A Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Chocolate Treat, Just in Time for Valentines Day

Sugar-Free Chocolate Treats that Are Good for your Diet Plan

Not all sugar-free treats are created equal, and these sugar-free chocolate treats are the perfect healthy indulgence for anyone trying to eat healthier. Made with just a few ingredients including chocolate chips or melted Lily’s candy bar, coconut cream, and some macadamia nut, this recipe is a great alternative to sugary desserts that won’t disrupt your diet plan. Try it today, and you’ll soon be enjoying an irresistibly sweet chocolate treat every day!

One of the biggest misconceptions about healthy eating

One of the biggest misconceptions about healthy eating is that all your favorite treats need to be eliminated.  It just isn’t true.  But in many cases, they might need to be reimagined to include the healthiest ingredients possible. With the right recipes and ingredients, you can make delicious meals that still promote good health. You don’t have to sacrifice taste in order to get healthy! There’s no better example than these sugar-free chocolate treats.

I love the challenge and look forward to showing clients how easy this can be in my Body Freedom Nutrition Lab, Healing Kitchen Show – especially when members submit their holiday favorites and give me a shot at reworking them.

I always qualify what I’m doing by reminding people I can almost always get very close to mimicking the taste, but texture can be tricky because I never use any type of flour. Whether a nut flour, coconut, or any other gluten-free flour, if it is in a fine, processed form, it will be quickly broken down and absorbed by the body. This inevitably leads to a significant spike in blood sugar.  It’s just not worth it to me, especially when there are ways around it.

One particular recipe I am really happy with is my healthy version of cannoli.  It’s rich and delicious with zero gluten, sugar or dairy.

If you want to start from scratch, try my crepes recipe.  If you would prefer to buy pre-made wraps, I mention some of my favorite brands.

You can find a variety of forms to help shape the cannoli on Amazon, or just roll them by hand. Either way works.

The non-dairy, coconut cream makes a delicious filling and the chocolate-flavored cashew macadamia nut cheese adds the perfect balance of richness.  If you prefer not to use the nut cheese, melted Lily's chocolate chips or candy bar is a quick, easy replacement. 

What I love about my cannoli recipe (besides its deliciousness) is how it helps people better understand they don’t have to sacrifice their nutritional goals to a load of sugar, gluten, dairy, and highly processed foods every time they want a satisfying treat.

It’s just as important to find balance within a whole-foods, plant-based diet as any other. Even when putting health first, there’s a place for foods that are rich and delicious and yes, maybe even a little naughty.

This is not a low-calorie recipe. Should it get a free pass just because it’s the whole food, plant-based? Absolutely not. Can you eat too much too often if you aren’t careful? Absolutely. But the point is there are options. You don’t have to turn to Peanut M & M’s or Ben and Jerry’s every time you want something rich and sweet.

Optimal health does not have to be about deprivation. It’s about education, personal preferences, and having options.

Add my cannoli recipe to your arsenal. Share it and enjoy, knowing it is supporting your best health.

Cannoli 

Ingredients: 

• Coconut wraps, cut in fourths ( or use my crepe recipe)
• Coconut Cream (recipe below)
• 1/4 cup Cashew Macadamia Nut Cheese (recipe below)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 2/3 dropper chocolate stevia 
• Optional: Use melted Lily’s Chocolate Chips or melted Lily’s candy bar to replace chocolate sauce 

Directions: 

1. Cut coconut wraps into quarters
2. Roll coconut wraps diagonally around cannoli mold and use a tiny bit of the Cashew Macadamia Nut Cheese to help it hold. Let sit. Alternatively, roll coconut wraps after filling them diagonally down the middle, using a tiny bit of the cheese to hold it together. 
3. Fill wraps with Coconut Cream. 
4. For a chocolate topping, blend 1/4 cup Cashew Macadamia Nut Cheese, cacao, and chocolate stevia in Vitamix. Place it in pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with a small hole cut in the corner. 
5. Drizzle it over the top of the cannoli. 
6. If you prefer, you can drizzle the melted Lily’s Chocolate Chips or melted Lily’s candy bar to replace the chocolate sauce above.

Whipped Cream 

Ingredients: 

• 1 can coconut milk, refrigerated overnight. 
• 1 dropper vanilla stevia 

Directions: 

1. Refrigerate a mixing bowl to chill 
2. Take the coconut milk out of the refrigerator right before making. 
3.  Scoop out the hardened coconut cream and put into the chilled bowl. Pour the coconut water into a separate storage container and use that in a future smoothie recipe.
4. Using a hand mixer, fluff up the coconut cream for one minute. 
5. Add your sweetener of choice and vanilla extract and mix for an additional minute to form peaks.

Cashew Macadamia Nut Cheese 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup cashews 
• 1 cup macadamia nuts 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt 

Directions: 

1. Blend cashews, macadamia nuts, and water in Vitamix. 
2.  Add lemon juice and salt. 
3. Blend in Vitamix.

Enjoy this recipe and let me know what you think.  I love to see variations!

For more recipes like this, and a lot more, our Body Freedom Nutrition Lab is the place to visit.