PCOS-friendly Valentine’s treats
By Dr. Vinu Jyothi, MD, MPH
Living with PCOS doesn’t mean you have to skip dessert, especially when it comes to valentine’s day treats. Here’s a collection of delicious PCOS-friendly desserts to relish your taste buds for the Valentine’s season.
All you’ve to do is just to swap out “regular” ingredients for PCOS-friendly healthier alternatives. This tastes just like the conventional ones — all with no added sugar for PCOS women!
Another good news is that these delicacies are healthy and suitable for TTC and pregnancy as well, so you don’t need to give up.
What makes a PCOS-friendly dessert?
Ideally, PCOS dessert are low in carbs, dairy, gluten, but may have healthy fats (eg. coconut, avocado, seeds), and healthy proteins (nuts, protein powder, seeds)
USE
naturally derived non-nutritive sweeteners (eg. fruits, berries, stevia leaf, monk fruit).
Milk alternatives (eg. almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk)
Flour alternatives (eg. almond flour, and coconut flour)
Also, if you want to give a nutritional boost your recipe, you can add pure protein superfood for eg. our PCOS Diva Power Protein which is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free superfood that delivers high-quality protein (natural vanilla flavored)
ALWAYS AVOID
Refined sugar
gluten items
dairy products
industrial seed oils
food additives
High carb flours
CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES
Want to enjoy beautiful but low carb dessert with bare minimal effort for valentine’s? Chocolate covered strawberries should be your go-to. They only take a few basic ingredients, plus a few simple tricks to make sure they look picture-perfect every time. Serve this healthy chocolate covered strawberries recipe for Valentine’s Day, or other special occasions you want a simple sweet treat!
Ingredients
One important game changer is sugar-free dark and white chocolate chips because they taste and melt like conventional ones; also, they are soy-fee, GMOs, or carb-free, dairy-free and GMO.
- 1 cup Sugar-free Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1/4 cup Sugar-Free White Chocolate Chips
- 1 lb Strawberries (about 16 strawberries)
– Use fresh, plump ones with a rich red color. Frozen berries will not work.
Garnish options:
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup Chopped nuts
Instructions
- Wash berries and dry thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (wax paper or foil are also fine). Ensure it fits a shelf in your refrigerator. Set aside.
- Heat the Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips in the microwave or a double boiler on the stove, stirring frequently. Be careful not to overheat.
- Dunk strawberries in the chocolate and rotate to cover on all sides. Place onto the lined cookie sheet. If using garnishes (such as chopped nuts), sprinkle on top right away, before the chocolate has hardened.
- In another microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips. With a spoon or piping bag with a fine tip, drizzle the white chocolate on top of the dipped berries.
- Let the berries sit at room temperature until the chocolate is fully hardened. (You can also place them in the fridge, but condensation will form.
SERVE
Chocolate covered strawberries taste best fresh, within a few hours of preparing them. If you serve them this way, avoid refrigerating them to avoid condensation on the chocolate coating.
STORAGE
Store them in a covered container. Layer the bottom of the container with a paper towel, then sprinkle with baking soda. Layer an additional paper towel on top before storing berries. The baking soda will absorb some of the excess condensation.
HEART FRUIT SKEWERS WITH YOGURT DIP
For Valentine’s Day or any other time of year that you want to show some love served with a healthy snack, these heart-shaped fruit skewers are the perfect choice! These ridiculously cute and easy skewers are quick to make and fun to eat! You can use strawberries, watermelons, cantaloupe, honeydew, and blueberries to make these. No matter how you stack them, fruit skewers make a great addition to any meal as an appetizer, main or dessert. You can choose whichever variety of fruit suits your situation best. Plus the non-dairy yogurt dip is a great optional add-on.
Instructions
-
Creatively cut your watermelon into heart shape and also other shapes. You can easily free-hand slice the watermelon, or really cut down on prep time and use a cookie cutter. For these mini-watermelon slices I actually used the cutest little heart cutter that’s specifically made for fondant.
- Repeat this with other fruits of your choosing; apple, pineapple, cantaloupe, banana, pears.
-
Add Heart shaped watermelon on to skewer
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Add blueberries or grapes (intermittently or with specific pattern of your choice) on to skewer
-
I highly recommend assembling these the morning of your party at the ultimate earliest.
The Best Fruit for Fruit Skewers
There are a few fruits that you should probably avoid when making fruit skewers. Those that oxidize quickly — bananas, apples and pears — aren’t the best picks to pierce if they’ll be sitting for a bit. However, if you want to include them, a little lemon juice can slow down the oxidization process.
Try Making a Dip
Dress It Up
Throw Fruit Skewers on the Grill
CHOC PEANUT BUTTER HEARTS
Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts are like your favorite peanut butter cup candy, but shaped into a heart! Perfect for Valentine’s Day, or anytime you want a cute and fun peanut butter treat to share with the people you love. They’re gluten-free and vegan.
- ¾ cup (192g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons (42g) pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, skip if your nut butter is salted
-
¾ cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoons of PCOS Diva Power Protein
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Peanut Butter: or you can use any smooth nut or seed butter that you love.
- Coconut Flour: helps hold them together. You’ll need a bit more if your peanut butter is runnier.
