DESSERTS
Change your food, change your life.
Yes, it may be as simple as that. We all know that many of us are prediabetic because of our food choices.
Together, let’s share recipes that are common and healthy. Let’s learn from each other—life is much easier that way, don’t you think?
Note: Before making any changes to your diet, talk with your healthcare provider and a nutritionist/dietitian to discover what will work for you.
T = tablespoon
t = teaspoon
EVOO = extra virgin olive oil
c = cup
Fruit and Cheese Platter
Rather than finish off a meal with a slab of cake or pie, try a platter of fruit and cheese. Doesn’t matter if you’re serving yourself or yourself and 11 friends, just adjust the amount to accommodate. You can add crackers and breads, but we prefer not to, due to the unnecessary carbs. Nuts and a few pieces of very dark chocolate can round out the platter, if you’re looking for a bit more.
A selection of ingredients:
Fruits (avoid super juicy fruits, as they’ll make a mess)
Berries, assorted
Plum
Cherry
Apple
Pear
Persimmon
Pomegranate
Apricot
Fig
Kiwi
Papaya
Mango
Melon
Dragon Fruit
Star Fruit
Pineapple
Cheeses (Go with a soft, a hard, and a crumbly)
Brie
Camembert
Gourney/Boursin
Mozzarella
Burrata
Cheddar
Parmesan
Pepper Jack
Gouda
Gruyere
Asiago
Manchego
Provolone
Edam
Roquefort
Gorgonzola
Stilton
Goat Cheese (lots of flavors)
Feta
Watermelon, Feta, and Mint
This is another recipe that has dozens of variations. Basically, you chop up enough watermelon to accommodate your guests (make it bite-sized), sprinkle small chunks of good feta throughout, along with fresh mint leaves for definite flavor. Add a small, thinly sliced red onion and segments of two mandarin oranges, if you want to be fancy. That’s it.
Serve this after the evening meal as a dessert, or as an afternoon snack. Whenever you like. Even breakfast!
Granita
Remember scooping fresh snow into your mouth? Tiny icy flakes.
Add lots more flavor and that’s granita.
Granita is Sicilian-born. It’s consumed for breakfast with a side of brioche, as a refresher on hot summer afternoons, and as a light dessert after dinner. Basically, any time of day. Or night.
There are a few ways to make granita. Here’s a couple, followed by tips for experimentation. Always taste as you go, to determine how much of each ingredient you need.
Liquid-based Granita
Lemon Granita
4 servings
2 to 4 hours prep to serve
Ingredients
3 c cold water
1 c fresh lemon juice
Sugar-free cooled simple syrup to taste (Simple syrup: equal parts granulated sugar or sugar substitute and water in a pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Let it cool and refrigerate in a jar with a lid. It’ll keep about a month.)
Zest from 1 lemon
Directions
Combine all ingredients except for sweetener, taste the mix for sweetness before adding any simple syrup, stir well, and pour into shallow metal or glass pan. Don’t use plastic, as it’ll take longer to freeze.
Place flat in freezer and cover with plastic wrap. Every 30 or 40 minutes, remove the pan and scrape with a fork from the edges inward. It’ll start to crystallize around the sides first and you’re scraping to keep the crystallization from forming a solid block.
Repeat this process as mentioned, every 30 to 40 minutes, until all of the liquid is fluffy and crystallized, like crunchy snow. Depending on depth of liquid in pan, this could take 2 to 4 hours.
Serve in chilled bowls or glasses.
Rather than straight liquid, you can add fruits that have been puréed, plus plonk in tiny bits of fruit.
Fruit-based Granita
Strawberry Granita
Serves 4-6
40 minutes to 4 hours prep to serve, depending on method of preparation
Ingredients
1 c water
3 c strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and roughly chopped, except for ½ c or so that you finely mince
Fresh juice from 1/2 lemon
Simple syrup to taste
Directions
Combine all ingredients except simple syrup in a blender or food processor. Taste for sweetness before adding in the simple syrup. (If you want bits of fruit in your granita, keep ½ c or so of finely minced strawberries to the side, if not add all strawberries when blending.)
Blend until smooth. Stir in bits of fruit if you’re going that route, and pour mixture into large shallow metal or glass pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Place flat in freezer.
Every 30 or 40 minutes, remove the pan and scrape with a fork from the edges inward. It’ll start to crystallize around the sides first and you’re scraping to keep the crystallization from forming a solid block.
Repeat this process every 30 to 40 minutes, until all of the liquid is fluffy and crystallized, like crunchy snow. Depending on depth of liquid in pan, this could take 2 to 4 hours.
Serve in chilled glasses or bowls.
Tips
The liquid can be all one thing, such as strong coffee, champagne, chai tea, juice of any flavor. There is no wrong liquid, if it’s something you like.
Some liquids, like freshly squeezed lemon juice, might be a bit strong, and you’ll want to combine part water with part juice.
You may want to combine several liquids to get a special flavor. Whatever your taste buds tell you.
Consider adding zest to your liquid, or steep various herbs in the liquid before use. If steeping herbs, strain them out prior to making your granita.
If you need sweetener, try sugar-free simple syrup. You can purchase it in a bottle from one of the syrup companies, or you could make it yourself. We use sugar-free because we don’t want the added carbs. You can make simple syrup with regular granulated sugar, or with monk fruit or another sugar substitute. You can even use agave or honey or other sweetener in place of granulated sugar, when making simply syrup. It’s still half sweetener and half water in a pot on medium heat, stir until dissolved then let cool.
Granita tastes less sweet once it’s frozen. Keep that in mind when adding sweetener.
Your mixture, before freezing, should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Choose a container that’s square or oblong and metal or glass for freezing, and that’s the right size for the amount of mixture. You don’t want it spread out too thin or you’ll have a hard time getting a fluffy texture. If the mixture is too deep, it’ll take a lot longer to freeze.
If you’re using the fork scraping method and the mixture just becomes hard ice, you don’t have enough sugar in it, in which case you just have to break it up and blend it to a fluffy consistency, if possible. If it’s too mushy, it has too much sweetener. You can save the mushy version by putting it back into a blender and adding ½ c or so of water, then back in the freezer for the fork scraping process.
Granita is usually best if eaten shortly after full crystallization.
You can freeze it for a day once you’ve gone through the process of getting good crystals. Break it up with a fork before serving and it should do OK.
Chill the bowls or glasses before loading the granita, this helps it not melt (or not melt as fast).
There is a way to cut your labor time.
Easy Granita
Follow the recipe for a liquid or fruit granita, but do not put mixture in a shallow pan.
Put mixture in ice trays. Leave until frozen solid, then put ice cubes into a blender and blend just until you have the snowy, icy crystals. (If your blender fusses about crunching up huge ice cubes, put the cubes in a baggy and break them up a bit with a hammer or meat tenderizer, then blend.)
Serve in chilled glasses or bowls.
Sorbet
Sorbet is similar to granita. There are tiny changes made to the mixture and preparation to produce a smoother texture. Always taste as you go, to determine how much of each ingredient you need.
Fast Sorbet
How many this serves depends on how much fruit you use
10 minutes prep and serve
Ingredients
Frozen fruit
Sugar-free simple syrup (if needed, depends on sweetness of fruit, and use flavored water to make syrup to add extra flavor to the sorbet – consider freezing this in ice cube trays for fast sorbet)
Fresh citrus juice, whatever will work with your choice of frozen fruit (consider freezing this in ice cube trays for fast sorbet, or at least chill well in refrigerator)
Directions
Add 1 cup of frozen fruit per person to a blender or food processor, along with 1 to 2 T citrus juice.
Give it a few pulses until it gets broken down but still rough looking. Do a taste test. If it needs sweetness, add simple sugar. How much sweetness and citrus you put in depends on how much fruit you’ve used. It’s better to have a light touch. Once it’s too sweet, it’s hard to undo that.
Give it a quick blend and taste again. Adjust flavors if necessary and blend a tiny bit. It should look creamy but not melted.
Adding a bit of frozen banana helps with the creaminess.
Serve in chilled bowls or glasses. Fast sorbet doesn’t like the freezer. It’s blend and serve.
Freezer Fast Sorbet
How many this serves depends on how much fruit you use
10 minutes prep, 2+ hours to freeze, 10 minutes to finish prep and serve
Ingredients
Fresh or frozen fruit (peel any thicker skins, like apple, and for fresh fruits that aren’t naturally soft, like rhubarb or apples, simmer to softness then cool)
Sugar-free simple syrup (if needed, and consider using flavored water to make syrup for an extra something)
Fresh citrus juice, whatever will work with your choice of fruit
Directions
Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit per person to a blender or food processor.
Give it a few pulses until it gets broken down but still rough looking. Do a taste test. If it needs sweetness, add simple sugar and a little citrus juice. How much sweetness and citrus you put in depends on how much fruit you’ve used. It’s better to have a light touch. Once it’s too sweet, it’s hard to undo that.
Give it a quick blend and taste again. Adjust flavors if necessary and blend a tiny bit. It should look creamy but not melted.
Adding a bit of frozen banana helps with the creaminess.
Pour or spoon the blended mixture into ice trays and freeze. When it’s sorbet time, whirl the ice cubes in the blender or food processor until it’s nice and creamy. It won’t be like ice cream, but it will be smoother than granita.
Flavor Ideas for Granita or Sorbet
Combine flavors or use one flavor, whatever you like. Don’t be afraid to add herbs, spices, or seasonings, or other bits for flavor and fun. Strain out what you don’t want to chew on.
Acai
Apple
Apricot
Berry or mix of berries – if you don’t want the seeds, put berries in a blender with a little water, blend them up and strain to capture the seeds.
Cactus pear
Carrot
Celery
Chai
Cherry
Chocolate – add cocoa powder to water, maybe 1 c cocoa to 4 c water, with a dash of salt and simple syrup, and don’t be afraid to top with a wee bit of whipped cream when you serve
Cinnamon
Coconut
Coffee
Cucumber
Favorite alcoholic drink or liqueur, like piña colada, or maybe piña colada
Grape
Grapefruit
Guava
Hibiscus
Jasmine
Kiwi
Lavender
Lemon
Lime
Lychee
Mango
Mango coconut
Mango ginger
Melon – any melon
Mint
Mulled wine
Nectarine
Orange – don’t forget blood oranges, mandarins, tangerines, and so on
Papaya
Peach
Pear
Plum
Pluot
Pomegranate
Rose
Sage
Steeped tea – any flavor, strain out the tea leaves
Thyme
Vanilla
Yuzu