Six diabetes-friendly sweet treats without artificial sweeteners

More than one in three American adults are prediabetic; over 31 million already live with diabetes. Healthy lifestyle choices are essential to reversing prediabetes and reducing the risk of diabetic complications like heart disease, vision problems, kidney disorders, and nerve damage.

Sadly, all sweets have ramifications for diabetics, but replacing sugar with lab-created artificial sweeteners can introduce other problems. Sweet tastes still register to your system as sugar in various ways, including giving the body some of the same unhealthy messages. And then there’s the weird sweetener aftertaste—that’s not what you’re craving, is it? 

But the good news is that choosing smaller portions less often can make it possible to include dessert in a healthy meal plan. Choose sweetness found in nature in as unrefined a form as possible. Once you give your taste buds a break and time to readjust, you won’t want sugar-laden concoctions anyway. 

And you’re going to want to keep glycemic load, glycemic index, and carbohydrate counts low in the food you eat to help blood sugar stay stable and in range. To help, here are a few recipes that burst with flavor and wonderful textures.

Frozen

Nice Cream! All the ice cream feels without the sugar spiking and lactose-induced digestive issues. Divide The Roasted Root’s Berry Nice Cream into eight portions to stay under 15 grams of carbs.

Chunky Monkey Bites are fast, tasty, and satisfying. Choose a low-sugar dark chocolate to further reduce carbohydrates. Not a chocolate fan? Leave it out. Quick and dirty variation: one banana slice topped with peanut butter, drizzled with chocolate.

Baked

Sweet potatoes are an often-overlooked source of natural sweetness. Sweet Potato Brownies from The Big Man’s World makes six brownies with less than nine carb grams each.

Melt and Cool

Paleo Homemade Heathy Mounds by Tessa the Domestic Diva. Adjust the amount and type of sweetener—coconut nectar, maple syrup, or honey—to your taste and needs. 

Avocados help your body absorb fat-soluble nutrients and moonlight in desserts that need a smooth texture. Try Chocolate Covered Katie’s Avocado Chocolate Mousse recipe—no, really, try it! 

Keep these on hand for when you need a boost or want a satisfying bite: Peanut Butter Oat Energy Balls are a toothsome, portable not-too-sweet snack.

Tasty Takeaway

Managing diabetes and prediabetes doesn’t have to be bleak and flavorless. Pay attention to how much of what types of foods you’re eating and how they make you feel. You’ll gain a much greater understanding of your own health.