Sweet Without the Spike
Desserts that love you back
1/14/2025
Dessert Can Be Supportive And Even Nutritious
Valentine’s Day is supposed to feel indulgent, romantic, and joyful—not followed by a sugar crash, inflammation, or regret. Yet for so many of us, Valentine’s desserts come with a familiar cycle - sweet - spike - crash - guilt. I believe that dessert is not a problem, the ingredients are.
The good news is that you can absolutely enjoy something sweet on Valentine’s Day without wrecking your blood sugar or your energy if you work on your mindset and make your own desserts that love you back. I always have to have a plan in order to stay on course.
Traditional Valentine’s Desserts will Spike Blood Sugar because most classic Valentine’s treats are made with refined sugar, white flour, liquid sugars (corn syrup, caramel, syrups), not to mention a lot of other unsavory ingredients like taste enhancers, stabilizers, emulsifiers.
These combinations hit your bloodstream fast, causing blood sugar spikes, energy crashes, cravings for more and inflammation. For women especially, this roller coaster can impact hormones, mood, and even sleep. But sweetness doesn’t have to come at that cost.
So you’re on a diet or trying to be good and Valentine’s Day is around the corner and it’s bringing chocolates. Don’t stress. I’ve got you.
Blood-sugar-friendly desserts focus on balance and can be supportive of your health goals. After wearing a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) I came up with these key principles for myself:
• Slow down the first three bites. Research shows most pleasure happens early. Slowing those bites increases satisfaction and naturally reduces overeating.
• Fiber slows sugar absorption. Never eat dessert on an empty stomach, it will give you a huge blood sugar spike. Instead have a meal containing a salad, ideally with the dressing made out of apple cider vinegar and then you can have a dessert. This way your health will not suffer.
• Protein increases satiety and positively impacts blood sugar - make sure your pre-dessert meal contains good amount of protein.
• Healthy fats stabilize glucose - incorporate good fats in your recipes. Nut butters, coconut oil, avocados are good examples.
• Natural sweetness beats refined sugar - I like to use fresh and dried fruit in my recipes. When dessert is built this way, your body experiences pleasure and stability. And it is not bad for you.
• Move after eating. This most definitely is the most effective way to lower or even prevent a blood sugar spike.
• Of course portions matter. Eat sensible amount, even natural sugar should be enjoyed in moderation. Fruit (dried fruit especially) is nature's candy.
• Stay curious, not critical. Pay attention and notice how different desserts make you feel—energized, foggy, calm, or craving more. Awareness builds intuitive regulation.
Pure Magic
Healthiest Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
olive oil
maple syrup
Mix well together with the whisk. That's it!
Drizzle over your plain yogurt or dip an almond in it.
Trust me!
Desserts That Feel Indulgent (Without the Crash)
Here are some sensible option for chocolate desserts made healthy and delicious way
2. No-Bake Chocolate Date Truffles
Sweet, rich, and naturally satisfying.
Ingredients:
• 10 Medjool dates
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cacao powder (natural, non-alkalized cacao powder)
• Vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cashew (or almond)
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• Sea salt
This is an easy recipe - first blend dates and liquids, then add the rest of ingredients except almond flour in a blender until it becomes a paste, Add almond flour last and blend again so the mixture turns into a ball. Roll small pieces into truffles and coat in cacao powder. Enjoy, Optionally you can freeze them for 30 mins to let them set.
I have been making different versions of this recipe for a long time, switching up types of butter, coating them in matcha powder instead of cacao powder.
1. Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Love Cups
A simple, creamy treat that satisfies fast. Nothing to bake, just mix, assemble and freeze.
Ingredients:
• 85–90% dark chocolate
• Organic almond butter
• Silicone heart molds. You can use any, but heart shaped ones would be really cute.
I have been eyeballing this recipe pretty successfully.
In one bowl melt the coconut oil, cacao butter, and chocolate bar or chips.
In another bowl mix together the maple syrup, and almond butter.
Put some of the melted chocolate into silicone molds, add the almond butter mixture on top, and finish again with the remaining melted chocolate.
Sprinkle some good coarse salt on top.
Put in the freezer just until it sets.
You can experiment and add a little protein powder or collagen to the almond butter mixture to make it into a high-protein treat.
No Time? No Problem!
To simplify this recipe and make it on the go, just stuff the pitted date with a little nut butter, put a few chocolate chips and coarse salt on top.
Voilà
3. Creamy Chocolate Mousse (No Dairy, No Refined Sugar)
Yes—avocado chocolate mousse can be blood-sugar-friendly.
It is rich, creamy, and easy to make in your food processor.
Your loved ones will never guess avocado is in it.
Ingredients:
• Ripe avocado (Haas)
• Cacao powder (natural, non-alkalized cacao powder)(natural, non-alkalized cacao powder)
• A touch of maple syrup or monk fruit.
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
Process until very smooth, for about 1 minute.
Serve
Lilys Chocolate Stevia Sweetened Dark Chocolate, 2.8 OZ
Navitas Organics Cacao Powder - Cocoa Powder Non-alkalized ...
AOTASO 2 Inch Small Heart Shaped Silicone Molds for Chocolate, Candy, Cake, ...
Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips for Baking, 2 Bags of Lily's Baking Chips 9oz Each
In the sea of unlimited choices how do you pick what to buy?
As far as the chocolate, I always go for the highest content of cocoa and it is best if it's sweetened with stevia, monk fruit and erythritol.
How to pick cacao powder? Get the natural, non-alkalized cacao powder because it's less processed and retains all the benefits of cocoa powder, preserving more of its original nutrients. It is a good source of antioxidants, minerals like iron and magnesium, and dietary fiber. Natural cocoa powder is often considered the healthier choice because it undergoes minimal processing, preserving more of the original antioxidants, minerals, and beneficial compounds naturally present in cocoa beans.
The best tasting and cleanest protein powder I ever tried is the one by FlavCity (BobbyApproved). It is pricey but worth every penny. It has wholesome ingredients and none of chemicals that usually are abundant in protein powders. I usually get vanilla which is more versatile and can be used in so many recopies, I can easily turn into into chocolate flavor by adding my own cacao powder, or into peanut butter, by adding a little bit of dried peanut butter powder.
Chocolate, Cacao Powder And Protein Powder Considerations
1. Pause before the first bite. Take one breath. Notice the smell, texture, and color. This tiny pause shifts you from autopilot to presence.
2. Take smaller bites. Let the dessert melt, chew slowly, and notice flavors changing. Most pleasure is in the first few bites.
3. Check in halfway through and ask yourself: Am I still enjoying this? You’re allowed to stop—even if it’s “healthy” or “expensive.”
Mindful Dessert Eating Tips
4. Drop the guilt narrative. No food needs to be “earned”. Stress harms digestion more than sugar ever will.
5. Notice how your body feels afterward. Not to judge—just to learn. Energy, comfort, mood, cravings. Awareness builds trust and helps you develop enteroception.
6. End with gratitude. One quiet thank you to your body for digesting and caring for you reinforces a healthier relationship with food.
Before eating your dessert, silently say: “I’m allowed to enjoy this. My body knows how to handle it."
