On Valentine’s Day when your friends are indulging in all kinds of sweets, you may be feeling left out if you don’t indulge and guilty when you do. But don’t worry, these diabetic-friendly Valentine’s Day treats will remove the guilt or the envy you may feel on such occasions.
The trick is to find diabetic-friendly recipes with healthy, sugar-free ingredients you can use as substitutes. This first recipe is for Chocolate-covered Strawberries. If you love strawberries and you love chocolate, this recipe will be a hit.
These are the ingredients you will need:
- Chocolate chips (16 ounces) – substitute dark chocolate for milk or white chocolate
- Shortening (2 tbsps) – ensures a smooth, shiny finish but you can use coconut oil instead.
- Strawberries (1 pound) and toothpicks for dipping the strawberries into the chocolate. Keep the leaves on to make them look pretty.
Method
- Melt the chocolate and shortening (or coconut oil) together. stirring until smooth.
- Insert toothpick into the stem end of the strawberry and dip it into the chocolate, coating it thoroughly.
- Place on wax paper and leave to cool.
Sugar-free cookies
Sometimes you can’t find sugar-free cookies in the store. You can easily make your own with this diabetic-friendly recipe, and you can add any of your favorites — peanut butter, dark chocolate chips, oatmeal — whatever pleases you.
Since it’s Valentine’s I chose this Paleo Coconut Dark Chocolate Cookies recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup almond butter, softened
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 1/2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix almond flour, shredded coconut, and coconut flour together in a bowl.
- Beat egg in a large bowl. Beat almond butter, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla extract into the egg until dough is smooth.
- Stir chocolate chips into dough and mix until just combined. Scoop dough into walnut-sized balls and place 1-inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake for about 10 mins.
- Note: These cookies keep their round shape. They do not melt down like regular cookies. This helps to keep them soft on the inside.
Basic Crepes
Want something that’s diabetic-friendly and a little different for breakfast on Valentine’s Day? How about a crepe? This thin pancake is easy to make, contains no sugar and you can fill it with your favorite fruit, cream cheese, or you can even add meat and/or veggies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsps butter melted
Below are two types of non-stick cookware — a frying pan and a griddle — that will be perfect for making your crepe.
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Method
- Whisk flour and eggs together in a large mixing bowl; gradually add in milk and water, stirring to combine. Add salt and melted butter; beat until smooth.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crêpe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly
- Cook until the top of the crêpe is no longer wet and the bottom has turned light brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Run a spatula around the edge of the skillet to loosen the crêpe; flip and cook until the other side has turned light brown, about 1 minute more. Serve hot.
If these diabetic-friendly desserts don’t satisfy, you can always use dark chocolate, sugar-free candy or your favorite fruit. Happy Valentine!
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