Peanut Butter Carob Chip Cookie Dough...Yes, It's sugar free!

 

 Being on such a restricted diet where I can't even eat fruit makes it difficult to really satisfy my sweet tooth. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love sweets. I do have to say, with all the restrictions, it forces me to be much more creative in my dessert making abilities. As always, I was browsing through foodgawker last night before going to bed. I came across a post from Chocolate Covered Katie. It was for No Sugar Cookie Dough Dip. I read through the recipe but it called for dates. Since I always like to alter recipes anyway I figured I would try to make a variation sans the dates. This morning after I got home from work and made some yummy breakfast tacos, I started thinking about that cookie dough again. Time for another experiment in my kitchen... these are my favorite ways to pass time. Being just an experiment, the recipe does not have exact measurements. Here it is if anyone would like to try it.

Peanut Butter Carob Chip Cookie Dough

Approx 3/4 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

3 Tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

Scant 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt and pinch of baking soda

3 Tablespoons almond milk

About a dropper full of liquid stevia

Blend in food processor until smooth. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times.

Transfer into a bowl and fold in about a handful of unsweetened carob chips.

Enjoy right away or place the fridge.

I did both... I'm saving the rest for later.

My breakfast tacos... These were seriously good.

Buckwheat Carob Pancakes

 A few weeks ago Amber told me about foodgawker. I was familiar with craftgawker, but one dedicated to food? I was in love the first time I set my eyes on this site. All the photos are so beautiful and everything looks delicious. I have the app on my phone now so before bed I find myself browsing though all the yummy goodness, getting inspired... and hungry. I've been drawn to posts from The Healthy Foodie. Black Forest pancakes and chocolate cherry buckwheat bake. I love how she likes to indulge (but in a healthy way) for breakfast. Her photos are lovely to look at as well. I really like her styling. I woke up this morning craving pancakes after reading her latest post last night. I'm always trying to create new recipes for pancakes so I tried making a blend with almond and coconut flour. It was an epic fail. After rinsing all my dishes I used the recipe I usually work with.

3 tablespoons buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon ground flax

Enough almond milk to give the batter a semi-runny consistency.

(These pancakes are not fluffy. They come out more like thick crepes.)

To make these pancakes decadent, I added 1 tablespoon carob powder and a few drops of liquid stevia to the batter.

I topped them with peanut butter and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. For the syrup, I mixed cinnamon flax oil and agave syrup together. They were so yummy.

Sugar Free Desserts are Possible

When people are faced with certain health issues, it's imperative to avoid foods that will proliferate their condition.  For some, this can be the hardest thing. Many people resort to foods that are convenient... not paying any attention to what they are putting in their bodies. When told they must avoid these foods, they are clueless on what to eat. This is how I felt two years ago when I was told I had a sensitivity to soy and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of yeast. Also having candida, I had to give up sugars. My diet was healthy at the time except for all the sweets I was eating. Desserts are my favorite. When I look at menus online for restaurants I want to try, the dessert section is where my eyes wander first. Okay, I needed to follow a diet free of yeast, sugar, and soy. The yeast seemed easy to avoid but the soy and sugar not so easy. These are two ingredients that are added to what seems like everything. 

Stevia and yacon syrup became my two new favorite ingredients. I needed to get my sweet fix somehow and these two alternative sweeteners made it possible. Many know about stevia but yacon syrup isn't that commonly used. The only place I've found it is at Whole Foods or online. Yacon contains a healthy type of sugar called fructooligosacharides or FOS. It is not digested by the body so it doesn't spike blood glucose levels, making it safe for diabetics, people with candida overgrowth, or even people who just want to watch their weight.

As of now I can include small amounts of soy into my diet. I've been on and off sugars for the past two years and recently went sugar free again. I do feel so much better eating this way and it allows me to be much more creative in what I prepare for myself.  When you can't have sweets all you want is something sweet, right? Which brings me to the photo above. The other night after dinner all I wanted was something sweet. I'm a sucker for cookie dough so I've been playing around with different variations. I based the idea off this recipe found on spark recipes. I love the idea of this recipe because it's the perfect portion size and you won't be tempted to overindulge. Here's my most recent variation.

Gluten free Sugar free cookie dough

2 heaping Tbsp blanched almond flour

2 tsp yacon syrup

1tsp grapeseed oil

1 tsp soy free Earth Balance

pinch of salt

a few drops of vanilla extract

mix everything together and you have a delicious cookie dough. 

I topped this with a little bit of peanut butter and unsweetened carob chips. It was just like eating a chocolate chip peanut butter cookie.