Millions of diabetics would risk their health if they dove into a box of chocolates. Millions more would rather not abandon their weight-loss diets.
"It's very difficult," said Harriet Bensman, a cooking teacher and former caterer who tries to come up with tasty desserts for her diabetic husband. "Desserts are my thing, and I make these elegant concoctions he can't have."Bensman scored a winner on Super Bowl Sunday by trimming much of the sugar and fat from apple streudel. When the hostess of the party asked her to bring something diabetics could eat, she went to work.
She started by sauteeing slices of golden delicious apples in a bit of butter-flavored cooking spray and a touch of brown sugar substitute.
Then she mixed in some low-sugar apricot preserves. She rolled the filling in about six sheets of filo dough that had been lightly brushed with butter -- less than she would use if making it for people without diet restrictions.
"Even people who aren't diabetic appreciated it because it's low calorie," she said.
Making desserts and sweet treats for diabetics is easier these days. In the past, diabetics avoided real sugar and all products made with it.
The new way of adhering to the diabetic diet involves counting carbohydrates either by grams or servings.
A diabetic on an 1,800-calorie meal plan may have 225 grams of carbohydrates per day. While sugar is permitted, diabetics are encouraged to consume most of their carbohydrates in the complex forms present in potatoes, rice and bread.
"Today sugar is not a no-no, but it must be counted as carbohydrate," said Robyn Webb, associate editor of Diabetes Forecast, a magazine published by the American Diabetes Association.
A teaspoon of sugar equals 4 grams of carbohydrates.
"The carbohydrates in an apple and a piece of candy may do the same thing to your blood sugar," Webb said. "But the mouth feel of chocolate is far different than that of an apple."
And sometimes, only chocolate will do.
Judicious consumption of sweets can be better than total abstinence, Webb said.
"People who eat no sweets for a long time can break down and start eating bonbons for a month," she said.
Diabetics are advised to spread their carbohydrates throughout the day to lessen the likelihood of a spike in blood sugar levels.
"Never eat sweets alone," Webb said. "They should always be eaten with a meal."
The hardest time for most diabetics is between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"When you are invited to a lot of holiday parties, it's hard to stay on the diet, especially for newly diagnosed people," Webb said. "They remember eating everything they wanted the year before."
The desire to provide Christmas treats for her physician husband sent cookbook author Coleen Howard into the kitchen. "I was doing cookbooks on candies and desserts, and he couldn't eat anything I was making," said Howard, a registered dietitian whose book, "The Diabetic Dessert Cookbook," is in its third printing.
"When I do my lectures, it's obvious that diabetics crave sweets," said Howard, who lives in Hawaii.
She came up with a collection of recipes for what she calls "body-friendly sweets."
One of her sweets -- coconut drops - is so low in carbohydrates it is considered "free," or unrestricted.
For a psychological trick, she makes her treats tiny. "People feel better knowing they can eat 10 small cookies instead of one or two big ones," she said.
For her candies, Howard relies on Isomalt, a sweet hardening agent not available in retail stores. She sells it in consumer-size packages through her toll-free telephone number.
Howard uses carob chips in place of chocolate and also relies on artificial sweeteners.
"I'm a chocolate lover, but I actually prefer carob in some recipes," she said.
Bensman uses sugar substitutes as little as possible because she doesn't like the flavor they impart. She prefers extremely ripe seasonal fruits and no-sugar-added products such as ice creams and sorbets.
One of her favorite summertime desserts is another filo recipe. She cuts the thin sheets of dough into strips about the same width as fettuccine. Then she forms the strips into a ring, sprays it with a butter-flavored cooking spray and bakes it. She fills the center with blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and nectarines and tops each serving with raspberry puree and a small dollop of sorbet.
She also reads labels carefully. " 'Lite' applesauces can have more sugar than regular, and the all-fruit spreads have more than some of the low-sugar preserves."
The makers of artificial sweeteners such as Equal and Sweet n' Low provide lots of recipes in booklets and at their Web sites. "We try to develop recipes consumers request," said Sue Jacobsen, home economist for Equal. "We like to give them ways to enjoy the comfort foods they've always had."
Because Equal does not behave like sugar in baked products, it's difficult to make some items with it. Without the bulk and browning qualities of sugar, cookies are difficult. "But it's great for fruit pies and cheesecakes," said Jacobsen.
Two recent recipes developed at Equal's consumer affairs department are considered decadent desserts in their traditional forms -- flourless chocolate cake and New York-style cheesecake.
A serving of the chocolate cake has 14 grams of carbohydrates and 14 grams of fat. Its 169 calories is about half that of a traditional recipe.