- Maple Syrup: for sweetness. You can also use honey or another liquid sweetener if preferred.
- Salt: skip if your nut butter is already salted!
- Chocolate: for dipping, I always go for dark chocolate here and any percentage you like will work well.
- Coconut Oil: helps smooth and thin out the chocolate to make it easier to dip.
Instructions
- Make the peanut butter mixture: In a small mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, coconut flour, maple syrup, and salt.
- Add PCOS Diva Power Protein. Mix until smooth, and add more coconut flour as needed to make it a smooth, thick dough. You can also taste and add more maple syrup if you want it sweeter. It needs to be firm enough that you can dip in the chocolate without it falling apart.
- Shape your hearts: Make two small balls of dough, rolling them into little log shapes, and then pressing them together to form the heart. You can make them as big or as small as you’d like. Place on a parchment-lined plate or baking sheet.
- Freeze the hearts: To prepare them for dipping, place your hearts in the freezer to firm up for at least 10 to 15 minutes. This will make dipping in the chocolate way easier!
- Melt the chocolate: while the hearts freeze, melt the chocolate with the coconut oil over the stove over low heat, or in the microwave. Once melted, place in a small bowl that’s deep enough for easy dipping.
- Dip: using the parchment-lined plate or baking sheet, dip your hearts into the chocolate, letting any excess drip off before placing it on the sheet. Use a dipping tool to help make this process easier, less messy, and more efficient. You could also use a fork.
- Garnish, refrigerate, and enjoy! I kept these plain, but you could garnish as desired. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm and devour.
- Store in the refrigerator or freezer to keep the chocolate firm.
Garnish ideas
Want to fancy up your hearts? Add a garnish! I kept mine plain and simple, but you can jazz them up with these beautiful and delicious ideas:
- Freeze-dried raspberries
- Freeze-dried strawberries
- Sprinkles
- Flaky sea salt
CHOCOLATE PUDDING
- ½ cup (32g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder (sifted)
- 3 tablespoons (24g) arrowroot powder (or tapioca flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon of PCOS Diva Power Protein
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1½ cups coconut milk beverage (not the canned kind)
- 1 cup coconut cream (you can buy canned coconut cream or use the top part of a can of full-fat coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Whipped coconut cream (for topping)
instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, salt, and arrowroot powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut milk, and coconut cream. Slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking constantly as you pour in the liquid to prevent clumps from forming.
- Bring to a slow boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
- Turn the heat down to low and let the pudding simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking frequently, or until the pudding is slightly thickened – don’t let it get too thick or the pudding will set up too firmly. It will thicken in the refrigerator. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until chilled through. Serve with So Delicious coco chips on top.
COCO-NUTTY GRANOLA
Makes 5 cups
- 4-5 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 3 cups coconut flakes
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon PCOS Diva Power Protein
- 2 cups almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts, chopped roughly
Preheat oven to 120 C. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, spread evenly on baking paper on a tray and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until golden, turning halfway.
When golden (the darker it is, the crunchier it is), remove and cool immediately to get it crispy.
OPTIONAL
— 2 teaspoon of raisins as a sweetener (soak the raisins in hot water for about 15 minutes and grind gently using a mortar) or 1-2 tablespoons rice malt syrup
HOT CINNAMON COCOA
There’s nothing that warms a body on a cold winter day like a steaming cup of cocoa
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup coconut milk powder
- 1 cup coconut sugar or a keto-friendly sweetener such as this monkfruit
Instructions
- Sift all three ingredients together and whisk together.
- Heat it up
- Add 2 about Tablespoons of hot cocoa mix to one cup of water.
- You can add more or less cocoa mix if you prefer. Stir well and serve hot.
OPTIONAL
This 3-ingredient recipe is perfect by itself. You don’t need anything else. But if you want to add a little something extra, try one of these simple ideas:
— sprinkle with cinnamon powder
— almond milk instead of coconut milk
— sugar-free dark chocolate for extra color/flavor
— vanilla essence
Make iced cocoa
Add some ice cubes, cocoa mix, and your favorite dairy-free milk to a blender.
Now you have what will taste like a milkshake or frappuccino.
NOTES
Store the cocoa mix in a sealed container or ziploc baggie for on-the-go use
CINNAMON MUG CAKE/MUFFIN
This Cinnamon Mug Cake or cinnamon muffin in a mug is an almond flour mug cake perfect for fixing your cinnamon cravings.
It tastes like a cinnamon roll with only 3.4 grams of net carbs to your day.
A delicious sweet keto breakfast or snack recipe ready in only 90 seconds! Bonus, this low-carb mug cake is also paleo and gluten-free as well as dairy-free!
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil melted or melted butter
- 1 ½ tablespoon Erythritol Monk fruit or erythritol
- 3 tablespoons Almond Flour
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon adjust up to 1 teaspoon if you like!
- ½ tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter or tahin
- ½ teaspoon Coconut Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon PCOS Diva Power Protein
For Drizzling
- ½ tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter or tahini
- ½ teaspoon Coconut Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon adjust to taste, up to 1/2 teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon Erythritol
Instructions
- Grease a small microwave-proof ramekin or mug with coconut oil. This is to make it not stick to the mug.
