Who Wants Dessert?

For the past six months I’ve attempted to overcome this massive sweet tooth that I’ve had for as long as I can remember. When I was young, not unlike most kids, I would milk my parents for as many sweets as I could get. In my teenage years I fed my cravings with Mountain Dew, skittles, ice cream, and plenty of other junk that is oh so irresistible at that age. Through college and most of the years following, I toned it down a bit with the idea that anything in moderation was “ok.” I concentrated largely on cutting out fat, meat, and general caloric consumption but didn’t realize that sugar was by far the most damaging food I was eating. I lived off of 100 calorie snack packs, granola bars, breakfast cereals, and other sugar filled processed foods. Several times a month I would indulge in one of those huge ice cream sundaes topped with candy and fudge. After a while I started to notice the negative effect these foods had on my body. It wasn’t until I began pouring myself into nutrition research that I realized exactly how much sugar I was consuming on a regular basis and just how bad it was for my body.

Sugar, Insulin, and the Body

It’s important to understand how sugar affects the human body. It’s especially important if you are someone with PCOS (like me) or if you have another disease that is strongly affected by insulin response and blood sugar surges. At the heart and soul of PCOS, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes is insulin resistance. Many medical practitioners refer to insulin resistance as “pre-diabetes.” Personally, I don’t care for that title as I think many patients misinterpret this title as a diagnosis of diabetes itself. This is not the case and it’s vital to understand that insulin resistance can be managed and even reversed. To put it simply, insulin’s job is to carry glucose (sugar) to the cells where it is used for energy. Each time a person eats a sugar-containing food, insulin levels surge to remove the glucose from the blood to store it for future use. As this cycle is repeated more and more frequently, insulin receptors slow in their response time. This leads to increased glucose in the bloodstream and causes energy levels to decrease since the insulin receptors are no longer responding to convert glucose into energy. A person in this scenario will become fatigued (along with a host of other symptoms) and actually crave more food, usually in the form of sugar. Eating food will give the person a brief feeling of relief until the cycle repeats itself again. Eventually this can lead to type 2 diabetes, a permanent condition in which the body can no longer manufacture insulin. Insulin resistance is often a condition which a person encourages within their own body, making it both preventable and manageable for many people.

Since learning about the importance of cutting back on the sugar in my diet, I’m much more aware of foods that contain sugar, what types of sugar they contain, and how they will affect my body. I find it quite easy to consume very little sugar on a daily basis since I cook most of my meals using a whole foods approach. But I certainly haven’t cut out all sugar; that would be pretty darn hard and not much fun for my palate! For years I’ve had the terrible habit of consistently following dinner with something sweet even if I am not hungry. It’s been hard for me to break this habit completely since I think it’s somewhat of a “Pavlov’s dog” response with me. Eat dinner = get dessert! And I doubt I’m the only one out there struggling with this issue.

I don’t think it’s terrible to have a sweet treat every once in a while. Heck, I still have one several times a week, but nothing like the monster ice cream sundaes I used to eat. I’ve discovered a few satisfying alternatives to the huge desserts many of us have become accustomed to. Enjoy!

Coconut milk ice cream

I like the Coconut Bliss and Purely Decadent brands. These brands have very few ingredients, especially in the vanilla and chocolate flavors, and are sweetened using agave syrup (definitely not the best sweetener, but not the worst either). They are also soy-free and dairy-free, making them a good option for those who may otherwise be unable to eat ice cream. Vanilla and chocolate flavors are also lower in sugar content than the other flavors. I have yet to find an ice cream actually made from cream that has as little sugar as coconut milk ice cream. The down side to the coconut milk ice cream is that it’s very expensive. One pint costs between $4 and $5 dollars. I’ve found Purely Decadent frequently goes on sale, so I purchase it more often than the Coconut Bliss. Even on sale it’s pretty costly, so, Dave and I don’t eat a lot and only buy about a pint every week or two. For dessert, I’ll eat a few spoonfuls and sometimes add a little nut butter or berries on top to make it an extra tasty treat. Better yet, if you have an ice cream maker, try making your own ice cream.

Custards and Claufoutis

These desserts can be made easily with few ingredients and don’t need much sweetener. Just the other night I made a strawberry claufouti based on a recipe from the Primal Blueprint Cookbook. The ingredients I used for my claufouti filled two pie plates and only needed about three tablespoons of maple syrup as a sweetener. Be cautious though, as most traditional recipes call for white sugar, so try making your own recipe using maple syrup or honey, or do a quick internet search for low-sugar custard recipes.

Plain, full fat yogurt with fruit, honey, nuts, and cinnamon

I’ve mentioned this combination in previous posts and it just never gets old! Yogurt makes a great snack and adding a few items can really ramp it up to dessert level. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even need honey in my yogurt anymore; the fruit alone is enough sugar for me. Just make sure you’re getting a good quality plain yogurt, preferably full fat with no added sweeteners.

Dark chocolate

Need I say more? I like the Endangered Species Extreme Dark Chocolate (88% cocoa). Typically, higher cocoa content means less sugar. And, dark chocolate is usually more filling than milk chocolate varieties. The down side to this brand is that it does have some soy in it and it’s on the pricey side ($2.50 for a 3 oz. bar), but I don’t find myself eating more than half a bar a week, so it does the trick for me.

Cheesecake

This is something I have yet to experiment with on a paleo/primal level. I have made a gluten- free cheesecake using almond meal for the crust instead of graham crackers and it was delicious. There are plenty of sugar-free and low-sugar cheesecake recipes online and combining that with a gluten-free crust would be delicious. I’ll save that for a future post!

Nut Butter

I highly recommend making your own nut butter since most brands do not soak and dehydrate nuts to deactivate enzyme inhibitors. Doing so will increase the nutrient content of the nuts and also ease digestion. It’s easy to make nut butter – simply grind the nuts in a food processor. Sally Fallon has an excellent recipe for sweeter nut butter in her Nourishing Traditions cookbook.

Smoothies

I posted a basic smoothie recipe last week and suggested it as a post-workout snack. Smoothies are great for snacks or breakfast, but they can also make an awesome dessert! Start with the basic recipe: 1 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tbsp nut butter. After that, add whatever fruit you like and if you need to sweeten it up a little bit, add a touch of honey.

Plain ol’ fruit

This is about as primal as you can get!