Karen Stoyles
Who says you can’t have a healthy diet that includes treats?
The secret is to use real foods, wholesome ingredients, and watch your sugar. Sugar comes in all forms, like glucose (simple sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), to name a few. All sugars will cause problems when taken in excess. These may include obesity, hypoglycemia, mood swings and even immune deficiency. That’s because sugar suppresses our immune system. Remember this when you feel a cold or flu coming on.
The worst thing we can do when we are sick is consume sugar. Of course, some sugars are more harmful than others. Refined white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are two that we should all stay away from. High-fructose corn syrup is used commonly in processed foods. Bake your own sweets to avoid this offender. Replace white sugar with natural sources like honey, agave nectar, pure maple syrup and stevia. Stevia is a natural sweetener that is sold in liquid or powder form. If you are going to use stevia, be sure to use it sparingly. It is much sweeter than sugar. Don’t get stevia confused with aspartame, sucralose or other artificial sweeteners. These are not natural foods and not a healthy alternative. My personal favourite substitutes are honey and maple syrup.
Here is one of my own holiday recipes.
PrintPeanut Butter Cocoa Balls
Who says you can’t have a healthy diet that includes treats?
The secret is to use real foods, wholesome ingredients, and watch your sugar. Sugar comes in all forms, like glucose (simple sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), to name a few. All sugars will cause problems when taken in excess. These may include obesity, hypoglycemia, mood swings and even immune deficiency. That’s because sugar suppresses our immune system. Remember this when you feel a cold or flu coming on.
- Prep Time: 20
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 20-30 1x
Ingredients
½ cup cocoa
½ cup liquid honey
½ cup natural peanut butter (softened)
½ cup sesame seeds
½ cup oats
½ cup ground flaxseed
Shredded coconut
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Form them into bite-size balls.
- Roll them in coconut.
Notes
Makes approximately 20 – 30 balls.
