Healthier summer treats

With summer officially here, and most people trying to slim down and get bathing suit-ready, I've been trying to be a little more conscious about making healthy treats to bring into work (with great difficulty naturally). I've snuck oatmeal into my chocolate chip cookies, and have substituted yogurt for the fat in some recipes. Though some people prefer these healthy alternatives, or substitutions, sometimes I feel its just more satisfying to eat a full-fat dessert, but just less of it. Moderation peoples, moderation.

Recently I've found myself with an influx of overripe bananas. I can't stand them when they're still green and leave that dry sand-papery taste in your mouth. However, once they start to get speckled and super sweet, I won't touch them either. That being said, it's difficult to eat 6 bananas in their prime in 2 days. What to do? Most people would just buy less bananas, but I always feel inclined to buy at least 4... not sure why. I've taken to freezing the bananas to make banana bread, banana ice cream, and banana muffins using this Banana Crumb Muffin recipe.

Like with banana bread, the banana lends a lot of moisture to the muffins and that way you can leave out a little fat. Me? I top them with cream cheese frosting.. so it all evens out I guess. Another slightly more healthy treat I've made on occasion is meringues. As I've mentioned before, there are several ways to make the dainty treats. They're great for using up leftover egg whites, and a re a nice treat for those watching their fat intake. I like to jazz mine up a little using some lemon zest and food coloring swirls!