Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's midweek segment Ask a Nutritionist.

I am Amy Crum, a registered and licensed dietitian, and today we will be discussing healthy dessert ideas for summer.

Summer is a time where there are so many fun gatherings and so many of them revolve around food.

Maybe it's those backyard barbecues, snacks by the pool, the family reunions, or the neighborhood

gatherings. I've had many clients say they were doing well with their nutrition,

feeling great,

and then summer gatherings started them down the path of eating more sugar.

And before they knew it,

their eating had gone off the rails a little bit.

I'm not saying one family picnic with treats

is going to be the end of your ability to stick with a plan,

but I do know once you start with a little sugar, sometimes it could be hard not to eat more

later in the day and maybe in the days that follow. So I'm here today with some fun treats for

summer that will taste good and will also help you to keep your blood sugar in balance.

Today I'm going to share 10 of my favorite treats, either to bring to a gathering or just enjoy

by yourself on a hot day. I have to start by saying that I think fruit on its own can be such

an amazing dessert. The summer has so many wonderful fruits that are in season.

Berries, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, watermelon, to name a few. And you can really enjoy

that on its own after a meal for dessert or bring it along to that potluck. One fun thing you can add along with that fruit is some

protein whipped cream. It's easy to make. Just whip heavy cream with a mixer. It takes about three

minutes. I use about half a cup of whipped cream and mix it until it has medium peaks and then add

about half a scoop of protein powder and mix it until it's just combined.

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