfy my ice cream cravings while providing nutrients too !
Yep I’ve found I’m exactly the same way you are when it comes to treats now.
A bowl of my brownie batter oats is always more then enough to fill my chocolate craving, while being healthy too
O, I like your attitude to dessert Amanda!! Why bother to eat unhealthy desserts, when the healthy ones are just as good- at least for everyday eating!
I have always been aaall about the dark chocolate. even as a kid who didnt care about my health, I never liked candy, chips, cakes and things like that. Just chocolate<3
And that is how it still is! We are all different, but for me- a few (or a few more than a few) squares with it, counts as a perfectly healthy and satisfying all-the-time-dessert. And i like rich desserts too, like dark chocolate mousse, ice cream and brownies.
Oh my…you know I’d loooove this rendition of whipped cottage cheese! I’ve been eating it with peanut butter, granola and chocolate chips every night for over a year, and it just might be time to mix in a few different goodies. Like pudding. And protein powder.
I highly recommend chopped nuts as well. They provide extra crunch–crunch that is unattainable in even the crunchiest nut butters. 
If whipped cottage cheese is my naughty but nice daily dessert, then real cheesecake is my *occasional* indulgence. I truly adore it. Oh and chocolate chunk brownies. And ice cream. Preferably all three together, which sounds like a dream.
Cheers to savoring BOTH healthy alternatives
and occasional decadent treats. Our bodies and souls deserve both! <3
You’re awesome.
I’m SO glad you started listening to your body and allowing yourself to indulge, even if it IS in “naughty but nice” form. I used to be the guiltiest of us all– I didn’t allow myself ANY avenues of dessert or sweet treats. Thank goodness I woke up & came back to the reality of desserts
Oh you tease!
You know how I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth that ever lived. Muffins everyday? Check. A million pieces of fruit? Check. Nut butter topped with maple syrup? Check. Ohh and dried fruit? Check! Simply can’t go a day without any of these! Everyday has to be naughty but nice for me 
Otherwise Nicky isn’t happy…I guess I’m making up for all those years of not enjoying sweets at all 
Upsets my tummy! And with chocolate, it’s funny because before my ED I wasn’t really into chocolate. I was much more of a gummy sweet kinda kid. Obviously my ED wouldn’t let me have chocolate..and then now, I have started to try dark chocolate and starting to love it! My tastes have changed so much since before and during my ED and I’m discovering new things I like frequently!
Don’t hate me, but I don’t like ice cream…or rather, it doesn’t like me
This sounds so good! I really need to start buying cottage cheese more. I’m such a yogurt junkie.
My favourite naughty but nice snack is fro yo with lots of toppings. A new self-serve fro yo place just opened in my city and I’m obsessed!
Oh my gosh girl, get out of my head!! I was JUST thinking yesterday about combining cottage cheese and chocolate protein powder for a little dessert/snack action! I ended up going with something else that was pretty frickin delicious, but I now that I’ve seen yours, I know I’ll have to try it too!!
Fave naughty/nice snack: Dessert hummus…can’t feel bad about eating what tastes like a bowl of cookie dough when it’s loaded with heathy fats and tooooons of fiber!
Occasional indulgence: Cheesecake…always! And not the plain stuff…I want it stuffed, layered, topped, whatever!!
Back in my “dark days”… I too “didn’t have a sweet tooth” So false. My favorite dessert changes depending on the season, but right now it’s definitely frozen yog
I love anything salty and sweet!!!!! Sometimes I eat chocolate oatmeal for breakfast. My favorite desserts are ice cream, key lime pie, lemon bars, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies.
I actually don’t get a bad feeling after eating dessert.
I’m pretty sure there’s nothing better than classic vanilla ice cream and peanut butter, er maybe almond butter in your case? While I do enjoy chocolate, I’ve never been a fanatic. My former roommate on the other hand…
I love sprinking choco chips on my oatmeal lately though!
Oh my goodness who knew cottage cheese could be made into such a beautiful dessert!
Chocolate is and always will be my indulgence. Although if you eat it every day, I’m not sure if it’s considered an indulgence.
Your pictures are gorgeous as usual!
wow, that looks great..and i got a new blender so i am definitely going to whip that up soon! i always pulled the “i don’t like ___” card…rediscovering foods i once loved is such a fun experience now!
I used to think I didn’t have a sweet tooth! Obviously that wasn’t me, but the stupid voice in my head. I’m starting to enjoy sweets so much nowadays. Muffins are my favorites all the way! Although, I’d never turn some coconut milk ice cream down either. I have to make this sometime soon because it looks heavenly
Can’t decide what toppings to use!
making this…NOW =)
woah! How good does this look? In fact….all your bowls of gooey goodness look good!
I always have dessert, a few squares of dark chocolate or some protein ice cream (I actually prefer the texture of that to regular ice cream!) is my fave but a chocolate brownie, topped with nut butter is real heaven!
Oh yum! I’m not really sure how I feel about cottage cheese though…but maybe if it’s blended I will like it because the texture won’t be the same! I love love love dessert. I have a hardcore sweet tooth! I sometimes think that smoothies are naughty but nice. They can taste so decadent, but I don’t ever put anything in them that is “bad” for you.
I think dark chocolate is a kinda naughty-but-nice thing – isn’t it meant to have some weird health benefit? I have no idea what, I just know I LOVE it!! Oh, and my favourite ice cream is made with cashews and agave nectar – it’s soo rich, delicious and creamy, but cashews? That’s a health benefit! Hurrah!
biggest sweet tooth in the world right HURRR!
I lovee this post! Not only because that looks/sounds amazing, but I can totally relate back to when I used to tell myself that I didn’t like chocolate and ice cream..but really I was afraid to eat them. Love your blog by the way, can’t wait to read your posts every day.
Sounds yummy! I cannot wait to start refilling our fridge-then I will try this!
I think ALL of my teeth are sweet teeth!
Yes! I’ll definitely have some please
That heaven in a bowl looks ahhmazing!
My favorite occasional indulgence is ice cream. Okay, maybe its more than occasionally, but it’s just so good!
Wine. It’s good for the body right? Right?
YES! thank you for saying what i’ve read denied on other blogs: “everyone has a sweet tooth” (even if just a little bit) i LOVE ice cream and have it almost every day as a dessert. it’s delicious and a really easy way to get in calories too if you need more because of exercise and/or trying to gain weight.
This looks amazing! I always try and make time for dessert, whether it’s just slice apples dusted with cinnamon or lots of dark chocolate. Although cookies and cream protein ice cream is always a winner, especially when topped with a PB sauce!
Love your dessert, it looks delicious! I always have cottage cheese, yogurt, berries, cereal, and pb. It’s so yummy and healthy
I can relate – I used to tell myself I didn’t like chocolate or peanut butter to avoid eating what I considered at the time danger foods – but boy was that a lie! Now I can’t go more than a couple days with out peanut butter oats and definitely no more than 1 day with out a piece of dark chocolate
Your desserts always look so incredible.
holy yumm that looks good! I’m making it that ASAP.
favorite naughty but nice dessert? hmm…ice cream-esque smoothies, fruit with almond butter and a little bit of melted dark chocolate, dates stuffed with almond butter and chocolate chips…
and favorite indulgence? Ice cream, hands down! And to be even more specific: ben & jerry’s NY Super Fudge Chunk. ohmygawd good.
I made this today for a snack .it was THE BOMB! I inhaled it so fast. I wish it never ended….
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