In a country renowned for a majority of its populace having a sweet tooth imagining a meal without a desert is akin to performing hara-kiri!  But what do diabetics do? Well there’s some good news for this segment – Type 2 Diabetics do not need to completely sacrifice their sweet intake – they need to be selective and limit their portions and the frequency too. Binge-eating is an emphatic no-no! The trick here lies in moderation and balance say cutting back on carbs during the meal to leave room for deserts.

Another tip from the medical fraternity is abstaining from using full-fat milk for homemade sweets; and replacing sugar with natural sweeteners like jaggery and dates. Fruit lover diabetics can opt for dressing up their deserts with healthy and fibre-rich fruits like – grapes, apples, blueberries, guavas, pomegranates, cherries, water melon, oranges, papaya et al. 

Suggested desert – Sugar-free Parfait with whipped cream and topped with berries! Hmm…are we drooling?

Foodism brings to you recipes of desserts with a low glycaemic index that diabetics can enjoy with their loved ones during the festivals without compromising on their health and going on a guilt trip.

Fig Mousse

Ingredients 

• 250 Grams Dried Figs (Anjeer) - Post being soaked in water for 2 hours
• 8 Grams China Grass
• Half Teaspoon Cinnamon 
• One-Fourth Cup Skimmed Milk Powder
• Chopped Walnuts (for garnishing) 

Method 

1. Keep the dried figs in a pan with the china grass and cook for approximately half an hour until the dried fig is tender and the china grass has dissolved – Ensure that there is enough liquid to cover the dried figs after it is cooked through
2. Remove the pan from the burner, add cinnamon and leave to cool
3. Once it cools down then add the milk powder; blend the mixture in a blender; and transfer it into the serving dish
4. Garnish with walnuts and refrigerate till set 

Enjoy chilled Fig Mousse!

Pumpkin Oats Cake

Ingredients

• One Cup Peeled and Grated Raw Pumpkin (approximately 250 gram) 
• One-fourth Cup of Artificial Sweetener
• Half Cup Wheat Flour
• Two Tablespoons Fine Semolina 
• Two Tablespoons Quick-rolled Oats 
• One Tablespoon Skimmed Milk 
• One-fourth Teaspoon Grated Nutmeg
• Salt - One small pinch 
• Half Teaspoon Baking Powder
• Soda Bi-carb – Two pinches
• Four Teaspoons Clarified Butter (Ghee) 
• One Tablespoon Almond Flakes
• One Cherry

Method

1. Mix the grated pumpkin with two teaspoon ghee in a microwave-proof bowl, and then place it in the microwave for three minutes
2. Add artificial sweetener, properly mix, and then microwave again for 20 seconds
3. Add wheat flour, semolina, oats, skimmed milk, nutmeg, salt, soda, baking powder to the pumpkin mixture and thoroughly mix it 
4. Preheat the oven, and let this mixture rest for 10 minutes
5. Grease a microwave-proof bowl with a little ghee and then pour the mixture in it
6. Bake for 20 minutes at 200 C
7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle some almond flakes and a dash of ghee 
8. Re-bake for 20 minutes at 200 C and garnish with a cherry

Your pumpkin oats cake is ready to be savoured!

Ragi Oats Ladoo

Ingredients

• One-and-a-half-cup Ragi Flour
• One Cup Oats Flour
• 20 Ripe Dates 
• One-fourth Cup Milk
• One Tablespoon Clarified Butter (Ghee)
• One Teaspoon Green Cardamom Powder
• One-fourth Cup White Sesame Seeds
• One-fourth Cup Coconut Powder
• 12 Cashew Nuts
• Artificial Sweetener – As per taste 

Method

1. After lightly dry roasting the oats grind them in a mixer
2. Extract the seeds from the dates and blend 15 of them with milk in a blender into a paste
3. Cut the remaining 5 dates into small pieces
4. Separately dry roast the - white sesame seeds; and the cashew nuts
5. Take a dash of ghee in a pan and roast the oats flour on low flame for a few minutes
6. Take another pan and heat the remaining ghee to roast ragi flour on a low flame until it is seasoned 
7. Mix the oats flour with ragi flour; then add the dates paste and mix well – continue cooking on a low flame
8. Add some artificial sweetener and cardamom powder and mix well – after keeping this on a low flame for a few minutes remove the pan from the burner
9. Cool for some time, and then add the pieces of dates
10. Thereafter add the remaining honey and mix it well into this dough
11. Shape ladoos from the dough and add one cashew nut in each
12. Then mix the sesame seeds with coconut powder and roll the 12 ladoos in this mixture for coating 

Enjoy these easy to make and guilt-free sweet options any time!