Most people love desserts and they are always looking for easy dessert recipes. Are you someone who is always looking for something sweet to round off your meals? Desserts are something most of us look forward to, and more often than not the dessert becomes more scrumptious than an entire four-course meal. Yes, some of us are addicted to desserts! But sometimes our blood reports play spoilsport. We are heart-broken when we find out that we are diabetic and desserts are the first thing that must be sacrificed. Well, no longer, there are some diabetic-friendly dessert recipes which can solve your dessert dilemmas in a jiffy. It’s true, you can have your brownies without a trace of guilt. In this case, you can have your cake and eat it too!
How to Make Desserts Healthy
The first thing you need to do is chuck the sugar. If you are wondering how in the wide world you are going to have sugarless desserts, don’t worry at all, as we will tell you exactly how to keep things tasty and nutritious as well. Most people with diabetes have to avoid those sudden spikes in their sugar levels and it is very important that they have foods with a low glycemic index; it is a measure of how food affects your blood sugar. If you choose your desserts carefully, keep the portion size in mind, since desserts can be part of a healthy diet even if you are a diabetic. Though healthy desserts sound like a bit of an oxymoron, it is possible. Arm yourself with the following tips and tricks to include desserts into your scheme of things.
- Balancing is the key- Make sure that if you are in the mood to have desserts, then you need to sacrifice other carb loaded foods and also keep a tab on sodium, fat, saturated fat and calories. So if your sweet dish has, say, six grams of saturated fat, ensure to take in only ten additional grams throughout the day. If you are watching your diet for diabetes, consult your doctor or nutritionist about which guidelines to follow.
- Think about health benefits- Whenever you are thinking of adding easy healthy desserts to your diet, make sure you think of making it more nutritious so that it will not only satisfy your sweet tooth but also provide you with an adequate amount of nutrition. So add fruits, nuts and seeds to your desserts. Think whole wheat, when you want to substitute your refined flour. Add nut butter, in your home-made ice-creams like peanut, cashew or almond. You can make your dessert nutritionally rich just by being a little more conscious about the foods that are good for you.
- Reduce sugar and include healthy fats- You don’t have to reach out for artificial sweeteners if you want to eliminate refined sugar from your diet. Organic maple syrup, raw honey, coconut sugar, organic jaggery are some of the things you can add to your desserts. They don’t just add sweetness to your food but also add the right degree of vitamins and minerals. Also, you need to include more healthy fats in your desserts, instead of the nutrient-stripped fats like hydrogenated oil.
Use grass-fed butter, coconut oil, nut butter, and clarified butter. Make your desserts rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. It’s not very difficult you know, if you put your mind to it.
- Portion Size- If you are trying to lose weight, have just been diagnosed with diabetes, or are just watching what you are eating, concentrate on the portion size. Whenever you think of portion, try and stick to 150 calories, and we are afraid it has to be stopped at that. You think it is difficult? Not really if you use smaller plates. Another trick that works just fine is eating slowly, enjoying each morsel, and chewing with diligence and mindfulness. Keep your gadgets and other stuff that takes your mind away from food, at arm’s length. We spend half of the time thinking of food and just when it is time to enjoy our food, we tend to get distracted. Talk of incongruous behavior when it comes to food.
- Frequency matters- Even if you love desserts and cannot stop thinking about them, you just cannot have it every single day. Like, if you keep eating desserts every single day it would be an additional 150 calories per day, which means 15 pounds per year. That’s not the ideal scenario for a diabetic to be in, right? So earn you desserts. Eat mindfully six days a week and think of trying out the rich chocolate cake recipe your friend had suggested a few days ago. You will enjoy it even more, as you would indulge in it without any trace of guilt.
- Burn it- Yes, a diet can only be successful, when you add exercises to your daily regime. When you are crestfallen that you have to part with that gooey piece of chocolate brownie, have it, but the next day and the days after, your exercise routine should be on point as should be your diet plan.
Healthy Dessert Recipes
So now you know that you can indeed have desserts frugally, but it is best to save them for special occasions. That said, you can still eat these heavenly dishes, but do cut back on carbs to make room for these dessert recipes for diabetics.
1. Corn Kheer
Indian desserts are thought to be full of ghee and sugar, but you can minimize the amount of sugar to make it more diabetic friendly. This recipe tastes divine, and is just what your taste buds are craving for!
Ingredients
- 150 g Skim milk powder or 125 g evaporated skim milk or evaporated milk
- 300 ml Skim milk
- 3 fresh corn, remove seeds
- 1/4 tsp. Cardamom seeds, powdered
- 10 Almonds soaked in warm water for 4-5 hours
- 3 tsp. sugar (or to taste) or use jaggery
- A few strands saffron
Methods
- In a deep skillet, take corn seeds and 1/2 cup milk and boil it. Remove from heat and let it cool. Transfer to a grinder and grind it coarsely.
- Take 150 ml milk in a bowl. Slowly mix milk powder or evaporated milk while stirring. Keep aside.
- Pour remaining milk in a deep skillet and place it over medium heat. Add the mixture from step 1 and boil for 10-12 minutes. Add the milk mixture (step 2) and boil for another 5 minutes (10-12 minutes for milk powder).
- Stir occasionally so that nothing sticks at the bottom.
- While the milk is boiling, remove the skin of almonds. Sliver them into thin and long pieces.
- Add almond pieces, sugar, saffron strands, and cardamom powder to the boiling kheer (step 3).
- Serve corn kheer either warm or cold.
