My Top Ten Sweets

Almost everyone likes sweets and we can't imagine a world anymore without these delicious calorie suppliers. We know it all; too many sweets can damage our health but that doesn't mean we need to avoid them all. If you can keep yourself in control; eating sweets don't hurt your general health if you provide a well balanced diet. The difficulty is that sweets are addictive and you need some courage to say "no" at time. Too much sweets will raise your level of cholesterol and sugar in your body and can cause terrible health problems. So don't exaggerate and enjoy these delicious sweets.

There is plenty of choice in delicious sweets and everyone has different preferences but I will try to give you my top ten:

1. ICE-CREAM

Ice-cream is my number one in favorite sweets and especially during the summer months. I prefer the Italian ice-cream; ice-cream can be considered as an art in Italy and they know the secret of preparing the best ice-cream in the world. My favorites ones are straciattella and nocciola but vanilla, milk and chocolate ice-cream are also in my top list of different ice-creams. There is nothing better than the hand-made ice-cream and prepared with whole milk and is really different than you use other kind of milk. Even ice-cream which you keep in a freezer doesn't provide the excellent taste of this delicious sweet. Ice-cream is available worldwide but you will only find the best one in Italy.

2. CHOCOLATE

I love chocolate and it is difficult to choose my favorite kind of chocolate. Belgium chocolate is considered as the best one in the world because most recipes contain 100% cacao butter. There are many different tastes and I prefer milk chocolate and pralin. I think almost everyone likes chocolate; there are so many differences that everyone will find a kind of chocolate according to their favorite taste. The smell of chocolate is already addictive and is also used to prepare chocolate cake or chocolate mousse. Some other popular chocolates are dark chocolate, chocolate liquor, pralines and truffles.

3. APPLE STRUDEL

Apple strudel is also one of my favorite sweets. It is a kind of pastry filled with apple and baked in an oven. It is one of the most popular sweets in Austria. I prefer to eat this sweet with vanilla ice-cream.

4. PANCAKE

Pancake is a popular sweet made of eggs, flour and milk. I prefer to eat pancakes with brown sugar but the taste is also delicious with syrup or with white sugar. The recipes of pancakes are different among the different countries in the world. It is also delicious to eat with ice-cream, fruit or even bacon.

5. WAFFLES

There is a variety of different waffles but I like them all. I prefer the Brussels Waffle and these are always served warm and often with sugar. It is often served as a dessert and with ice-cream of even fruit. Many people prefer to eat these waffles with strawberry jam or syrup. The sugar waffle is also a delicious sweet but I try to limit eating these kind of waffles because too much sugar can harm my health. There are also cold waffles which you can buy in a packet and can serve as a snack at home. I mostly eat two or three hours before I am going to asleep one waffle to avoid a hungry feeling during the night. I know it is not good for my calories and that is the reason I limited the intake from three to one.

6. SPECULAAS

This sweet is a type of biscuit but looks like a brown cookie and often represent different images of figures. It is popular sweet for the event of St. Nicholas in Belgium and the Netherlands but speculaas is also a speciality of the city Hasselt in Belgium.

7. CAKE

There are so many different kinds of cake that I don't know which one I like the most. I need some variation and that is why I often choose a different one. Maybe is chocolate cake the one I mostly prefer. A cake is a kind of baked food and contains different sweets but there are also some cakes with a variety of fruit or even rice. A real delicious one is "the Sacchertorte" but I think this one is only available in Vienna and maybe some other popular places in Austria. I never found this one in my hometown but I always look forward to eat "Sacchertorte" if I travel to Vienna. Sacchertorte is a sponge cake with apricot jam in the middle and covered with chocolate and traditionally served with whipped cream.

8. PUDDING

I prefer chocolate pudding but from time to time I also eat vanilla or caramel pudding. Pudding is made from milk and some pudding flavors. It is easy to prepare and delicous as dessert.

9. PEANUTS

Roasted peanuts are delicious and addictive especially if you are eating this snack when you are watching television. I really enjoy it but I often have difficulties to limit my intake; that is why I often avoid to have peanuts at home. I often eat these sweets when I am drinking a glass of wine. Peanuts contains many calories but there is a positive study which proves that peanuts reduces the chance of heart attacks. Really good news, but I think you best don't exaggerate to avoid cholesterol problems.

10. CRISPS

Potato chips with salt or paprika are delicious sweets. It is also addictive and popular and contains many fats. A wide variety of flavors is often added, for example cheese and different kinds of spices. I prefer crisps with paprika.

There is plenty of choice in delicious sweets and some sweets are only available in certain regions. I have tried to give you my top ten list; maybe you will find some in this list which you also like. Do you have other preferences; please give me yours and maybe I discover some new sweets which I didn't eat before.