Dessert is one of my favorite meals. Let's face it: I have a pretty fierce sweet tooth. But many of us are trying to watch our sugar intake or, at least, cut down on the pure white stuff. Here are seven desserts that satisfy a sweet tooth without using any white sugar at all.  

A green salad may sound too light to serve as a main dinner dish, but it can become quite substantial and filling when rounded out with other ingredients like avocado, cheese, a little meat, or some grilled vegetables. These 10 salads all make satisfying dinners, particularly if you want to keep things light and easy. Another tip? Bring your salad outside and enjoy the warm weather with a glass of rosé or white wine!

If you're feeling a little uninspired lately, you aren't alone — we call it the springtime slump. It seems to peak around dinnertime, when the contents of our fridges and pantries just look so...boring. Injecting a new recipe or two into the repertoire just doesn't seem to cut it. Instead, we're here with a whole week of weeknight-friendly dinner menus, with options for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free eaters, too. Ready to shake up your weekly dinner rotation?

When I was little, "happy meal" meant food in the shape of a face. My parents weren't fans of fast food and, with four kids, it wasn't even a bargain. Banana slices with peanut butter for eyes, an apple wedge for the mouth and broken crackers and cheese for all the other features. It was fun! These days, the game has changed. I'm no artist, and my food faces are pretty lame compared to what the internet has to offer.

Regardless of the season, my go-to dessert when people come over to visit has always been ice cream. However, I have a handful of friends who've recently gone dairy-free, so I've been creatively challenged when thinking about something other than sorbet, sherbet or fresh fruit to serve to my old ice cream homies when they stop by in the evening. Now I have a few new ideas.

While I love oatmeal and eat it for breakfast for months and months out of the year, right around this time in the season I look for something else. The mornings are warmer and sunny, and I long for something that feels a little less substantial, isn't as predictable, and doesn't remind me of cold weather wake-ups. Lately the answer is polenta. 

Having a good recipe for pound cake in your repertoire is a wonderful thing. It's most famous topped with whipped cream and fresh berries as a variation of strawberry shortcake, but it can also hold center stage served plain with just a dusting of powdered sugar.  Toast a slice for breakfast, offer it with tea to unexpected guests, or scoop a ball of ice cream on top and a drizzle it with chocolate sauce.  Pound cake will always be there for you.

Sometimes there are just no words. I mean, this is... I don't know. Amazing? Incredibly ingenious? Completely wacked out and hilarious? But hey, you have to admit it's practical. Why carry a lunch bag when you can just wear one? All kinds of questions arise, though: does she match her snacks to her clothes? Does she follow the rule of style to 'look in the mirror and take one thing off' and take out one snack instead? The mind boggles.

Is there anything more fun than s'mores? For me it brings back nostalgic childhood memories, the warmth of friendship around an open campfire. But there's no reason you can't enjoy them now, too! Try one of these eight takes on the classic and remind yourself why melted chocolate is oh-so-great.