Sugar-Free Desserts and Fruit Salads
Is there anything better than dessert? Sweet treats are almost synonymous with happy occasions. We love to celebrate special occasions with sweets. And for some, dinner is not complete unless it ends with a sweet, such as cake or pie, cookies or ice cream. For those of us who are avoiding added sugar, it doesn’t mean that we have to cut out dessert altogether. Here are 25 sugar-free desserts, and several of them are also gluten-free.
We see a lot of sugar-free desserts labeled Paleo-friendly, but it’s often a misnomer, especially if sugar substitutes are used. Paleo peeps don’t eat sugar or high fructose corn syrup. And we also don’t eat sugar substitutes that are chemically processed, such aspartame, sucralose and saccharin. There is some middle ground; some Paleo eaters consider honey and molasses to be okay, as they occur naturally in nature and also have beneficial nutrients. And some even deem stevia okay, as it is derived from the leaf of a plant common to South America. Others, however, do not allow stevia, due to the chemical process required to extract the sweetener from the plant. Under the strictest Paleo guidelines, only sugar found in fruit is okay, because fruit is natural, not processed and contains beneficial nutrients such as fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals. For the Paleo among us, a few of these 18 salads would be a sweet end to a good meal — just not any of those that use syrup or dairy.
On the rarest of special occasions, you may be able to tempt one of your Paleo pals with one of these gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, paleo and raw pies. Because, you know, we do like to celebrate life’s wonderful occasions with something sweet. But you can’t go wrong offering us a sliced pear or apple. When you stop eating sugar, as we Paleo do, regular old fruit begins to taste delectable to our palate and very sweet, indeed.
Do you have a truly Paleo treat to share? Tag us on Instagram @britandco.
(Photo via Natural Sweet Recipes)
