Sweet Treats

Going G2F doesn't mean saying goodbye to sweets, even baked goodies. I have a fairly serious sweet tooth, and while I am seriously restricting my sugar exposure, I know that the key to any sucessful life change involves incorporating habits you can actually keep. Swearing off sugar completely, isn't reasonable for me at this point. I can get rid of artificial sweetners, and I was never one for diet beverages, so refined sugar is the area I really have to work at. The first step was tossing out the white stuff. That was easy enough to do, but the question was, how do I make my baked goods sweet? I am a big fan of honey, and it can serve it's purposes, but it is not the most frugal choice. Besides, it does a lovely job of hiking up your blood sugar quickly. I have settled upon Xylitol and Agave nectar. Not too thrilled about Xylitol because the name sounds odd and some how artificial, so I am being careful with it. Also, it causes a bit of a cooling sensation on the tongue, which isn't always desirable. At any rate, Below are two great recipes.

Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Normally people only associate this treat with Valentine's Day or Mother's day, but neither of those holidays actually falls during strawberry season. The strawberries are never as sweet, so they kind of need all of the confectionary coatings people subject them to in order to taste good. Chocolate covered strawberries should be a summer treat, when the berries themselves can actually provide all the necessary sweetness. Instead of white chocolate and milk chocolate, which are the two most commonly used coatings, I am going with dark chocolate. Use the darkest possible chocolate to control the amount of sugar. If you're doing this when strawberries are in season, they should be sweet enough to comfortably allow you to use 70% or more cacao content without it being too bitter. Flax seeds add a nutritional punch. If you love your honey, you want them healthy!

Strawberries (make sure they are ripe and in season! organic if possilbe!)
Dark dark chocolate chips
Olive Oil
Flax Seeds (whole or ground)


1.) Place the chocolate in a microwavable bowl, add 1 T oil per 1/2 cup of chocolate.
2.) Microwave for a minute. Stir. Microwave at 15 second intervals until all chocolate is melted and shiny.
3.) Wash the strawberries and dry them extremely well. Absolutely no water can be on the berries! Place a wax paper on a plate or cookie sheet.
4.) Roll the strawberries in the chocolate, coating well. If they have been properly dried, the chocolate will stick.
5.) lay the strawberries in rows on the wax paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the flax seeds.
6.) Put the coated strawberries in the refridgerator and allow the chocolate to set. Enjoy!

Pairs well with a nice dark roast coffee, espresso or a lovely robust, red wine.


Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 cups almond meal
1/4 coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup Xylitol
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/3 cup melted butter
2 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1.5 cups dark chocolate chips (the darkest you can find)

Preheat oven to 350 and line a pan with parchment paper.

1.) Whisk together almond meal, coconut flour, xylitol, flax seeds and baking soda in large bowl.
2.) In medium bowl, mix eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Pour into the flour mixture.
3.) Add chocolate chips and stir until just combined.
4.) drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Flatten slightly.
5.) Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Since each oven is different, I would check the cookies at 7 or 8 minutes.
6.) Cool on wire wrack. Cookies should be soft and slightly chewy. They will look a bit darker than their wheaty counterparts.