Restaurants That Serve Low-Calorie Desserts

Can you find a low-calorie dessert in a restaurant?  I tried to find as many “lite” desserts as possible for the Standard-Examiner’s Dining Guide, published April 3.

It took quite a search, including a lot of phone calls and online menu-stalking. Some chefs didn’t seem to understand the concept when I asked about “lite,” or “low-calorie.” (Hello lady! It’s dessert! Of course it’s got fat and sugar in it! What do you expect?)  One restaurant manager told me their cheesecake “tastes really light, not heavy at all,” but then I asked how it’s made. Of course, its main ingredients are whipping cream and sour cream.  Others assumed I was looking for gluten-free desserts, but that’s a whole different topic.

I found out, though, that many desserts are around 700-1,000 calories per portion, so eating one could double the amount of calories in your total dinner. And, those calories are usually a lot of fat and sugar, without redeeming nutrients such as protein or vitamins and minerals. So it’s kind of hard to have your high-fat cake and eat it too.

The definition of a “healthy” option is going to vary with what you’re trying to avoid. Some low-fat or low-calorie desserts are are still high in sugar — not a good choice if you’re trying to go low-carb. And some sugar-free desserts are still be high in fat and calories. Fat-free, sugar-free gelatin is low in calories, but it has artificial sweeteners that some people want to avoid. So, you be the judge!

Some of the low-calorie desserts I found:

Settobello Pizzeria‘s Sorbetto. The Farmington restaurant has a huge gelato/sorbetto bar. The sorbetto (sorbet) is mainly fruit puree, water and sugar, so it’s virtually fat-free.

When I first  talked to some of the staff, they said the gelato would be a lower-cal choice, because it uses whole milk instead of cream. But when I spoke with owner Michael Brooks, he said it does contain some cream. He didn’t have calorie counts, but I’m guessing it’s about the same as ice cream.  So, when you’re looking over the case full of mouth-watering treats, go for the sorbetto.  The flavors vary from week to week, but they often include lemon, raspberry, strawberry, mixed berry, pineapple and mango, depending on the season.

The sorbets have a smooth, creamy texture, and a fresh, bright fruit flavor.

Chuck-A-Rama: Although many people associate the local Chuck-A-Rama buffet chain with hearty appetites, the restaurants offer sugar-free cookies, sugar-free gelatin, fat-free frozen yogurt, and fresh berries.

“Our customers who need to watch their sugar intake really appreciate being able to come and get a nice dessert with their meal,” said Rene Shuurman, Chuck-A-Rama’s corporate food and beverage director. “It’s not just diabetics who are looking. People in general are trying to watch their carb intake and trying to be more careful with sweets.”

The nonfat frozen yogurt is 100 calories per half-cup serving. You can top it with fresh blackberries, which have lots of vitamins and minerals.

The sugar-free gelatin, also nonfat, is 5 calories per half-cup serving.

Shuurman didn’t have nutritional numbers on the cookies. “They are made with an artificial sweetener, and they’re pretty darn good. It’s tough to tell the difference,” he said.

One drawback: customers must ignore the pies, cobblers and cakes on display. As they say, the choice is yours.

It’s interesting how some of the quick-serve chains are the ones coming up with low-calorie desserts.

At 170 calories and 4 grams of fat, Chick-fil-A‘s Icedream cone makes a good low-calorie dessert. It does contain 25 grams of sugar, but it also offers 15 percent of the recommended daily intake for calcium and 5 grams of protein.

In March, the chicken chain began offering Frosted Lemonade, a mashup of the company’s fresh-squeezed lemonade and the Icedream frozen dessert.  When made with the sugar-free (Splenda-sweetened) lemonade, a 16-ounce serving is 240 calories with 41 grams of carbs, and offers 25 percent of the RDI for both vitamin C and calcium. If made with regular lemonade, it’s 330 calories and 65 grams of carbs.

“It’s designed for the person who wants a dessert but doesn’t want the 700-800 calories that come with it,” said Craig Saxton, proprietor of the Layton Chick-fil-A.

At McDonald’s, a Fruit n Yogurt Parfait is 380 calories, offering 10 grams of protein, plus 40 percent of the RDI for vitamin C and 30 percent for calcium.  While I was at Snowbasin Resort last month, I noticed that the dining hall there offers fruit, yogurt and granola parfaits too. Chef Marisela Sanchez said they are really popular with the skiers.

Dessert can become power food at A Good Life Café on Ogden’s 25th Street, with the restaurant’s Acai Bowls. They all contain pureed acai berries, an exotic fruit known as a superfood for its antioxidant properties;  local honey, pureed banana and organic granola.  The Chunky Monkey has cocoa powder, The Popeye has baby spinach, The Very Berry has mixed berries, and the Protein Booster has roasted nuts and hemp hearts. They are all $6.99 per bowl.

“They can be a dessert, they can be breakfast or whatever you want them to be,” said co-owner Gloria Bartlett.

 

Some chain restaurants have downsized their portions. Applebees and PF Chang’s offer “shooter desserts” served in mini glasses. Applebees’ Hot Fudge Sundae Shooter is 340 calories; the Strawberry Cheesecake Shooter is 380 calories, and the Chocolate Mousse Shooter is 450 calories.