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How to Make Your Favorite Dessert Recipes for Diabetes

Many people think that if you’ve got blood sugar issues, it’s time to give up dessert for good. Well, I’ve got good news: you don’t have to stop eating your favorite treats if you have diabetes. That’s right — you can still have the sweet foods you love. Dessert recipes for diabetes simply require that you alter your favorite foods so they don’t send your blood sugar through the roof! 

Eating foods that have a sweet taste might scare you if you have diabetes, I get it. But when it comes to your blood sugar, not all sweet foods are created equal. You can actually continue to enjoy so many of your favorite desserts — all you have  to do is apply a few little tweaks that infuse flavor and nix sugar! Check out this YouTube video that I made on the topic.

Dessert Recipes for Diabetes — Reducing Added Sugar

Most commercial desserts that we buy contain high amounts of added sugar. Added sugars travel directly into your bloodstream and raise your blood glucose levels, which is why they’re a no-no for people with diabetes.

In your most favorite dessert recipes, you can replace added sugar with things like fruit. The best desserts for diabetes include natural ingredients like mashed bananas or pureed prunes which help to reduce that refined sugar, plus they add other important nutrients to your desserts like fiber. On top of all that, using fruit gives your desserts a great texture and helps lower the carb content in them!

I developed a recipe for chocolate chip banana breakfast cookies (though trust me, you’ll want to eat them all day!) that swap table sugar with mashed bananas. These cookies have all the sweetness and ooey gooey cookie texture you’re looking for — without the blood sugar spike. These cookies are also lower in calories than your traditional chocolate chip cookie. Check out the recipe, here!

The Importance of Fiber

Desserts for diabetes should always include one key nutrient: fiber. Fiber is especially important because it helps with blood sugar control. Studies show that eating more fiber may help regulate and lower your blood sugar levels! Fiber slows down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. On top of that, eating more fiber has been found to regulate digestion, and even lower cholesterol!

Less Refined Carbs

Another issue with desserts is that they’re often packed with other harmful ingredients like refined flour. White flour has all of its fiber content removed, and that means it also travels straight into the bloodstream and elevates blood sugar levels. When making your own desserts for diabetes, you can simply swap out white flour for more healthy ingredients like whole grain flour or oats. Using these helps reduce the amount of refined carbs, and again adds in that good-for-you fiber.

If you love those cinnamon rolls from the mall as much as I do, brace yourself. I bet you never thought that you could enjoy one without guilt if you have diabetes! Well — surprise — you can! For this recipe, I switched out plain white flour with fiber-rich, wholegrain rolled oats. Check out how to make my blood-sugar-friendly version, here!

The last secret I want to share with you is how to make diabetes-friendly ice cream. Regular ice cream is typically laden with a lot of added sugar. Instead, you can try freezing your own greek yogurt and adding it to your own frozen dessert recipes for diabetes!

 

Greek yogurt is highly nutritious. It contains gut-boosting probiotic bacteria which may play a role in helping to control your blood sugar. Not only that, but it’s also high in protein which helps stave off hunger and prevent overeating. Greek yogurt usually also contains way less sugar than store-bought ice cream, and it’s just as creamy and delicious! You can choose your favorite flavored varieties to freeze, or blend plain yogurt with your favorite fruit and freeze for a delicious creamy treat perfect for a hot day. Check out how I use greek yogurt to make my own mouth-watering ice cream sandwiches — without the guilt!

For more dessert recipes you can try, check out these low-carb desserts that all nix refined sugar without skimping on sweet, or grab my FREE e-book ‘25 Low Carb Desserts You Can Make in Minutes’ here!