Valentine’s Day is here and for the nearly 26 million Americans with type 2 diabetes, finding a diabetes-friendly Valentine’s Day treat can be a challenge. If you or a loved one has diabetes, you might have assumed you’d have to forgo dessert this Valentine’s Day. While there are plenty of low-and no-sugar dessert options out there, it can be difficult to find replicas of your traditional favorite recipes for holidays.
The good news is that diabetes-friendly menu items can be delicious– they’re just generally lower in sodium, carbohydrates, saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in fiber compared with other dishes. Of course, everyone, regardless of whether or not they have diabetes, should watch portion sizes and stick to one serving – even if it is a special holiday.
We found a fantastic tiramisu recipe from Merck’s comprehensive diabetes resource, MerckDiabetes.com, that offers hundreds of recipes and resources for people living with diabetes. Tiramisu is a great dessert for a special occasion and by making a few simple substitutions you can make a version very similar to the real thing for your sweetie.
Diabetes-Friendly Tiramisu
Yields 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 package ladyfingers (24)*
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso or strong coffee
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 cup low-fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sweetener such as Truvia
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or 3 teaspoons imitation rum extract
- 2 cups whipped topping, sugar-free
- Bittersweet chocolate shavings
Directions:
1. Arrange 12 ladyfingers on the bottom of a 13 × 9-inch baking dish. Dissolve instant espresso or coffee and brown sugar in hot water. Brush 1/4 cup of the coffee mixture onto the ladyfingers.
2. Blend cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sweetener and rum or rum extract, mixing until blended, and stir in whipped topping. Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the ladyfingers. Top with remaining ladyfingers, brush with the espresso or coffee to coat. Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over the ladyfingers. Refrigerate for at least 4 (and up to 24) hours.
*Substitute low-fat sponge cake or pound cake for ladyfingers.
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