Sweet Options for Diabetics 

Tad moderation can ensure that diabetics can have their cake and eat it too!

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 a mix of four traditional and modern deserts 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.

Double-Layered Phirni

This classic sweet pudding prepared from rice, milk, almonds, cardamom, and a layer of pistachios and flavoured with rose essence is a must-have with your family

Ingredients 

5 Cups Skimmed Milk

60 Grams Rice – Post being soaked in hot water for 30 minutes

6 Crushed Cardamom – Only the seeds 

Three-fourth Cup Artificial Sweetener 

Two Tablespoons Pistachio – Grounded to a paste and then blanched

Green Colour – As per taste 

One-fourth Teaspoon of Rose Essence 

10 Almonds – Shredded and blanched

Method 

• Drain the rice and place it in a blender along with a bit of the milk and blend it finely
• Place the rest of the milk in a pan and bring it to a boil
• Then add the ground rice and bring it to boil again
• Lower the heat and simmer, stirring all the time, for around 25 minutes until the entire mixture becomes one well-blended mass
• Switch off the heat and add the cardamom and the artificial sweetener
• Divide the phirni into two parts and add the pistachio paste to one portion and the rose essence to the other half
• Pour the rose essence phirni (it would be comparatively white in colour) into a serving bowl and place it in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator for a short while to set it; leave the other half (pistachio paste one) at room temperature
• Once the refrigerated phirni is set, pour the green phirni over it, garnish it with the almonds and again refrigerate it

Voila your double-layered phirni is ready to be demolished! 

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 

• 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
• Remove the pan from the burner, add cinnamon and leave to cool
• Once it cools down then add the milk powder; blend the mixture in a blender; and transfer it into the serving dish
• 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 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

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

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

Enjoy this healthy and yummy sweet which is the perfect blend of traditional and modern 

Hope the healthy recipes above enable you to pamper the sweet tooth of your loved one without compromising on their blood sugar levels…