Anti-Cancer Dessert Recipes

Are you on a quest for healthy dessert recipes that use anti-cancer ingredients? This online Guide to Fighting Cancer provides an extensive collection of anti-cancer dessert recipes. Each recipe description summarizes why the respective dessert dish is thought to be particularly healthy and good for people who want to reduce their risk of cancer.

If you are interested in more information about the anti-cancer effects of different foods and nutrients, check out the diet tips section and the food section of this guide.

Green Tea Mango Blast

Here's a wonderful smoothie recipe that pairs green tea with mango to create a delicious smoothie that is naturally rich in antioxidant and anti-cancer compounds.
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Raspberry Blueberry Smoothie

This smoothie combines blueberries and raspberries, two delicious berries that are at the top of the list of anti-cancer foods.
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Antioxidant Muffins

These scrumptious muffins feature blueberries and pecans, two antioxidant powerhouse foods. Blueberries top the list of berries with the highest antioxidant capacity, and pecans—along with walnuts and chestnuts—have the highest concentration of antioxidants in the tree nut family.
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Carrot Muffins

You probably already know that carrots aid eyesight, but did you know that they are also an excellent anti-cancer vegetable? Carrots contain falcarinol—a compound that has been shown to inhibit the development of cancer.
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Chocolate Cake

Research shows that people who eat beans and other legumes frequently have a significantly lower risk of many types of cancer. Guess what? Eating a piece of this chocolate cake can help you fulfill your body's quota for beans: black beans are a key ingredient in this flourless cake! What's more, this recipe calls for dark, unsweetened cocoa powder—the kind of cocoa that has been shown to possess significant antioxidant properties.
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Low-Fat Apple and Raspberry Crumble

Not only does this divine dessert tempt your taste buds, it also makes a healthy alternative to many other desserts. The apples and raspberries featured in this crumble are among the best natural sources of quercetin, a bioflavonoid that has strong anti-cancer and antioxidant properties.
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Whole Wheat Brownies

These brownies are full of flavor, and this recipe is a healthy alternative to many other browny recipes. The seeds of the cacao plant are naturally rich in flavonoids, mainly catechins and procyanidins. These flavonoids have shown strong anti-oxidant activity. What's particularly exciting about this brownie recipe is that it calls for dark, less processed cocoa powder—the type of cocoa that typically boasts the highest levels of flavonoids.
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Rice Pudding with Blueberry Sauce

This rice pudding recipe calls for brown rice, which is a healthy alternative to the more common white rice. In addition, this pudding contains no dairy, which helps boost the antioxidant capacity of the accompanying blueberry sauce. Blueberries are among the best dietary sources of antioxidants, but consuming milk together with these pleasantly tart berries has been shown to decrease their antioxidant capacity.
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Apple Slices with Cinnamon

This dessert is easy to prepare, and it contains only 95 calories! But the benefits of this dessert dish do not end there: apples boast a truckload of phytochemicals, and epidemiological studies have associated an increased consumption of apples with a reduced risk of many cancers. Laboratory tests have found apples to exert strong antioxidant activity and inhibit cancer cell proliferation.
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Chocolate Sorbet

Scientists have discovered that dark chocolate, which is what this sorbet recipe calls for, contains significant amounts of flavonoids such as catechins and procyanidins. These flavonoids have been shown to exhibit strong antioxidant activity. However, flavonoids lose much of their antioxidant power if chocolate or cocoa is consumed together with dairy. In order to maximize the antioxidant effects of chocolate, this sorbet is made with rice milk and water instead of cow's milk.
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Nettle Crêpes with Raspberries

Don't worry about this dish stinging your mouth; the nettle in these crepes will only do you good. Young, cooked stinging nettle shoots are perfectly edible, and they are packed with antioxidants and flavonoids. To maximize the health promoting properties of these crepes, serve them with fresh raspberries; raspberries contain ellagic acid, an extraordinary compound that has been shown to act as a potent anti-carcinogen, anti-mutagen, and inhibitor of cancer.
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Buckwheat Crepes with Prune Compote

Buckwheat is loaded with rutin, a bioflavonoid with strong antioxidant activity. Also prunes are an excellent source of antioxidants: a study, which assessed the antioxidant capacity of a wide range of fresh and dried fruit and vegetables using the so-called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) methodology, ranked prunes (dried plums) the #1 food in terms of antioxidant potential. Prunes had more than twice the antioxidant capacity of other high ranking foods such as blueberries and raisins.
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Quinoa Crepes with Applesauce

If your goal is to reduce your risk of developing cancer, it is best to choose low glycemic foods, such as these quinoa crepes, over high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods break down quickly, causing rapid fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. Foods that have a high GI rating have been linked to the development of several types of cancer. This link is believed to be a related to the ability of high glycemic foods to stimulate the production of the hormones insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF), which can stimulate tumor proliferation, progression, and spreading within the body.
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Scandinavian Blueberry Soup

In the Scandinavian countries, , blueberry soup is a popular treat that can be served warm as an appetizer or chilled as a dessert. But the benefits of blueberry soup extend far beyond its culinary use. In a laboratory test conducted by USDA researchers, wild blueberries were ranked number one in terms of antioxidant capacity over 40 other tested fruits, berries, and vegetables. The antioxidant activity of wild blueberries was shown to be even stronger than that of cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, plums, or cultivated blueberries.
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For more recipes that may help lower your odds of developing cancer, visit the main recipe directory of this Anti-Cancer Guide.