A sugar free sweet tooth is the hardest part of low carb living for a lot of people, mine included. The savory and salty side takes care of itself; the craving for something sweet is what trips people up. What works for me is not a pile of sugar-free imitations, but a small, rich, cream-based treat that ends the craving instead of feeding it.
Living a Low Carb Lifestyle is full of wonderful savory and salty flavors, but leaves little to desire when you have a sweet tooth craving. I go by the theory that you shouldn't eat anything that replaces a flavor or taste of something I shouldn't be eating in the first place. This is because, at least for me, it just makes me crave the real thing.
I have a few ways to work around this, by cooking some of my favorite desserts with sweeteners and using all natural ingredients, such as ground almonds, to replace crusts. You will notice that all these desserts are cream based.
Why cream-based treats settle a craving
There is a reason my sweet fixes are all built on cream, mascarpone, or cheese rather than flour and sugar substitutes. Fat is satisfying, so a few rich bites tell your body the craving is handled, where a big batch of sugar-free cookies often leaves you reaching for more. Keeping the sweetness gentle helps too: I would rather taste the vanilla and the berries than a blast of sweetener. That is the whole idea behind leaning on a real ingredient like ground almonds for a crust instead of chasing a fake version of the high-carb thing.
My go-to sugar-free fixes
When a craving hits, or when I want a yummy dessert for guests, these are the ones I make, each only a few grams of net carb:
Mascarpone reale, when I want something that eats like cake but is really cheese.
I guess I need to start broadening my horizons to chocolate in the future.
A word on sweeteners
Most of these use a sugar-free sweetener, and the ones I reach for, erythritol, monk fruit, allulose, and Splenda, all add about zero net carb. Which one you like is a matter of taste, since some carry a cooling note and others a slight bitterness. I am not here to tell you a sweetener is healthy or a cure for cravings, only that a small, gently sweetened, cream-based treat is what keeps my own sweet tooth in check. For the full rundown by type, with the net carbs and which sweetener suits what, see my low carb desserts guide.
Frequently asked questions
How do you handle a sweet tooth on a low carb diet?
Reach for a small, rich, fat-forward treat rather than a big sugar-free imitation of a high-carb food. A few bites of cream-based dessert tend to settle a craving where a whole tray of fake cookies just feeds it.
Do sweeteners make cravings worse?
It depends on the person. Some find sugar-free sweeteners keep a craving going, others find a small sweet treat ends it. Pay attention to which camp you are in, and lean on real fat and a little sweetness rather than intensely sweet fakes.
What is the best low carb dessert for a craving?
Something cream-based and satisfying in a small portion: panna cotta, a cheesecake mousse, or a square of the baked cheesecake. They are rich enough that a little does the job.
Can you have dessert every day on low carb?
Many people do, in sensible portions, since these run only a few grams of net carb each. It comes down to your own plan and how a daily sweet sits with your goals.
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Curated low-carb guides and roundups this recipe is part of.
