I think I have told you before, but I'll do it again, I don't actually have diabetes, but I have friends and family who do, so I'm doing my best to empathize. I'm choosing to live my life, to eat and exercise, as if I had diabetes. It's better to pretend I do have it, and screw things up than it would be to actually have the disease and not be able to maintain what my doctors say is best. I did speak with my doctor before going on this journey. She was not only 100% supportive of my decision, but she also gave me diet plans, and recipes, and even told me hacks and tips to make things easier on myself. She stated that I should see some weight loss if for no other reason than that I am dropping all of the sugars and a lot of carbs.
I don't know if I've actually dropped any weight but I do fit better into the clothes I bought last year when I weighed less than what I weigh now. I added a few extra pounds due to my weight lifting routine. Let me tell you, that did not make me happy! I almost threw the bathroom scales out the window, and I don't even have a window in my bathroom! That's how upsetting it was to stand on the damn thing to see that I had gained 12 pounds rather than losing weight. Oh, the shock! I know, I know, muscle weighs more than fat. I get that, but I don't like that number and I just refuse to see it again (so I don't look).
Today, because it's a Saturday and because I can, I decided to make sugar-free chocolate cupcakes and chocolate icing to go on top! OMG...yes! My daughter told me that if you take Stevia or regular sugar, and you blend it in the Nutribullet or food processor, it turns into confection sugar. I could use that for the icing. I had NO IDEA! Look at her, little Miss Betty Crocker! She can boil water, make her icky ramen noodles from a pack, and she knows about food processing sugar! What a gem! I think I'll keep her.
The cupcakes (6 of them) use only 1/2 of the cake recipe I was given. I filled up the cupcake cups (papered) and cooked them at 350 degrees (F) for 16 minutes and they look perfect. I did the whole knife test, and it was in fact, clean! So, now I'm just waiting for them to cool off a bit so I can add the frosting or the icing on top. I used cream cheese, softened butter, vanilla, and confection sugar-free sugar for the topping. I'm going to post a picture when they are ready, and I'll even wait a minute before I finish the blog to report whether or not I really (honestly) like them, or if I am feeling a bit sad for my friends and family. I mean, I do feel that way, it's not an easy thing to do. You can't go anywhere and find foods or desserts that are readily ready for those who can't take sugar!
*********** waiting ******************
OK, it's been about 15 minutes since I was last writing. The cupcakes are out of the oven. I put them into the fridge to cool a bit so I could spread the icing on top of them. I took a photo, and then I ate one. I absolutely loved it! It was flat out better than the regular cake I buy at the store, but maybe less sweet than the cake mix you can buy and add water and eggs to. I can see where someone could taste the difference between the Stevia and granulated sugar, but I also think that I could tweak that by using monk fruit next time. I don't mind it. I loved it! My daughter, who is not a big fan of going sugar-free, not only didn't like it, she said it was bitter. I didn't think so, but she's not a dark chocolate fan either. We both loved the icing! I loved all of it. I think in the future I will use monk fruit rather than Stevia, and I could add a bit more vanilla, or orange extract, or something to bring out the sweeter tastes. I could use coconut oil rather than vegetable oil too!
There you have it. I loved it. You may or may not. I would also add that I used almond flour mixed with whole wheat flour. You could use coconut flour but remember it is heavier and may need to run through the food processor before you mix it into the batter. LOVE experimenting in the kitchen!! There will be more exploration with this particular recipe. It will happen. I will perfect it. Don't expect me to bake, bag, and sell my food - - nope. I'm not into that, but if you're close to my house, and I know and love you, you can always drop in and have coffee or tea with me and be gifted something sweet (without sugar).
****** AFTER THOUGHT******
I ordered Monk Fruit sweetener from Amazon and it arrived. I took one small taste of it and can say without a doubt that it is 1000% better (sweeter) than Stevia. Now, I'll do a bit of research to see if it will cause a blood spike. Always learn.
Calories: 70
Carbs: 9
Sugars: 1 (from the flour)
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