5 Yummy Sugar-Free Recipes for Diabetics

With more than 50 million Indians suffering from diabetes, there's a lot of focus these days on clean and nourishing eating. Only when we adopt an active and healthful lifestyle ourselves, can we inculcate similar habits in our children. Such a healthy practice will also help in the prevention of lifestyle-related ailments. There is a misconception among many people that healthy food with less spice, sugar and salt will be boring and tasteless. This is actually far from the truth. With a little imagination and loads of flavour, diabetic-friendly food can be delicious and flavoursome. This World Diabetes Day, here are some unique sugar-free recipes you can try --

1. Choco-Berry Parfait

This one uses the natural sweetness of berries and dark chocolate

Ingredients:

• 50 grams dark chocolate
  
• 1 cup hung curd
  
• 1 pack strawberry Greek yoghurt
  
• cup mixed berries and nuts, chopped
  
• 5-6 digestive biscuits
  

Method:

1. Crush the digestive biscuits and place them in the serving bowls/glasses.
   
2. In another bowl, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave oven in short spurts of 30 seconds, and let it cool after melting.
   
3. To the chocolate, add hung curd and mix well. Layer it in the glasses on top of the biscuits.
   
4. Now add the chopped berries of your choice.
   
5. Finally, put one layer of strawberry Greek yoghurt and then garnish with some more chopped berries.
   

2. Mexican Bean and Quinoa Salad with Tofu

This is a healthy and tasty dish full of protein, fibre and amino acids.

Ingredients:

• cup quinoa
  
• cup cooked kidney beans (rajma)
  
• cup cooked garbanzo beans (kabuli chana)
  
• 1 small red bell pepper chopped
  
• 1 small green bell pepper chopped
  
• 1 medium onion chopped
  
• cup boiled corn kernels
  
• Some lettuce leaves
  
• 100 grams tofu, cut in small bite size pieces
  
• 3-4 garlic pods chopped
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp vinegar
  
• 1 tsp soy sauce
  
• 2 tsp honey/one drop Stevia
  
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder/Kashmiri chilli powder
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Freshly crushed black pepper to taste
  
• 1 tsp cumin powder
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• cup chopped coriander
  

Method:

1. Cook quinoa in double the quantity of water with some salt for 10-12 minutes. Keep aside to cool.
   
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together kidney beans, garbanzo beans, chopped bell peppers, onion, corn kernels and tofu.
   
3. In a small bowl, prepare salad dressing by mixing together olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce, stevia and the dry spices.
   
4. Now mix the cooled quinoa with the beans and veggies mixture.
   
5. Add the dressing to this and mix well
   
6. Just before serving, add torn lettuce and chopped coriander leaves.
   

3. Dates Ice-Cream with Soy Milk

The soy milk makes the ice cream creamier and dates give natural sweetness

Ingredients:

• 2 cup soy milk
  
• cup chopped de-seeded dates
  
• cup dark chocolate chips
  
• 2 tbsp corn flour
  

Method:

Mix chopped dates with cup of soy milk in a bowl and keep aside for half an hour so the dates become softer

After half an hour, puree the dates in a food processor

In another bowl, mix the cornflour with another cup of soy milk and keep aside.

Heat the remaining 1 cup of soy milk in a saucepan and add the dates puree to this. Keep stirring in between.

Add the cornflour mixture to this and stir. Let it cook till it becomes thick, around 5-7 minutes. Once done, let it cool.

Add chocolate chips and mix well. Then pour the mixture into an airtight box and put this box in a ziplock bag. Freeze for 4-6 hours. Serve with sliced strawberries.

Quinoa & Oats Idli with Sprouts

This super-healthy breakfast needs some effort but has loads of flavour

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
  
• 1 cup oats
  
• cup fine semolina
  
• cup green gram sprouts pureed with little water
  
• 2 cups buttermilk
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
  
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
  
• 1 tsp chana dal
  
• 1 tsp urad dal
  
• 7-8 curry leaves
  
• A pinch of asafoetida
  
• 1 tsp olive oil
  
• tsp baking soda
  

Method

1. Grind oats and quinoa in a food processor and keep aside.
   
2. In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin, chana dal, urad dal and let them splutter.
   
3. Add curry leaves and asafoetida and stir.
   
4. Then add ground quinoa, oats and semolina, roast until fragrant.
   
5. After cooling, add buttermilk and sprouts puree. Mix well and let it rest for 10 minutes.
   
6. Add salt and baking soda and immediately prepare idlis with the batter in a greased idli steamer.
   
7. Serve hot idlis with your favourite chutney and enjoy.
   

Coffee Banana Cupcakes with Hung Curd Icing

Here's another healthy sweet treat for diabetics but this one calls for a party

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 2 large ripe bananas
  
• cup flavourless oil
  
• 1 tsp liquid Stevia
  
• cup curd
  
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp instant coffee powder
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• tsp baking soda
  
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
  
• A pinch of salt
  
• 1 cup chilled low-fat whipping cream (or fresh cream)
  
• 1 cup hung curd
  

Method:

1. Mash the bananas in a bowl and add oil and curd to it. Whisk them well together.
   
2. Mix 2 tbsp coffee with 2 tbsp hot water to prepare coffee decoction
   
3. Add the coffee decoction to the banana mixture and mix well
   
4. Now add half of the Stevia and vanilla essence and mix
   
5. In another bowl, sieve together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
   
6. Add this to the banana mixture and give it a light mix, just to ensure there are no lumps in the batter
   
7. Line a muffin tray with paper liners and pour an equal amount of batter in each cavity.
   
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 12-15 minutes or till the toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Let it cool
   

For the frosting:

1. Take chilled low-fat whipping cream in a bowl and add tsp stevia and 2 tsp coffee powder to it. Whip this with a hand mixer.
   
2. Then add hung curd in batches and fold lightly. Fill it in a piping bag fitted with star nozzle
   
3. Pipe some nice rosettes on each cupcake and relish them

For more recipes please visit - https://flavoredwithlovebypriyanka.com/

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