6 diabetes-friendly holiday desserts

Concern over a spike in blood sugar levels shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying your favorite desserts this holiday season. The key to prepping diabetes-friendly desserts is simple: swap refined sugars for better-for-you ingredients. Simply stock up on cinnamon, clove, canned pumpkin and stevia, and get baking!

Ready to head to the grocery store? Check out other ingredients to incorporate into your holiday feasts.

You don’t have to skip the pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, the orange stuff is actually good for you! Pumpkin is loaded with fiber and vitamin K, and promotes bone, muscle and tissue health. It’s the other ingredients typically found in pumpkin pie, like sweetened condensed milk, that can be a nightmare for your blood sugar.

Try this perfect pumpkin pie, made with tofu and a medley of good-for-you spices, like cinnamon and clove.

Nothing says ‘holiday’ quite like freshly baked apple pie and vanilla ice cream. This year, you don’t have to miss out. Apples, ripe during the fall and winter months, are naturally sweet and with just a few other ingredients, combine to create a crust-less dessert without added carbs and sugar.

Pecans are also loaded with fiber, which is good for your digestion. Save a spot on you holiday table for a dessert the whole family can enjoy, and give these grilled apple pecan cups a try!

It’s easier than it sounds. Ditch traditional pie crust and prepare a shell that won’t send your glucose levels for a loop. Sans white sugar and loaded with a mix of fresh berries, this colorful dessert contains antioxidants, like vitamins C and E, that help promote healthy cell function.

You’ll need just a few cups of berries and a little time to bake your creation.  

Dessert doesn’t get much more decadent than cheesecake, a treat typically loaded with sugar. We have a low-carb (just eight grams per slice!) and sugarless way to indulge this season: our diabetes-friendly cheesecake recipe.

What’s more? You can swap cream cheese for ricotta cheese to slash fat and calories, and add 10 extra grams of protein to the mix.

A pumpkin dessert that’s diabetes-friendly and pre-portioned for you—what could be better? This sweet puree is also packed with vitamin A, important for the function of your heart, lungs, kidneys and more.

This pumpkin custard is low in carbohydrates, just 13.5 grams, and sugar, fewer than 7 grams. Natural ingredients, like cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup, make this dessert sweet, without the guilt. Trust us, you won’t miss the sugar.

The combination of indulgent chocolate and tart cherries will have you forgetting that this dessert is actually pretty good you. Per serving, it contains just about 100 calories, and with 18 grams of carbs and 13 grams of sugar, it won’t spike your glucose levels.

Try swapping the semi-sweet morsels for cocoa-rich dark chocolate, which may benefit your blood sugar.