Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Dessert

Sugar-Free Recipe Ideas

By

First off, thank you to all the brave soldiers who gave their lives fighting for our country. I hope you are all have a great Memorial Day, too. If you are barbecuing for Memorial Day, are you using this sugar-free BBQ sauce?

Secondly-Recipes!

The Sugar-Free Challenge is only two days away! Click HERE to sign up if you have not already done so. Are you stuck on ideas for what to eat during the challenge? All of my recipes in the Recipe tab above are sugar-free. Also, just try sticking to these main food groups: fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains, and meat (unless you are a vegetarian).

I am not the only one who posts sugar-free recipes, though. There are so many great bloggers out there who have great sugar-free, recipes, too! Here are some you will want to try:

Whole Wheat or Bust’s Sweet Potato-Quinoa-Pecan Tamales.

Happy Healthy Mama’s Mango and Avocado Coleslaw

Chocolate Covered Katie’s Raw Chocolate Mint (Spinach) Ice Cream

She also has a whole section of her blog dedicated to sugar-free recipes. Check it out HERE.

Little Miss Healthify’s Oat Flour Muffins

Choosing Raw’s Wall of Green Soup

Heather Eats Almond Butter’s Unsweetened Chocolate Oaties

Healthful Pursuit’s Comforting Baked Mac n’ Cheese with Bacon (Dairy & Gluten-Free)

Kat’s Health Corner’s Single Lady Banana Cream Pie

Snacking Squirrel’s Pumpkin Millet Crackers 

Pure2Raw’s Raw Carob Crepes

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you know any other great sugar-free recipes? Please include a link to your favorites in the comment section below!

Quick Vegan Milkshake

By

Hello Everyone!

I am still on the road, but here is a great, quick Vegan milkshake that tastes creamy and rich. I have posted this recipe before on a guest post on Whole Wheat or Bust, but here it is again for those of you who missed it.

Healthy Vegan Chocolate Milkshake

~This milkshake is dairy-free, sugar-free, vegan, and is a wonderful treat for summer!

Serves 1

  • 1/3 cup raw cashews
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

First, blend the cashews with equal parts water until it is smooth and makes a thick nut milk. Then, add banana, cocoa powder, and vanilla (if using), and blend until smooth. Add more water to create desired consistency. (I like my milkshakes nice and thick, so I don’t usually add much more water.) Enjoy!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

Right now, I LOVE Katie’s Chocolate Chip Mint Milkshake.  I am the BIGGEST fan of chocolate mint-combo.

Don’t Forget:

Sign up for the Sugar-Free Challenge HERE. I hope a whole bunch of you try the challenge of going sugar-free for 10 days!

Happy Birthday Pudder!

By

Yesterday (May Day!) Was my sweet doggy’s 10th birthday 🙂 What a big day! Therefore, I made him a cake out of his favorite ingredients: apples and peanut butter.

Hold on Alex, I thought peanut butter was your favorite food.

You’re right. It is. He’s a smart dog.

Birthday Boy!

Print
Doggy Apple Peanut Butter Cake

Doggy Apple Peanut Butter Cake

~This cake is made especially for your special pup. However, I must say it tastes pretty darn good for humans, too.

Ingredients

  • 1 apple
  • 4 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup brown rice flour (or flour of choice. I chose brown rice because there is brown rice in his dog food)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375*.
  2. Shred the apples into tiny pieces and mix with peanut butter, flour, and baking powder. Then add water and mix.
  3. Pour batter into a lightly greased mini-loaf pan or muffin tins. Feel free to use whatever shape you want. Bake for 20 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
  4. I decorated the cake with an extra apple slice (dipped in lemon juice to prevent discoloring) cut into the shape of a bone. Then I wrote his name in more peanut butter!
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/05/02/happy-birthday-pudder/

He attacked the cake! Literally! It was gone in 2 seconds!
 
Happy Birthday, Pudder! I love you!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you have pets? If so, do you feed them “human food?”

I don’t feed Pudder human food that often, but I will give him my apple core when I am done eating my apple. He loves it. I will also fill is bone with peanut butter occasionally. He is an apple-loving, peanut butter-snarfing dog!

***** I am going to be out of town next week, so would any of you be interested in doing a guest post? Blogger or not, I would love to get some fresh articles on my blog while I am gone!

