Kimberly Kunaniec

So the holidays are coming. I've lost about 30 pounds in the last year and have no intention of putting them back on. But this means that I either have to sacrifice the sweets, only eat a tiny bit, or find a way to make them healthier. One of the ways I will be coping with all the entertaining is by keeping healthy frozen desserts on hand.

One of my favorite healthy desserts is sorbet, particularly tropical mango sorbet. It's creamy and indulgent, but the basis is real fruit. Even though you have added sugar, you also have the vitamins and minerals from real, fresh fruit. While it may not be my dessert on Thanksgiving, it'll help balance out that pumpkin cheesecake without giving up the things I love. I just have to make sure to send home the leftover cheesecake with my guests!

Have you started planning your holiday meals yet? It might seem early, but I like to start planning Thanksgiving at the beginning of the month. I get my recipes and shopping lists together, so I can pick up items as I find them on sale or find great coupons for them. This means it is time to start thinking about my Thanksgiving desserts. I am a big fan of ice cream pie when I am entertaining, in large part because it is so easy! You can put together a great Thanksgiving pie with pumpkin ice cream. Top with sugared pecans and whipped cream for something special.

Another easy option is ice cream cake. I am thinking of doing something different with cake this year. What about a pumpkin spice cake layered with vanilla ice cream? Or, for that matter, pumpkin cake and pumpkin ice cream to double up the flavor. These things are so quick and easy to put together. Plus, they are a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Move past the same old ice cream recipes and make some unique frozen desserts. I've put together a series of the "best of" different frozen desserts, featuring my own recipes and recipes from About.com Experts in other food topics. Some of them have really amazing recipes! Start with a new granita recipe and put together something refreshing in a heartbeat. With the upcoming holiday, I am thinking about trying to get a cranberry granita that is just right.

Next up, start making the best homemade sherbet recipes and skip the store-bought varieties. Use fresh fruit and milk to make these flavors, which range from traditional to exotic. Get some great ideas for substitutions and changes to make the recipes your own.

If you're getting really adventurous, try making a new semifreddo recipe. This article starts with a definition, since not everyone has had semifreddo before. It's really a shame! This frozen mousse is easy to put together and doesn't require an ice cream maker, so you can do it without buying new equipment. Give one of these great recipes a try and let me know how they turn out!

Just because the weather is getting cold doesn't mean you have to skip strawberry desserts. It can be hard to get great fresh fruits in the late fall and winter. Strawberries just aren't that sweet this time of year. But don't discount frozen berries! They are a great option to help you make strawberry frozen desserts year round. Frozen berries are flash frozen shortly after they are picked, so you can get the ripest fruits any time of year.

Before you start to make your basic strawberry ice cream, defrost your frozen strawberries. This will help them puree more easily. Make sure you add any liquid from the defrosted berries to the recipe. Sometimes fruit will weep as it thaws, but there is a lot of flavor in that fruit juice.

If you don't have an ice cream freezer, try making a strawberry semifreddo, since it requires no special equipment. You fold together the strawberry puree with fresh whipped cream and freeze it to create a mousse that is delicious and simple.

Citrus fruit is one of my favorite flavors for making frozen desserts. Lemon and orange are sweet and tart as desserts, giving them a lot of depth. A great way to learn to make orange frozen desserts is with an easy orange sorbet, which brings out all the brightness of fresh orange juice.

To give your dessert a creamier texture, combine some dairy with your sorbet to make orange sherbet. Sherbet combines all the best characteristics of ice cream and sorbet, so don't feel restricted to the artificial flavors you can buy at the grocery store. Fresh squeezed orange juice will make your desserts so much more flavorful, especially if you add in a little fresh zest.

Orange is also a great base for ice pops. I regularly use store-bought juice as a base for pops, because it is so easy to work with. It's how I made these orange and cream ice pops, which combine juice with yogurt. I've been known to eat them for breakfast. After all, it's juice and yogurt at heart!

I've been seeing pomegranates in the grocery store again. It is a key hallmark of fall and one of my favorite flavors. I love pomegranates for just about everything. The arils are wonderful sprinkled over salads, yogurts, or desserts. These beautiful little seeds surrounded by juice make an interesting dessert flavor. One of my favorite ways turn turn pomegranate into dessert is by pairing it with strawberry, which brings a softness and sweetness which breaks up the strong flavor of the pomegranate.

The first way I pair these flavors is in a strawberry pomegranate Greek frozen yogurt. Don't spend your money on frozen Greek yogurt at the store when you can make your own! The same two flavors can be frozen simply into a strawberry pomegranate ice pop, which uses the fruit puree and juice to make a sweet and tangy popsicle. Who says that you can just use fall fruits for holiday desserts?

In case I haven't raved enough about peppermint ice cream, let me just say that it's my favorite. I think it's completely unfair that you can only buy it in the stores during the holiday season! After all, mint is a popular favorite no matter what time of year it is. It's refreshing and sweet. When you pair it with chocolate to make chocolate peppermint ice cream, it's also rich and decadent.

If chocolate isn't your think, there are tons of different ways to add peppermint to ice cream. It's a minty, crunchy way to get things together. You can add it to the edges of ice cream sandwiches or layer it in an ice cream bombe or pie. Stock up on candy canes to make extra once it is off the shelves.

With the holidays approaching, many of us will be hosting friends and family. What's a great dinner without a tasty dessert? I adore pie. During college, my best friends and I would meet once a week to have a slice of pie and catch up on life. A scoop of ice cream always makes a warm slice of fruit pie better, but why not just make your entire pie out of ice cream?

Swap out your traditional pumpkin pie for a slice of pumpkin ice cream pie. It's easy and different if you are looking for a change. But before you jump in, check out these tips for making ice cream pie to learn a little more about how to make your dessert something special.

Continuing on yesterday's post, I kind of hate when fall and winter holidays show up in August. I don't need to buy Halloween candy or Christmas decorations in August. Let's be honest - if you buy holiday treats two or three months early, they aren't going to last through the holiday. But October is here. Let's bring on the holiday desserts!

One of my favorite holiday flavors is peppermint ice cream. While you can buy great versions at the grocery store, make yourself something a little different by putting together a chocolate peppermint ice cream. It's a chocolate twist on one of the best Christmas flavors. Use some crushed candy canes to add texture and flavor.

If you are looking for Halloween and Thanksgiving flavors, check out these five fun flavors to celebrate the fall. Apple, maple and pumpkin are some of the most traditional fall flavors, but you can turn them all on their heads by using them in great frozen dessert recipes.

It's the last day of September, and fall is really here. I live in the Pacific Northwest, where it has been storming for two days. The windstorm blew over a large tree near my home and water is backing up everywhere. It doesn't always seem like the best time of year for frozen desserts. After all, it's getting cold outside.

Heading to the grocery store, you can see the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are already here in the land of retail. It's time to start making fresh cranberry sauce, which is every bit as tasty on ice cream as it is with turkey and mashed potatoes. I make the recipe for dinner and use the leftovers for dessert.

I also found some candy canes that were left over from last year. Although the candy has softened, the flavor is just right. It's a great way to add peppermint to ice cream. Peppermint ice cream might be my favorite holiday treat, so it's fun to see it back on the shelves and in my freezer!