He runs inside of us with his little reptilian feet. His energy is like the Tasmanian devil and he curls his three-fingered hand and bangs inside of us to just eat. If you’ve ever had a craving that has literally taken over, you’ll know what I mean. Some of us crave salt, sugar, creaminess or carbs like pasta and bread and when those need strikes, almost nothing will stop it. So today, I thought I’d focus on creaminess and sugar, because I can almost bet that even the salt cravers out there will appreciate today’s post.
Sugar free dessert recipes can be delicious and today, I’m serving up the goods.
You may not know this but estimates suggests that in Westernized countries 25-35% of the population have a degree of insulin resistance (although I’d beg to say that figure is higher).(1) What does this mean? Well, if you continually eat loads of carbs, pasta, sugar and drink excessive amounts of alcohol (more than four glasses weekly), then you run the risk of developing insulin resistance. Your body will continually pump out insulin from the pancreas not realizing when enough is enough. And insulin is your fat storage hormone – the last thing we want especially if you’re looking to lose weight. Plus, researchers found that blood sugar on the high end of normal accounted for 6 to 10 percent of brain shrinkage. (2) That’s right, too much sugar will actually shrink your brain and yes, even pack on the pounds. Now do I have your attention?
And while polycystic ovarian cyst sufferers (PCOS) are queens at being insulin resistant, I believe that most of the population is right there with them. Crave just a bit of sweet after a meal? Want to run over squirrels just to have a glass of wine after work? Or even find yourself bingeing? Chances are, you’re likely insulin-resistant as well. The key to overcoming it, is a multi-faceted approach of eating foods high in protein and fat – and remember fat does not make you fat, sugar does. And here’s a brand-spanking new recipe that will be a new addition in my ovarian cyst and PCOS program coming up:
ALMOND COCONUT PROTEIN SQUARES
2 cups almond butter
½ cup coconut oil
2 scoops chocolate protein powder of your choice
3/4 cup almond meal
¼ cup chia seeds
2 tsp stevia liquid
¼ tsp sea salt
Toppings: 3 tbsp hemp seeds + 3 unsweetened coconut flakes
Combine all ingredients together and spread into a small corningware dish (roughly 6”x 3”). Top with hemp seeds + 3 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes. Freeze, remove and let thaw slightly to cut into bars. You’ll need it to thaw a little longer to wedge each bar out. They may crumble a little bit but they’re incredibly delicious anyway.
This recipe was inspired by my pre & post-workout recipe I created on my segment on The Social and I thought it would be excellent for those of you who are looking for a great dessert that won’t pack on the pounds and will instead keep you nice and full.
Enjoy!
xo
Melissa
PS. Looking for more ways to cope with PCOS? Click here to download my Free PCOS Guide now!