The cheesecake has 16 grams of carbohydrates and 12 grams of fat in about 200 calories.
NEW YORK STYLE CHEESECAKE
1 1/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
4 tablespoons. margarine, melted
3 packets aspartame (see note)
2 packages. (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 package. (8 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
18 packets aspartame
2 eggs
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pint strawberries, sliced (optional)
Strawberry sauce (see recipe)
Mix crumbs, margarine and 3 packets aspartame in 9-inch springform pan. Reserve 1 tablespoon of crumb mix. Pat remaining mixture evenly on bottom and 1/2 inch up side of pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven until crust is lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Beat cream cheese and 18 packets of aspartame in a large bowl until fluffy; beat in eggs, egg whites and cornstarch. Mix in sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Pour mixture into crust in pan.
Place cheesecake in roasting pan on oven rack; add 1-inch hot water to the roasting pan. Bake in preheated 300-degree oven just until set in the center, about 45 to 60 minutes. Remove cheesecake from roasting pan, sprinkle with reserved crumbs and return to oven. Turn oven off and let cheesecake cool in oven with door ajar for 3 hours.
Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Remove side of pan; place cheesecake on serving plate and serve with fresh fruit and strawberry sauce.
For the sauce:
Thaw a 16-ounce package of frozen strawberries and place in food processor bowl or blender. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 6 packets of aspartame. Process until smooth. Refrigerate until serving time. Serves 16.
Cake alone has 187 calories and 13 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Strawberry sauce adds 12 calories and 3 grams carbohydrates.
(Note: Aspartame is the generic name for NutraSweet which is the key ingredient in Equal.)
ALMOST FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE
6 tablespoons margarine
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup artificially sweetened apricot preserves or apricot spreadable fruit
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee crystals
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
36 packets aspartame
3 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Chocolate glaze, optional, see recipe
Heat margarine, chocolate, milk, apricot preserves and espresso crystals in small saucepan, whisking frequently, until chocolate is almost melted.
Remove pan from heat; continue whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Whisk in egg yolk and vanilla. Add aspartame, whisking until smooth.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks in large bowl. Fold chocolate mixture into egg whites; fold in combined flour and salt. Lightly grease bottom of 9-inch round cake pan and line with parchment or baking paper. Pour cake batter into pan.
Bake in preheated 350-degree oven until cake is just firm when lightly touched, 18 to 20 minutes, and toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake. Carefully loosen side of cake from pan with small sharp knife, which will keep cake from cracking after it cools. Cool cake completely in pan on wire rack; refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours.
Remove cake from pan and place on serving plate. Spread with chocolate glaze if desired.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1/4 cup skim milk
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces
12 packets aspartame
Heat milk and chocolate in small saucepan, whisking frequently, until almost melted; remove from heat and whisk until chocolate is smooth. Whisk in aspartame.
Cool to room temperature, refrigerate glaze, if necessary, until thick enough to spread.
Cake alone has 11 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fat and 139 calories per serving. Glaze adds 3 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fat and 30 calories per serving.
LEMON MERINGUE PIE
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice
36 packets aspartame
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons margarine
1 to 2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
3 egg whites
12 packets aspartame
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Mix water, lemon juice, 36 packets of aspartame and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly; boil and stir 1 minute. Beat eggs and 2 egg whites in small bowl; stir in about half the hot cornstarch mixture. Stir egg mixture into remaining cornstarch mixture in saucepan; cook and stir over low heat 1 minute. Remove from heat; add lemon rind and margarine, stirring until melted. Stir in food color. Pour into baked shell.
Beat 3 egg whites in medium bowl until foamy; add cream of tartar and beat to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 12 packets aspartame, beating to stiff peaks. Spread meringue over hot lemon filling, carefully sealing to edge of crust.
Bake pie in preheated 425-degree oven until meringue is browned, about 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire before cutting. Serves 8. Each serving has 223 calories, 29 grams carbohydrates and 10 grams fat.
(Source: Equal)
OTHER SOURCES
Here are some resources for diabetics looking for recipes and other health advice.
Recipes using Equal are available on the Internet at http://www.equal.com or by writing Equal, Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 2986, Chicago, Ill. 60654.
For recipes using Sweet 'n Low as a sugar substitute, try Web site (http://www.sweetnlow.com)
The Web site for the Diabetic Gourmet online magazine is (http://www.diabeticgourmet.com)
For information on subscribing to Diabetes Forecast magazine, call (800) 806-7801 or visit the American Diabetes Association on the Internet at (http://www.diabetes.org)
To buy "The Diabetic Gourmet Cookbook," call Coleen Howard at (800) 549-3789.