2. Blueberry Crumble
Blueberries are regarded as one of the most nutritious foods, as it is full of anti-oxidants. You can substitute the sugar bit of the recipe with a healthier alternative like stevia or coconut sugar. So you won’t experience a sharp rise in blood sugar levels even if you enjoy this wonderful recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups blueberries
- Sweetener (like Stevia or Splenda) equal to ¾ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
Topping
- 1 cup flour
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- Sweetener equal to 2 tsp. sugar
- 3 Tbsp butter (or vegan margarine)
- ¼ cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Blend blueberries, sugar substitute, vanilla, lemon zest and water in a small saucepan. Boil and simmer, while continuously stirring until the sweetener is dissolved.
- Blend in cornstarch with 1 Tbsp water and add to the blueberries mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook till it gets thickened for about 2 minutes. Pour into a lightly buttered pie dish (or 4 ramekins for individual servings) and cover with topping.
- For the topping, you need to mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar substitute and butter in a food processor or by hand until the mixture is crumbly. Add milk and process until the mixture just holds together.
- Try and shape small pieces of dough and lay them on top of the filling.
- Bake until they turn golden, for about 30 minutes.
3. Green Tea Ice-cream
If you substitute cow milk with coconut milk, the nutrient level of the dish rises that much higher. It is very low in glycemic index, so ideal for a person who is diabetic. The coconut milk lends a distinctive flavor to the dish.
Ingredients
- 1 can (13.5 FL oz. /400 ml) coconut milk
- 2 eggs (optional)
- 4-8 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp matcha (green tea) powder
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
Method
- In a blender, place coconut milk, eggs, sugar, matcha powder, and vanilla extract and blend well.
- Transfer the liquid to a saucepan and heat over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes until the liquid thickens.
- When the liquid is cooled, chill it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Transfer to the container of an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to make ice cream.
- If using white chocolate chips, add them in the last five minutes while the ice cream maker is running.
- Infuse love and serve or store in the freezer.
4. Coffee Cream Cake
Coffee and chocolate make for an irresistible combination, and even if you are diabetic you can still enjoy this wonderful dessert.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 90 g ground almond
- 30g soya flour
- 5 big eggs
- 125 g unsalted butter (softened)
- Powdered coconut sugar
- 100 g dark chocolate
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. bicarbonate soda
Coffee cream
- 250g mascarpone cheese
- 200g whipping cream
- 4 tsp. instant coffee
- 3 tsp. powdered gelatin
- 4 tbsp. coconut sugar
Top layer
- 250 g whipping cream
- 1 tbsp. coconut sugar.
Method
For the Chocolate cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 C and line spring form tin with baking paper.
- Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and set aside to cool down a bit.
- Using electric hand mixer beat the butter. Add the sweetener and melted chocolate.
- Separate egg yolks from whites. Add yolks to the chocolate mixture, one at the time mixing continuously.
- Sift the ground almond, soy flour, baking powder and soda, and add to the mixture.
- Beat the egg whites and mix very gently with the chocolate mixture.
- Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes. Check with a skewer if the cake is baked (the skewer should come out clean). Let it cool down and cut in half lengthwise.
Coffee cream
- Dissolve gelatin in ¼ cup of hot water. Let it cool down slightly.
- Dissolve coffee in one tablespoon of hot water and mix with mascarpone cheese.
- Whip the cream and add Splenda together with dissolved gelatin, mixing continuously.
- Add the cream mixture to the mascarpone cream.
Top layer: Whip the cream and add Splenda.
Assembling the cake: Spread the coffee cream on a layer of the chocolate cake. Cover with the second layer. Spread the whipped cream on top and top it with cocoa powder or coffee.
5. Choco Bliss
This delicious cookie can transport you to the world of chocolate heaven. It is low on sugar and yet incredibly tasty.
Ingredients
- ½ c unsweetened cocoa powders
- a pinch of salt
- ½ tsp. sugar divided
- 3 log egg whites
- ⅛ tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil.
- Sift together cocoa, salt, and ¼ cup of the sugar in a small bowl.
- Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they form soft peaks in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-low speed. Beat in remaining ¼ cup sugar, ½ tablespoon at a time, until the meringue looks glossy and form stiff peaks. Fold in cocoa mixture and vanilla extract.
- Pour by rounded teaspoonful about 1 apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes if you want soft chewy cookies or 40 minutes or so for crisp ones. Dust the cookies with coconut sugar.
6. Double Chocolate Soufflé
There are some of us who believe that if we did not have chocolate for dessert, we didn’t have dessert at all. If you are a diabetic, let that not deter you, go ahead give yourself a treat and discover the sinfully rich taste of chocolate. You can even pair this dessert with fresh fruit to give it a nutritional twist.
Ingredients
- ½ tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 c sugar
- ⅓ c fat-free sour cream
- 1 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 1 logs egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp whole grain pastry flour
- 4 log egg whites, at room temperature
- ⅛ tsp. cream of tartar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8 springform pan with cooking spray. Dust with ½ teaspoon of the cocoa.
Place the chocolate in a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Stir in ¾ cup of the sugar, the sour cream, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla. Stir in the flour and the remaining 3 tablespoons cocoa.
- Put the egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl. Beat until soft peaks form by using an electrical beater. Gradually beat in the remaining ¼ cup sugar until they form stiff, glossy peaks.
- Stir gently about one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining whites until they blend well. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Cool on a rack. The cake will fall as it cools, loosen it from the edges. Gently press down the edge as it cools. Detach from the pan sides and place on a serving plate.
Now is the time to rustle up some easy healthy desserts. If you ignore your sweet cravings, you might end up indulging even more, so capitulate to your cravings sometimes and cook these wonderful dessert recipes for diabetics. You don’t compromise on taste at all, just have a guilt-free, delicious, piquant, and mouth-watering last course. Too temptingly luscious to give it the royal ignore, isn’t it?
Manoja Kalakanti