If you’ve made the shift from sugary foods to wholesome ones, ditched the white pasta for wholewheat and swapped your sugary cereals for organic eggs and veggies, you may be wondering how to get a sweet fix without sacrificing your health efforts.
I regularly put groups of people through 30 day programs to help them transform their diets, increase their energy and kick their cravings. They lose weight in the process and feel fabulous. Most of them ask me how they can get sweet foods back into their diet afterwards without reverting back to their old habits of being addicted to sugary foods and suffering from the resulting mood swings, energy dips and weight gain.
Once you’ve got to grips with your sugar addiction, you can mindfully introduce healthy sweet treats back into your diet in moderation. With everything you eat, ask yourself if it’s doing you good and supporting your wellness journey, or if it’s sending you into a downward spiral of blood sugar dysfunction.
Sweet treats don’t have to be unhealthy. Choose natural sweeteners, quality wholesome ingredients and ideally a protein added to buffer the glucose load. And always eat them in small portions and not on a daily basis.
11 healthy sweet treats
- 1-2 squares of quality dark chocolate
- Baked apples with xylitol, wild honey or coconut sugar, dried fruits and raw nuts
- Grilled fruits with a sprinkle of cinnamon, a little xylitol, honey or coconut sugar, served with organic natural yogurt
- Berry ice cream: Blend together a bag of frozen berries with natural, organic yogurt to make instant ice cream
- Chocolate-dipped fruit and nuts: melt some quality dark chocolate into a bowl. Drop in some non-sulphur dried apricots, raw Brazil nuts and almonds and stir to coat. Transfer to a baking tray and leave to harden. Store in the fridge
- Medjool dates stuffed with nut butter: add a dollop of almond butter inside the dates
- Chocolate nut clusters: melt 100g of quality dark chocolate in a small pan with 1tsp coconut oil. Stir in 175g mixed unsalted nuts and seeds. Spoon into little paper cases and let set in the fridge
- Healthy fruit crumble: put a handful of oats, a variety of unsalted nuts and seeds and a little desiccated coconut into a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pile over warm stewed or poached fruit and place under a grill until golden or bubbling on top. Alternatively put the topping in a frying pan and toast until golden before sprinkling over fresh fruit and yogurt
- Pan fried figs: melt some coconut oil in a frying pan and fry some fresh halved figs on a low heat until they start to colour. Sprinkle over some xylitol or a drizzle of raw honey and splash with a dash of apple juice until it’s become bubbly and syrupy. Serve with organic natural yogurt
- Trail mix: mix together a variety of raw nuts and seeds with some dried fruit. Add coconut flakes and goji berries. Store in an airtight container and take with you in small pots or resealable bags
- Homemade halva: Blend a cup of tahini with a cup of dried dates or raisins to form a stiff paste. Press mixture into a shallow baking-paper-lined tray and chill in the fridge until firm. You may also add cacao powder or chopped nuts to the mixture before setting
If you’d like to learn more about kicking your sugar cravings, visit the 30 Day Body Reset Program
Article by Jo Rowkins, nutritional therapist at Awakening Health.