I’m in Love

By

With peanut butter and chocolate.

One of my first recipes on this blog was a Butter Cup recipe made with coconut oil. While that recipe is still rather tasty, nothing is better than straight up peanut butter and chocolate. This is better (and better for you!) than Reese’s.

Print
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

~Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker's chocolate. Found in the baking aisle)
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (Check to make sure your peanut butter does not have added sugar or hydrogenated oils)
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy milk or water

Instructions

  1. First, line a muffin pan with liners.
  2. Then, melt the chocolate on low temperature until melted.
  3. Fill the bottom of each muffin with a smear of melted chocolate and spread the chocolate on the sides. Freeze for five minutes or until solid.
  4. Whip the peanut butter with the non-dairy milk or water until fluffy. Put a little dollop into each muffin pan. Then, top with extra melted chocolate and freeze for another five minutes or until chocolate solidifies.
  5. Take off the liners and Enjoy!
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/04/28/im-in-love/

 

 

 

 

Health Benefits

  • Chocolate: Click HERE for a post I did about all the benefits of chocolate.
  • Peanuts: These legumes are full of protein with 7g per ounce. They also have a great monounsaturated fat content that helps your heart and brain. Peanut is a good source of Coenzyme Q10 which protects the heart during the period of lack of oxygen example high altitudes and clogged arteries. It also has a high antioxidant and high niacin content that helps in the recovery of cell damage and provides protection against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive problem.
Totally in Love.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What are you lovin’ right at this very second. Answer quick!

Also, Congratulations to Lori from Pure2Raw for her recent engagement! You are going to be a beautiful bride 🙂

Happy Easter!

By

Happy Easter Everyone! The Easter Bunny hopped on over my way with some tempting peanut butter…

Remember I gave it up for lent? Now I am reunited with my beloved, spreadable, creamy friend.

PEANUT BUTTER!!!
If Elvis Liked Chocolate Bites
Chocolate Banana Cream Pie with Chocolate Peanut Butter Crust
Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Chocolate-Peanut Truffles

I need to catch up on some peanut butter recipe experiments!

Have a great Easter, everyone! What are you doing to celebrate? 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
— John 3:16 NIV

Carob is Not Chocolate

By

But it is rather tasty nonetheless.

My first recipe with carob started with the Healthy 7-Layer Bar. I decided that I love the taste of carob then and there. When I saw my local health food store also sold unsweetened carob in powder form, I had to buy it!

To me, carob has a rich butterscotch taste. It is extremely sweet (of course, my sweet buds are rather sensitive) without adding sugar. Some say it has a tootsie-roll taste. I don’t know. I just like it. Don’t take my word for it, though, go buy some yourself and make some yummy carob recipes!

My first experiment with carob powder turned out wonderfully. I took my Bitter Chocolate Cake for One and simply substituted carob for the cocoa powder. Yum. This cake is no longer bitter!

Flourless Carob Cake for One

~This cake is meant to serve one person, but feel free to double, triple or quadruple the recipe. The cake is gluten free, grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and, of course, sugar-free!

Serves 1

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup carob powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of squash puree, like pumpkin, sweet potato, or butternut squash
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • water

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all of the above ingredients together. Then add a splash of water until it reaches the consistency of a thick pudding. Pour batter into a mini bread pan or a muffin tin (It makes about 4 muffins). Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I actually substituted almond butter for the squash in this cake (because I was out of squash puree!). It made a more dense and rich cake. Reminds me of a brownie....mmmm....

More Ideas: Try mixing in nuts, dried fruit, or carob chips! Add a little almond or coconut extract for extra flavor.

Or make a delectable strawberry and cream stack! I baked the cake in a mini loaf and cut it into 3 pieces. Then, I stacked it with strawberries and topped it with coconut cream!

Each gargantuan cake is only about 115 calories.

Carob Health Benefits: Unlike chocolate, carob contains no caffeine and it contains a number of nutrients, including vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D. It also contains a good dose of Pectin that helps to eliminate toxins from the body.

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you like carob? Have you ever tried it?

When I was younger I tried a bite of those carob energy nuggets, and I didn’t like. Consequently, I didn’t think I liked carob. Boy am I glad I tried it again!