5 Guilt Free Sweet Treats

By Remedy Nutritionist Jacqueline Alwill

You don’t have to give up on delicious, sweet treats to live a healthy life; you can always find a tasty and more nourishing alternative to them. We have so much at our fingertips, some ready-made to eat and some you can whip up in minutes. It really is that simple!  

 Let’s start with the typical go-to's and help get your creative juices flowing… 

1. Swap standard commercial chocolate bars for Fudgey Peanut Cacao Balls.

I mean, who doesn’t love a peanut chocolatey treat, right? The ingredient list on a standard commercial bar (e.g. Sugar, Roasted Peanuts, Glucose Syrup, Milk Solids, Cocoa Mass, Vegetable Fat, Cocoa Butter, Salt, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Egg White, Natural Flavour) packs a pretty solid punch of refined sugars, giving you a fast peak of energy as your sugar levels rise but then a drastic fall. This fall is when many people go back for more, either more sugar or more food of any sort or perhaps if they feel low, then another coffee hit for the afternoon.  

When you choose or make a quick snack like my Fudgey Peanut Cacao Bites instead, you’re giving your body good sources of natural sugars from whole fruits, teamed with fibre and combined nutritious sources of protein and fat in peanuts and almond meal. You’re also enjoying valuable sources of magnesium for energy, nervous system support, muscle relaxation and blood glucose regulation, healthy fats to cool inflammation in the body (rather than amp it up as excess intake of refined sugars can) and choline for brain function and cognition. What a combo! 

To make them: 

FUDGEY PEANUT CACAO BALLS 

Makes approximately 16 

1 cup pitted dried dates 

½ cup natural peanut butter  

1 cup almond meal  

2 tbsp raw cacao powder  

3 tbsp nut milk or soy  

⅓ cup peanuts, finely chopped for coating  

Opt: 3 serves protein or collagen powder  

Soak pitted dried dates in ½ cup boiling water for 10 minutes to soften. Add dates, peanut butter, almond meal, cacao powder, and nut milk to the food processor and blitz it into a dough. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes if you have time, or be prepared from some sticky rolling! Scoop 1 ½ tablespoon measures of the pb choc dough and place on a plate. Pop your chopped peanuts into a bowl for coating. Roll each measure into a ball, coat with chopped peanuts and repeat. Place in the fridge or freezer to set and enjoy! (PS. These are actually more delicious from the freezer and then just SLIGHTLY defrosted. Also great when you feel like a treat, have totally forgotten you had them there and find them! Win.) 

2. Swap lollies/candy swapped for homemade jellies.

I’ll own it; this one may be a push initially, but ONLY until you get into the Sunday swing of making jellies at home from all-natural grass-fed gelatin powder, fresh pureed fruit or juice, vanilla and a touch of honey or rice malt syrup. When you make them yourself and get into the hang of it, your taste buds will begin to down-regulate sugar, and before you know it, you’ll start enjoying these far more than the sugar-laden lollies you once did. The bonus with homemade jellies/gummies is that not only are they quick, easy, and fun to make, but they also contribute valuable amino acids (the building blocks of protein) to your diet.  

Make them… 

BERRY COCONUT JELLIES  

1 cup mixed frozen raspberries and strawberries 

1/4 cup coconut milk or cream 

2 tablespoons honey or maple 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 tablespoon gelatin powder (use grass-fed gelatin) 

1/2 cup water 

Allow berries to defrost, then blitz with coconut milk or cream so it forms 1 cup liquid (if you need to top it up, do so with some extra coconut cream or milk). Place in a saucepan with honey or maple and vanilla and heat on medium. Combine gelatin powder and water in a bowl and mix with a fork, then set aside. Once the berry coconut combination is hot, remove it from the stove and whisk in the gelatin. Pour into a lined tin of preference and set in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight. Slice and enjoy from the fridge. 

3. Swap traditional soft drinks for Remedy Sodaly.

It’s definitely not breaking news that traditional soft drinks or soda are chock full of refined sugars, with some boasting almost 10 teaspoons of sugar per serve. Let’s not forget the standard ‘energy’ drinks loaded with sugar and caffeine too. However, there haven’t been healthier, tastier, sugar-free options on the shelves to choose from until recently when *BREAKING NEWS* Remedy Drinks released Sodaly into the world with a full-blown sugar free *bang!!!!!* . 

Remedy Sodaly is a 100% natural, flavour-punching soft drink and the perfect, guilt-free replacement for sugary soft drinks. With a base of apple cider vinegar, Remedy Sodaly contains valuable prebiotics to support your gut microbiome whilst satisfying your soft drink cravings in one.  

Sodaly comes in various delicious flavours, including Raspberry, Guava and Passionfruit, so you can satisfy your sweet soda cravings without the sugar load. Head to your local supermarket, or shop online to try! 

4. Swap fruit juice for whole fruit.

Whilst fruit juice may seem ‘healthy’ because ‘it has fruit!’ the reality is that store-purchased fruit drinks and juices are a fast way to increase your intake of hidden sugars without the benefit of nutrients found in a piece of whole fruit. On the other hand, when you snack on whole fruit in place of fruit juice, your intake of essential vitamins, minerals and fibre increases. Yes, of course, both fruit juice and whole fruit contain the fruit sugar fructose, but the fibre present has a beneficial effect on your blood glucose levels and your overall intake of good quality nutrients from nature’s source, too.  

5. Swap packet cookies/biscuits for a batch of home-baked.

Sometimes it’s easy to open a packet of cookies and unintentionally eat more than just one. The sugar in packet cookies, combined with the refined flours and oils, generally means a bit of melt-in-your-mouth (minimal need for chewing and processing the cookies) moment, so it feels easy to eat many instead of just the one.

Rather than fall into a repeat trap of cookies by the packet, make a batch of wholesome cookies that minimise unnecessary ingredients such as refined sugars, thickeners, stabilisers and preservatives. With a base of almonds in these cookies, you’ll also increase your intake of healthy fats, cool inflammation, support heart and brain health, and diminish those sugar cravings.  

Make them…  

ALMOND OLIVE OIL COOKIES  

Makes 14  

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil  

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons maple syrup  

1 egg 

½ tsp baking powder  

1 ½ cups almond meal  

Heat oven to 170ºC and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. In a large mixing bowl, combine olive oil, vanilla, maple, egg, baking powder, and almond meal. Mix. Divide into 10-12 balls, then flatten gently onto the tray using the fork to press down. Bake in the oven for 16-18  minutes.

Cool on the tray, and enjoy!