When you imagine dessert, where does your mind wander? Chocolate? Cake? Pie? Ice Cream? Many of the traditional dessert foods in the United States are laden with sugar, one of the most insidious carbs to grave the grocery aisle.
A large number of keto dieters in the United States thus avoid dessert altogether because of the perceived difficulty of navigating a high-fat, low-carb lifestyle with so much sugar and sweetness.
However, being keto doesn’t mean sacrificing your sweet tooth forever. In fact, numerous keto dieters actually incorporate dessert into a regular diet to satisfy their cravings and avoid binging or giving in to temptation.
The following substitutions are a great way to balance a little bit of sweetness with the healthiness of keto.
Almond Flour
One of the most significant substitutions a keto follower can do is substituting regular, bleached flour with the almond variety. Almond flour is made from crushed nuts and provides an excellent consistency, taste, and texture without maximizing carb intake. While almond flour can be a little expensive, you won’t eat too much of it, it lasts well, and the flour can often be bought at a lower price from whole foods stores.
Cream Cheese, Heavy Cream, or Butter
When you want to bake something traditional like cookies or a cake, you need to have a liquid for the recipe. Many keto dieters prefer to avoid milk and sour cream because of the high carb intake. Instead, it is possible to cut down on carbs and raise your fat content by replacing more conventional liquids with cream cheese, heavy cream, or regular butter. These more processed dairy products will whip up nicely and work in baking desserts. They also taste delicious.
If you want to go even less traditional, it is possible to use Greek yogurt in desserts as well.
Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is similar to almond flour, but is made from dried coconut that is shaved and ground. It is less expensive than almond flour and is only added in small portions. However, it is quite temperamental because of its absorbent nature, so it should be reserved for more experienced keto chefs.
Sweeteners Instead of Sugar
Finally, there is perhaps the most important step: Replacing traditional sugar with sweeteners that are low calorie, low carb, and all delicious, like Stevia. Without sugar, desserts immediately start to lose their overall carb level, making them more palatable to the mouth of a keto follower. There are numerous sweeteners on the market, so don’t be afraid to experiment and find the ones you prefer.