No matter how much restraint you have, it feels SO hard to experience a sweet tooth without a healthy and satiating treat on hand. These Gluten and sugar free treats are continually stocked in my fridge just for those moments. While they are not a low-calorie treat, they are sugar free and are much lower in calories than the “regular” alternatives.
Almond Joy is one of my all-time favorite candy bar, and this is the closest replacement I have found. Think about this: an almond joy bar has 234 calories, 29 grams of carbs, and 25 grams of sugar. These healthy Coconut Delights only have 175 calories per bar, 2 grams carbs and 0 grams of sugar. If a craving is going to make you crack, make the choice to indulge in the dessert that will support your weight loss goals, not crush them.
Why skip the real thing?
In addition to derailing you weight loss goals and progress, indulging your sugar cravings with the “real deal” may have numerous negative impacts on your health. Here is a short list of a few of the effects sugar has on the body.
- Not only inhibits weight loss, but will cause weight gain
- Causes visceral fat (tummy fat) accumulation
- Increases risk of heart disease
- Has been linked to acne
- Increases your risk of Type II Diabetes
- May increase risk of cancer
- Many increase risk of depression
- May accelerate the skin aging process
- Can increase cellular aging
- Drains your energy (spikes in blood sugar followed by sugar “crash”)
- Can lead to fatty liver
By keeping your sugar and carb intake to a minimum (less than 30g carbs and try to avoid all added sugars), your body will begin to burn fat instead of the sugars you are adding to your body. Once ingested, sugar/glucose will be broken down first by your body, taking away the focus from burning the fat you are working hard to lose. AND, any “extra” glucose will be stored as fat for future use. By keeping healthy alternatives on hand for any cravings that might come up, you can avoid the temptation of eating foods that move you farther from your goal rather than closer.
Low-Carb Coconut Delights
Equipment
Ingredients
Gluten Free Cookie Base
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- 1 tbsp Coconut Flour
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
- 1 Egg Beaten
- 1 tbsp Melted Butter
Butter Sauce
- ½ cup Half and Half
- 10 tbsp Butter
- ⅓ cup Erythritol
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 drops Liquid Stevia
Coconut Topping
- 1 cup Unsweetened Coconut
- 1 cup Chopped Pecans
- 1.5 cups Lily's Dark Chocolate Chips
Instructions
Gluten Free Cookie Base
- Preheat Oven to 300°
- Line muffin tin with liners
- In a large bowl, mix almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt
- Add beaten egg and melted butter
- Mix with a wooden spoon until blended togehter into a dough consistency
- Roll dough into 24-1" balls and place in the bottom of each muffin liner
- Press dough to flatten evenly and fill the bottom of each liner
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown
- Set aside to cool
Butter Sauce
- Increase oven temp to 350°
- Melt butter in a pot over medium heat on the stove
- Add Erythritol and bring to a soft boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly
- Remove from heat and add additional ingredients
- Carefully spoon 1 tsp of sauce over each "cookie"
- Set remaining sauce aside for topping
Coconut Topping
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl
- Add approximately 2 tbsp of toppingon each "cookie"
- Add 1-2 tsp of remaining Butter Sauce to each tin. Any remaining can be divided among the tins
- Bake for 5 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes
- Place in tupperware container and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve