I usually try to watch my sugar intake, definitely more than counting calories. Sugar will be a topic in itself on a future blog. For now, I want to share that when I do want a treat that isn’t one of my daily foods, I try to find or make a healthier swap. What exactly does that mean? Well, for my treats, I never bake with white or whole wheat flour anymore. I remember a few years back when I started making healthier swaps, I reached for whole wheat flour. It sounds healthier….right????? Ummmm….not the case. Even with bread I swapped and went with whole wheat bread thinking I was doing better. Unfortunately, the whole wheat bread was filled with high fructose corn syrup!!!! Why the heck do we need THAT in bread??? The bottom line, I now bake with coconut flour, almond flour, or a legit gluten free flour(not all gluten free flours are created equal). Today, I am sharing a healthier cookie I made for the 4th of July at the request of my daughter. Have you heard of the sugar cookie fruit pizza? It can be made in one, huge sugar cookie like a pie then frosting and fruit. I decided to bake mine individually so everyone could choose to decorate with their fruit choices. In theory, it sounds better than most 4th of July desserts but is still processed flour and lots of sugar. The recipe I used was gluten free and called for 1 ½ cups of sugar. That was still a bit too much for me so I actually used ½ a cup of sugar and some Stevia until I found the taste I wanted. I found a terrific, low sugar frosting that was delicious but actually left it off some of the cookies and just added the fruit. They still tasted great. Here are the links for the homemade coconut whipped cream I mentioned when layering in a parfait dish with fruit along with the Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies and frosting. I’m guessing my sugar intake on dessert was not even half of what the original cookie was. The parfait below is different than my original 4th of July post as this has a crumbled Gluten-Free cookie in it for variety. While there are still healthier things we could have, I am all about balance and find this fun and delicious once in awhile. I love finding swaps that are healthier but still yummy without feeling deprived. Enjoy!
https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-coconut-whipped-cream/
https://iowagirleats.com/2017/12/15/gluten-free-sugar-cookies/
https://www.veggiebalance.com/healthy-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-low-sugar/