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Did You Know That There Are Low Carb Desserts?

29th February, 2012 - Posted by health news - No Comments

Sugar is one of the foods that people always crave! In fact, we all seem to be biologically predestined to crave it. Sugar was in short supply during prehistoric times, so anytime people came across fruits containing sugar, they gobbled them up like manna from heaven. It is different these days, though. Because of the ready and steady supply of sweets, cakes and the like, we have all the sugar we need. TOO MUCH, actually. Avoiding sugar is now next to impossible.

Low carb diets are designed to avoid sugar and help people lose weight. But don’t you find it excruciatingly hard to turn your back on all those sweet, great-tasting pastries and cookies that you’ve grown up with? That’s why low carb desserts can be so essential for a low carb diet. Instead of grabbing that sugary cookie when you crave desserts, you instead can eat a healthy cookie that contains no sugar but yet is just as fulfilling!

I wouldn’t blame you if you are sitting there with disbelief on your face. Low carb desserts are not a myth; it’s here! They can be eaten any time, anywhere. They can be consumed as snacks during long afternoons at work. The muffins and cookies are easy to make and easy to pack into a ziplock bag or a small container so you’ll never be short of good low carb food. Use ziplock bags or small containers, and you can easily bring them along while travelling. I frequently take low carb snacks with me when I travel.

So where can you get low carb desserts? Desserts and other food items that are reasonably low in carb are now being sold in many places; however, low carb desserts are still a rarity in most stores. Homemade low carb desserts are the way to go then. Aside from putting in a bit more effort in baking and mixing, the recipes are pretty much similar to that of the normal recipes. This will ensure that only the healthy ingredients get into your muffin.

You might wonder, then, how low carb desserts can still be sweet despite not having sugars. The trick is to use artificial sweeteners instead. As an alternative to sugar, honey, and agave, artificial sweeteners are safe and have zero carbohydrates and calories. In baked goods, particularly, you can tell they taste exactly like sugar. The selection of various artificial sweeteners being sold these days is so vast that you won’t have problems about running low on them. A personal favorite is the main ingredient in Splenda, which is called sucralose. It is very easy to use and tastes exactly like sugar. It is safe, as proven by the lack of substantiated health issues related to it. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering it shares very similar chemical structure with sugar.

Flour cannot be used in baking low carb desserts; that is why there is a need for a few different ingredients. Coconut flour and flaxseed meal are often used as alternatives. Low carb dieters sing their praises for coconut. This great-tasting low carb fruit also contains healthy fats. Coconut milk and desiccated coconut shreds are also common ingredients in low carb baking as they taste great and are low carb. Similarly, another good and healthy addition to your baked goodies are nuts. Do not be surprised when you see the many cookies and chips nowadays made from almond or peanut butter.