a super pretty sugar free macaroon slice…
I discovered a wonderful world out there the other day. A world I had been oblivious to (I’ve been oblivious to a lot of things recently). A world where some beautifully talented and curious and dedicated food bloggers have quit sugar and taken to experimenting with sugar-free recipes. I’ll be profiling a few here going forwards, so stay tuned.
photo via scandi foodie
I came across Maria’s blog Scandi Foodie after interacting with her her sweet tweets recently. Maria is a props stylist originally from Finland, now living in Sydney. Her elegant food philosophy and styling have been influenced by her Scandinavian background, and she specialises in healthy, feel-good food. Feel-good food. Yes, I like it. And the Scandinavian aesthetic and social outlook is just TALKING to me right now.
And what about this recipe!!!! A very fine use of coconut products and a clever invention all round, don’t you think? The rhubarb? A fruit? Well, technically it’s a vegetable (and one with lots of health benefits, so say the Chinese) and doesn’t contain much sugar at all. It’s very tart, so you may wish to “sweeten” it with a little stevia. I reckon you could also use frozen berries, if you wanted. What say you, Maria?
sugar free rhubarb macaroon slice
- 100g quinoa flakes
- 50g coconut flakes (no sugar added)
- 50g rolled oats*
- 1 tablespoon raw pure cacao nibs (total sugars 3.6g/100g)
- 80g virgin coconut oil
- 2 large egg whites (free-range,organic)
- 200g rhubarb, cut into 1 cm slices
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large egg whites (free-range, organic)
- 50g fine desiccated coconut (no sugar added)
Preheat oven to 180C and line a 25cm x 15cm baking tray with baking paper.
For the base, place the quinoa flakes, coconut flakes, oats and cacao nibs into a food processor. Grind the ingredients into a fine-ish mixture, then add the coconut oil and grind until the mixture comes together. Beat in the egg whites. Spoon the dough in the baking dish and, using your hands, spread on the baking sheet into a 1-2 cm thick base.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, then let cool completely before cutting. This is best eaten within 2 days. The top doesn’t freeze very well, so I recommend eating it while fresh.
Maria has also cooked up a number of the recipes in my I Quit Sugar ebook and from my blog, and shared the results. She made them look a damn-side better than mine!
sugar free coconut granola
For my original recipe, go here.
grain free, sugar free breakfast muffins
For my original recipe, go here.
For Maria’s adaptation, go here.
activated spiced nuts
For my original recipe, go here.
sweet potato spelt muffins
Thanks again Maria for your gorgeous interpretations. Go have a play on her blog…real food, made pretty.
And if you want to do the sugar free thing, too, my I Quit Sugar ebook is still the very do-able, just-a-few-lattes $15. An 8-week program. With detox tips, recipes, shopping list and tricks for making the transition actually better than chocolate.
If you’ve cooked up any of my recipes and want to share the pics, or if you’ve developed your own, please attach your links below. We’d love to share the sugar-free love…
Hi Sarah,
Have just had a quick look at Scandi Foodie’s blog – isn’t it great that there is now the start of a foodie fraternity embracing sugar free recipes that we can all share. Well done for shining a light for us all.
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ohh, I’ve said before you must have been a viking in another life!
Can you please post the recipe for sugar free cheesecake you mentioned sometime back.
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I’ll be cooking the cheesecake this week….stay tuned.
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November 8th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Yay!
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Doesn’t Maria have a lovely blog – and her photos are just amazing, glad you came across it!
I have been pretty much sugar-free, amongst a list of other things, for nearly a year and have been having a great time working my way through recipes to suit our lifestyle. Won’t fill your comments with links but would love to contribute!
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I wasnt sure where the appropriate spot was to put this url, but it talks about why fruit is important…
Soometimes its hard to know what the right thing to do is!
http://www.essentialkids.com.au/younger-kids/kids-health-and-nutrition/fruit-a-rubbish-food-thats-garbage-20111107-1n2pr.html#utm_source=FD&utm_medium=lifeandstylepuff&utm_campaign=joannafruit
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Hey Sarah and I quit sugar peeps. I’m blogging my sugar free journey at http://www.sugarfreeme-Naomi.blogspot.com
These little babies might be dished up by me at our next mums grp. Thanks for sharing.
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Just wondering in case I can’t find rhubarb what else could I use in place of rhubarb. Thanks
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November 8th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
try berries.
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Hi Sarah! I wasn’t sure exactly what to post, so I thought I’d give you some suggestions. If you want, feel free to visit my blog though and pick one you’d like to feature. Unfortunately, most of my recipes include honey or agave as a supplement to sugar since I was using that primarily this summer. Although, the good news is that they are all easily supplemented with stevia instead! Enjoy! : ) Trish
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/lemon-basil-garlic-chicken-quinoa-a-mouthful/
Lemon Basil Garlic Chicken Quinoa
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/summer-heirloom-tomato-soup/ heirloom tomato soup
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/the-classic-reubens-healthy-sister/ healthy reuben sandwich
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/red-white-and-blue-simple-berry-tarte/ fresh berry tarte (whole grain)
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/8-minutes-or-less-almond-butter/
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Thank you Sarah! I’m so glad to hear there are so many others embracing a sugar-free lifestyle! Keep up the good work all!
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Hi Sarah,
Inspired by this post I made some gluten and sugar free jam drops now that I can have fruit.
I only made a small batch of 12 just to see how they would go, they turned out pretty good but are a little crumbly so maybe adding an egg would stop this? Anyone know?
I used -
1 cup of butter
2 1/2 TSP Natvia
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
And for the jam I just heated up some strawberries and lemon juice and mashed it
up then put it in the fridge to cool
Cook in oven for about 20mins at 180C
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November 8th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Hi Jasmin – an egg, or a couple of egg whites would work well – you could probably cut down on the butter by about half when you add egg – or even better use virgin coconut oil. They sound delicious!
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November 8th, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Thank you, I’m going to make more tomorrow with egg and see how they go, I forgot to add that they need to be cooled before eating so they harden a bit more.
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Not sure if this is the right post to leave this comment on, but I have been sugar free for close on 5 weeks and been following a paleo style diet – no starches, grains, dairy etc. I haven’t had any sugar cravings – i also gave up fruit too – but I find myself craving for meat! I only eat fish (and have done for over 8 – 9 years), but strangely have a desire to want to eat some chicken or turkey! It is the most interesting type of craving! Anyone else have some cravings that they would never have expected since going sugar free or paleo?
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November 9th, 2011 at 1:08 am
Oh exactly me! I hardly ate meat, mainly tuna but I started paleo a month ago and quit fruit, grains and most dairy. I can easily eat one meal a day now. Sugar cravings are gone, carb lethargy has gone but i love duck salad at sushi train and grass fed mince and chicken with skin. I am hideous. Luckily only once a day and heaps of veg too.
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Fab blog post, thanks so much for writing about this. I love sugar free treats and desserts and being a previous sugar addict and I can certainly attest that there are far more delicious alternatives and recipes out there if you just start looking into it……..and plenty of them!! Yum yum xxx
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http://rabbitshavekittens.blogspot.com/ < I knock up this grain/sugar free "cereal" every morning! recipe is the first post that should come up
xxxxx
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I recently made a delicious apple pie with a sugar free, paleo crust. Just posted recipe on my blog, Happy Healthy Serenity:
http://happyhealthyserenity.blogspot.com/2011/11/apple-berry-pie.html
Enjoy!
Nat x
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Hi Sarah! I wasn’t sure exactly what to post, so I thought I’d give you some suggestions. If you want, feel free to visit my blog though and pick one you’d like to feature. Unfortunately, most of my recipes include honey or agave as a supplement to sugar since I was using that primarily this summer. Although, the good news is that they are all easily supplemented with stevia instead! Enjoy! : ) Trish
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/lemon-basil-garlic-chicken-quinoa-a-mouthful/
Lemon Basil Garlic Chicken Quinoa
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/summer-heirloom-tomato-soup/ heirloom tomato soup
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/the-classic-reubens-healthy-sister/ healthy reuben sandwich
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/red-white-and-blue-simple-berry-tarte/ fresh berry tarte (whole grain)
http://nutrishus.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/8-minutes-or-less-almond-butter/
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sweeet!!!
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